Jerome Powell didn’t mince words, as Stuart Anderson writes in Forbes, citing "Trump-era restrictions on immigration that have led to a continued worker shortfall" that economists say, "is damaging and even destructive."  

Here’s Powell, addressing inflation directly during his speech at the Brookings Institution: "In the labor market, demand for workers far exceeds the supply of available workers, and nominal wages have been growing at a pace well above what would be consistent with 2 percent inflation over time," said Powell. "Thus, another condition we are looking for is the restoration of balance between supply and demand in the labor market."  

Powell also mentioned the "plunge in net immigration," as well as increased deaths during the pandemic, resulting in more than a million "missing workers" — and said policies to add workers to the labor force would benefit workers and the economy. 

The framework Sens. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) are working on would be a great first step toward the policies Powell is alluding to — and a very timely opportunity to pass solutions to address challenges at the border, as the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board writes. "[B]oth parties can help the country by seizing the moment," the board concludes. 

Meanwhile, Deepa Fernandes of WBUR interviews our colleague (and recent honoree) Gaby Pacheco of TheDream.US about the framework.  

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Dynahlee Padilla-Vasquez, Clara Villatoro and Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].  

‘MAKE IT RIGHT’ — You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more compelling argument for the Afghan Adjustment Act than the piece in the Chicago Tribune by Jack McCain, who served in Afghanistan and is the son of late Sen. John McCain. "It is too late to fix the dysfunction our withdrawal unleashed in Afghanistan," he writes. "But there is still time to make it right. … It is now up to Republican Sens. John Cornyn, Jerry Moran, Thom Tillis, Pat Toomey, Roger Wicker, Dan Sullivan, Marco Rubio and Mike Rounds to ensure we keep our word. These men served in Congress with my father, a prisoner of war who understood that it was important to extend safety to people who fought alongside us. These final few weeks of the 117th Congress are our best chance to keep our promise." Meanwhile, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) is optimistic about the bill passing this month, reports Jessie Degollado of KSAT 12 News. 

NEED MORE WORKERS — The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would address labor shortages and reduce food waste, as our policy expert Arturo Castellanos-Canales tells Ohio Capital Journal’s Marty Schladen, who reports that Ohio farmers need solutions that make it easier and cheaper for them to harvest and sell their products. Diana Gordon, professor emerita at the City University of New York and a writer on immigration, sounds a similar theme in an op-ed for The Daily Yonder: The bill "would ease the labor shortage that is driving farmers out of business and reward essential workers who put food on our tables, many of whom have been doing so without immigration status for more than a decade." The worker shortage isn’t just on the farm: Ed Zagorski of the Watertown Daily Times in Wisconsin reports that Clearview, a local nursing and rehabilitation center, is recruiting internationally to try to fill vacancies.  

MILITARY PARENTS — The Protect Patriot Parents Act, which would protect the parents of military members from deportation, passed the House yesterday, reports Chloe Jones of The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, California. Spearheaded by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-California), the bill would make these parents eligible for lawful permanent resident status, Jones notes. "The families of our service members deserve our respect for their sacrifice, not deportation," Carbajal said in a press statement. "… Bills like the one we approved today ... have languished for too long and left too many families in limbo. We owe it to them to send these bills to President Biden before Congress adjourns at the end of this month." Seems to me like the least we can do. 

HOME FOR NOW — For the Deseret News, Kyle Dunphey headed to Ukraine to document the journey toward safety and refuge of 41-year-old Elvira Karnaukh and her family, who are among an estimated 8 million refugees who have fled the country since the war began in February. That number is in addition to the 6.5 million people who have been displaced within Ukraine’s own borders, Dunphey notes. After landing in Poland, Elvira learned that she was eligible to apply for Uniting for Ukraine via the nonprofit WelcomeNST. (Dunphey has more on the organization here, as we noted yesterday.) "It’s always best to live on your native land. It’s better to be and feel at home," Elvira said. "So the first question I asked was, ‘Can we come back?’" For now, they live temporarily in Lehi, Utah, with their host family, the Norbys. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan