Wednesday, December 14
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THE FORUM DAILY

Late yesterday, nineteen GOP-led states filed an emergency legal request
to an appeals court to try to delay the end of Title 42
<[link removed]>,
reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News
<[link removed]>.
 

The policy is slated to end just a week from today, on Dec. 21. 

In their legal filing, the states argue that if the appeals court denies
their request, it should issue a seven-day suspension of the ruling that
struck down the policy
<[link removed]>,
which could allow them to request the Supreme Court's involvement.  

"The states' emergency request is the latest twist in an
intensifying legal and political battle over the fate of Title 42, which
was first invoked at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic by Trump
administration officials who argued the measure was necessary to contain
the spread of the virus along U.S. borders," notes Montoya-Galvez. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas talked about the pending
end of Title 42 yesterday during his visit to El Paso, Texas, reports
Lauren Villagran of the El Paso Times
<[link removed]>,
with video by Omar Ornelas. "We're mindful ... of the fact that we
have to coordinate with our partners, not just the nonprofit
organizations with which we work very closely, not just cities along the
border like El Paso, but also our international partners. So we're
moving as quickly as we can," Mayorkas said. 

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]
<mailto:[email protected]>. 

And if you like what you're reading, please support our end-of-year
campaign here
<[link removed]>.
Thank you! 

VENEZUELA CONTEXT - A historic economic and political crisis - not
U.S. immigration policies - is leading Venezuelans to leave their home
country en masse, Ricardo Hausmann, founder and director of Harvard's
Growth Lab, tells Stuart Anderson of Forbes
<[link removed]>.
"The economy went into a tailspin because the government tried to
control society by taking away economic rights," said Hausmann.
"[M]any people decided that under those conditions, it was not
possible to dream, to plan, to invest, to do things in Venezuela, and
people started to leave." More than 7.1 million refugees and migrants
have left
<[link removed]>,
of whom more than 80% currently reside in Latin America, according to
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. To help, the U.S.
should do more to welcome Venezuelans <[link removed]>,
many of whom would gladly work, Hausmann says. That in turn would help
address our labor shortages and economy. 

'

**CHRISTIAN WELCOME'** - After asylum seekers began arriving
unexpectedly in New York City in August, the United Methodist Church of
St. Paul and St. Andrew and a network of faith groups coordinated a
response to help, reports Linda Bloom of UM News
<[link removed]>.
They started by creating a shelter in the church for five men: "In a
matter of four hours, we had a functioning sanctuary space," said the
Rev. Lea Matthews, the church's associate pastor. Ongoing efforts
include partnerships with local church partners such as West Side
Campaign Against Hunger <[link removed]>, which provides
backpacks and food donations, and Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid
<[link removed]>, to provide migrants with information, assistance
and connections. "There are new arrivals in almost every community,"
added the Rev. K Karpen, senior pastor at St. Paul and St. Andrew.
"They need to feel a Christian welcome." 

RIGHT THIS WRONG - "Why would a country recruit my family, educate
and invest in me and my sister, only to make us leave?" asks Merry
Joseph, a "documented Dreamer" and medical student in Utah, in a
Salt Lake Tribune
<[link removed]>
op-ed. "Our parents have dedicated their careers to helping American
companies and communities thrive. Their children - budding doctors
like me - should be able to do the same." Joseph is one of the
estimated 200,000 children of legal immigrants who are at risk of losing
legal status upon turning 21. As a member of Improve the Dream
<[link removed]>, she and other documented
Dreamers are pushing for Congress to right this wrong with legislation
this year. 

**AFGHAN ADJUSTMENT ACT** - A big thank-you to Sens. Jerry Moran
(R-Kansas) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) for newly co-sponsoring
<[link removed]>
the Afghan Adjustment Act
<[link removed]>.
In an op-ed for The Tennessean
<[link removed]>,
civilian volunteer Kami Rice, co-founder of AlliedShepherd.org
<[link removed]>, writes that we must keep our promises to
Afghan allies by passing the bill. "The act follows the model of
standard bipartisan adjustment of status legislation passed after U.S.
wartime withdrawals from Vietnam and Iraq," she writes. " ... Our
Afghan allies and the volunteers who continue the emotionally draining,
around-the-clock work of assisting them need fellow Tennesseans to
remind our senators to represent our Tennessee values - love for
America, our veterans and our new neighbors - by supporting the Afghan
Adjustment Act."  

**DYING WISH DENIED** - Our hearts go out to the family of 74-year-old
Robert Barkat, who died from lung cancer in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, this
week. Barkat's dying wish was to see his son once more, but the State
Department refused to let his son, Joarlais Robert from Pakistan,
enter the country, reports Jeff Gammage of The Philadelphia Inquirer
<[link removed]>.
Joarlais repeatedly had sought permission to try and see his father
since October. "If someone requests approval to visit the United
States, the government assumes that the person intends to try to stay
permanently," Gammage notes. "It's a shame that the U.S.
immigration system, which is squarely rooted in the notion of family
unity and family reunion, was unable to find a way to permit Joarlais to
see his father," added Philadelphia immigration attorney Alex Isbell,
who voluntarily worked on this case. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. Early in the pandemic, a Los Angeles-based organization
called MAMA <[link removed]> "stepped in to help immigrant-run
businesses stay afloat." Today it has transformed from its Drive-By
Kitchen program to catering and more, per Jean Trinh of Eater
<[link removed]>. 

 

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