Now onto today’s other (less cheerful) headlines: 

U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling on the Biden administration to better manage the southern border as border cities expect an increase of migrants, pending the Title 42 lift this week, per Jason Lange of Reuters.  

Lange points to the conversation with different political actors in "Face the Nation" on CBS News, moderated by Margaret Brennan: 

"If Title 42 goes away, we will then go back to Title 8, which allows for a process ... to help us provide the resources that will be needed to process these migrants, to make sure that people are treated humanely, to make sure that the bordering communities have the resources that they need," said Keisha Lance Bottoms, White House senior advisor for public engagement. "... And we need Congress to be a partner in this … this is a global issue that we are facing." 

Meanwhile, more migrants crossing the border to seek asylum in Texas are being met with the winter cold and no space at shelters, a team at NBC News reports. 

Nonprofits like Border Network for Human Rights and Annunciation House have stepped in to help but need more room, resources, and capacity.  

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

FOR OUR AFGHAN ALLIES — More than 30 retired officers are among those pushing Congress to attach the Afghan Adjustment Act with the must-pass spending bill, reports Dan Lamothe of The Washington Post. Jake Tapper of CNN first reported the efforts, including part of the letter sent to senior lawmakers on Saturday. "We are convinced that the Afghan Adjustment Act furthers the national security interests of the United States," the officers wrote. "It is also a moral imperative … As military professionals, it was and remains our duty to prepare for future conflicts. We assure you that in any such conflict, potential allies will remember what happens now with our Afghan allies." Farah Stockman of The New York Times’ Editorial board echoes the message. And for the Ottumwa Courier, our friend Rev. Joel Toole, the Lead Pastor of Melbourne First Church of the Nazarene in Florida, makes a personal plea for Iowans to call Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) to make Iowa a place of welcome, especially for our Afghan allies. 

DENVER WELCOME — More than 700 migrants fleeing their home countries have arrived in Denver, Colorado, in recent months, reports Rob Harris of Denver7, an ABC News affiliate. The city has partnered with nonprofits such as Casa de Paz to accommodate them. Most of the migrants arriving are Venezuelans and immigrants already established in the U.S. are supporting efforts to welcome them. "We have no health, no food, nothing," said Keila Maria Pozo, who recently became a U.S. citizen and explained why people are leaving her home country of Venezuela. "Our kids die. We have a high degree of malnutrition. You see people looking for food in the trash." Pozo is now living in Denver. "The only thing that I ask of Denver and everyone around the world is that you give us the opportunity to show you that we’re going to do the best that we can for this country," she added. For more on Denver’s welcome efforts, see Jasmine Arenas’ piece in CBS News. 

‘WE NEED MORE PEOPLE’ — This isn’t new but it’s worth repeating: We need an increase in immigration to help with labor shortages in this tight labor market, writes Juliana Kaplan for Insider. A record of early retirement, deaths from COVID-19, and a lack of immigration, have contributed to what Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell calls a "structural labor shortage." Powell estimates that there are just under 4 million fewer people available to work than employers want to hire. That means we have a great workforce gap. "We need more people," he said. Separately, from a faith lens, Steve Eng, advocacy director for the National Association of Evangelicals, invites us to push Congress to pass urgent agricultural and labor reforms this holiday: "Together, we can uphold the dignity of those who provide our food and ensure that no one goes hungry this Christmas and, in the years, ahead," per Christianity Today. 

FINALLY FREE — It’s unfortunate that migrants face such a harsh reality in immigration detention systems around the world. Here is a sad story with a hopeful ending: After nine years in Australia’s immigration detention system, six refugees were granted permanent residency to relocate to New Zealand, reports Ali MC of Al Jazeera. They were among more than 4,000 people who traveled to Australia by boat to seek asylum over the past decade, but instead were detained in the remote Pacific Island of Nauru, operated by Australia, notes MC. "It is very, very amazing. I still don’t believe that I’m free. It seems like a dream," said 39-year-old Jacques, originally from Cameroon. "... I want to go out of the gate. I want to see people together and if they are playing football somewhere. I want to test if I am really free." 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara