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On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to keep Title 42 in place until further notice from the court, a team at Reuters reports. The policy — which blocked hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum and rapidly expelled them to Mexico — was supposed to be officially lifted tomorrow. In November, federal Judge Emmet Sullivan blocked the use of Title 42 after finding it "arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act." In recent weeks, a group of 19 GOP-led states tried to overturn that decision by intervening in the case. Just yesterday, they presented their request to the Supreme Court. As a result, Chief Justice John Roberts hit pause on the end of Title 42. In response to the stay, as Roll Call’s Suzanne Monyak notes, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Monday evening that said: It "will continue our preparations to manage the border in a safe, orderly, and humane way when the Title 42 public health order lifts. We urge Congress to use this time to provide the funds we have requested for border security and management and advance the comprehensive immigration measures President Biden proposed on his first day in office." Our take: We need policy and border solutions that continue to promote order and humane dignity. Title 42 has only reduced order at the border, proved dangerous for migrants, and benefited smugglers and cartels, as our President and CEO Jennie Murray noted in November. Earlier this year, we published "42 Border Solutions That Are Not Title 42," Title 42 was never the answer. Meaningful, bipartisan immigration reforms are. Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Becka Wall, the Forum’s digital communications VP, 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]. Like what you’re reading? Support our work here. WAITING GAME — Maryam Azizpour fled Afghanistan with her two young daughters before finally resettling in Hazel Dell, Washington, with support from Lutheran Community Services Northwest and local volunteers. In October, Azizpour had a crucial interview with an immigration official that would determine whether she could stay in the U.S. — and is still waiting for an answer, reports Scott Hewitt of The Columbian. "If her petition is granted, she and her children can plan for a permanent future here," notes Hewitt. "... If the asylum petition is denied, Maryam has no idea what happens next." Azizpour and her family were granted humanitarian parole, which is temporary. The Afghan Adjustment Act would help. But as CNN’s Jake Tapper reports, the bill would not be included as part of the omnibus spending bill. Nizamuddin Rezahi of The Khama Press News Agency has more details. STABILITY FOR DREAMERS — Tens of thousands of Texas workers and students will lose their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections and work permits unless Congress acts now, write Texas education leaders Bob Mong and Nick Garcia in an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News. "The DACA program has been a powerful engine of opportunity and economic growth for Texas and the nation," they write. "...We ask Congress to help forge a breakthrough and deliver meaningful reforms that will strengthen our state and our nation, both now and in the future." Over on the Counter Culture podcast, Jonathan Sanborn speaks with one of our mobilizers, Andy Myers, and Diana, a Dreamer studying law at Grand Canyon University, who shares her story and the uncertainty she faces due to DACA’s legal challenges. EXPOSED INFORMATION — The Department of Homeland Security mistakenly informed the Cuban government that some migrants it aimed to deport had initially asked the U.S. for protection from persecution or torture, reports Hamed Aleaziz of The Los Angeles Times. Less than three weeks ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials accidentally published the names, birth dates, nationalities, and detention locations of more than 6,000 immigrants allegedly fleeing torture and persecution to the agency’s website. Some of the potential deportees from Cuba were affected by the leak, notes Aleaziz. "We believe that ICE’s failure to comply with simple regulations to protect asylum seekers have potentially endangered the lives of these vulnerable individuals and their families and urge you to take immediate action to ensure the privacy of this and other sensitive information held by the agency," said California Reps. Norma Torres (D-Pomona) and Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-San Pedro), in a letter sent Thursday to ICE leadership. ‘THE GOLD STANDARD’ — In 2018, after groups of asylum seekers were released on the streets by U.S. border patrol due to a new policy change, volunteers with the San Diego Rapid Response Network stepped in to fill the need. Four years later, the network — led by the Jewish Family Service — "has become a major institution at the San Diego border," reports Kate Morrissey of The San Diego Union-Tribune. The network continues to help asylum seekers reach their sponsor in the U.S., partners with other organizations to provide various legal and medical support, and continually adapts its operation based on evolving needs at the border, notes Morrissey. "They are the gold standard," said Naomi Steinberg of the nonprofit HIAS. "They have really shown organizations around the country about how it can be done and how it should be done." CHANGE OF HEART — Once a Xenophobic town, Hérouxville, a province of Quebec, Canada, is now attracting, welcoming and loving immigrants like never before, reports Norimitsu Onishi with photographs by Nasuna Stuart-Ulin for The New York Times. "We’ve had a break from our past," said Bernard Thompson, Hérouxville’s mayor. "We now want as many immigrants as possible." This comes as Canada pivots to revamped "crucial strategy for its economic vitality," and plans to add 1.45 million immigrants to the country’s population of 39 million, in the next three years. "We need immigration to survive," Thompson added. "We don’t have a choice." Thanks for reading, Becka |
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