Arizona's Proposition 308 would permit undocumented high school graduates there to pay in-state college tuition. The vote on the measure remains too close too call, reports Gloria Rebecca Gomez of the Arizona Mirror. More than 600,000 ballots across the state had yet to be counted as of yesterday evening.

"I am optimistic that the yes vote will lead," said retired Republican state Sen. Bob Worsley, who co-chaired the Yes on 308 campaign. "In the end, Prop. 308 will prevail, providing much-needed relief to Arizona students and strengthening our economy."     

The measure has bipartisan support among Arizona lawmakers. It would allow more than 3,600 undocumented students who graduate from the state each year to be eligible for state-funded financial aid as well.  

Some of Tuesday's results are final, and they include some good news. Here in Massachusetts, voters affirmed a recently passed law that allows undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses — and thus requires that they be insured. "Supporters of the law argued roads are safer for everybody when more drivers are properly educated and fully insured," Walter Wuthmann reports for WBUR. "They pointed to data that show hit-and-run crashes fell in California and Connecticut after lawmakers passed similar measures." 

More broadly, Addie Offereins of WORLD Magazine looks at what the midterm results mean for border states and potential border and immigration reforms, including for farmers, farmworkers and Dreamers. She notes recent Lifeway Research polling showing 71% support among evangelicals for border and immigration solutions. (Read on for more about that support.)  

Welcome to Thursday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].   

SECURITY AND COMPASSION — A vast majority of Texas evangelicals want to balance security and compassion when it comes to immigration and border reforms, Kathryn Freeman, Calla Parker and Garrett Pearson write in an op-ed for The Houston Chronicle. The writers, who work for evangelical resettlement agency World Relief in Texas, cite the aforementioned Lifeway polling. Evangelicals "do not want open borders or amnesty for those who have violated the law, which would be inconsistent with biblical teachings that compel us to respect governing authorities," they write, "but they also recognize legal immigration as a blessing to the country and want to ensure that our national policies avoid separating families." The writers note that Congress has bipartisan bills to use as starting points, including the Dream Act, Bipartisan Border Solutions Act and Farm Workforce Modernization Act. 

EUROPEAN MIGRATION — After stalling for weeks, Italian officials recently allowed migrants on two humanitarian rescue ships to safely come to port, report Colleen Barry and Nicole Winfield of the Associated Press. The country remained silent about a third ship carrying 234 rescued migrants, which appealed to France: "We are facing very severe consequences, including risks of loss of lives," said Xavier Lauth of European aid group SOS Mediteranee. "Physical and psychological well-being of survivors and crew have been exhausted by over two weeks of blockage at sea. It is now a humanitarian emergency." To the northeast, Poland’s Border Guard rescued 10 migrants from a swamp that borders Belarus on Tuesday amid a recent increase of migration there, Reuters reports. The border was the site of a humanitarian crisis last year.  

BORDER NARRATIVES — Ernesto Castañeda of American University analyzes how border encounter data can lead to misleading narratives. "These numbers represent encounters, not the number of individuals who have come across the border," Castañeda writes in The Conversation. "It’s a misleading and inaccurate way of describing the number of people coming into the U.S." Castañeda explains that when an individual migrant repeatedly attempts to enter, each attempt is counted. In addition, he writes, the number includes people allowed to remain in the country while an application for asylum or a humanitarian visa is pending. Our policy expert Danilo Zak offers more on border encounters — and demographics — in this recent explainer.  

‘CHICANOS POR LA CAUSA’ — Known historically for its early-childhood development and immigration service across Yuma County, Arizona, Chicanos Por La Causa’s new San Luis office will open today, reports José Ignacio Castañeda Perez of the Arizona Republic. "Our intention and effort is to really get closer to new communities that are coming in from the border and just offer and expand our menu of services in this new location," said Erin Garcia, the organization’s vice president of social services and education. The nonprofit’s new office will also provide counselors accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice to help with DACA and permanent residency renewals.  

CULINARY RICHNESS — Mando Rayo, "taco journalist" (taco journalist!) and host of the critically acclaimed podcast "Tacos of Texas," tells David Brown of the Texas Standard that his goal is to understand immigrant communities through their culinary richness. "It’s [about] the people in the back of the kitchens, whether it’s a Mexican restaurant or other. They’re the foundation. They’re the ones that are feeding us," Rayo says in an audio interview transcribed by Kristen Cabrera. " ... [W]hen we think of the fresh foods — the fresh vegetables and fruit that we have for our dishes and our meals — we often forget who’s picking, who’s cultivating that food in hot weather, extreme weather, harsh working conditions. It’s migrant farmworkers."  

Thanks for reading,  

Dan