Friday, January 6
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THE FORUM DAILY

President Biden announced
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a border policy plan yesterday that would expand pathways for some
migrants, if eligible, and restrict access to asylum for others, reports
a team at The New York Times
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Among the proposed plans
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some of which we previewed yesterday, are to accept up to 30,000
migrants monthly from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti via an expanded
humanitarian parole program that models the Venezuelan program. The
caveat: maintaining Title 42 for asylum seekers from those same
countries who may cross the border unlawfully. (More on the extension of
Title 42 and next steps here
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and a great op-ed on the right to asylum by Karen Musalo of the Center
for Gender and Refugee Studies for the Los Angeles Times
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To be eligible for the expanded program, migrants would have to "afford
a plane ticket, get a sponsor, download an app, pass a background check
and meet other requirements," the Times writes. The administration also
plans to triple refugee resettlement from the Western Hemisphere to
20,000.  

Yet, the biggest takeaway from the announcement was the urgent need for
Congress to step in: "We again call on Congress to legislate, to provide
sufficient resources to manage the increased encounters at the border
and to fix the immigration system everyone agrees is terribly broken,"
said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in a
media briefing. "Absent congressional action, we will do what we can
using the authorities and resources available to us to manage the border
in a safe, orderly and humane manner." 

Some human rights groups, including faith groups, have concerns about
Biden's border security and enforcement plans, reports Jeff Brumley of
Baptist News Global
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Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and
Refugee Service, and Melissa Crow, director of litigation at the Center
for Gender & Refugee Studies, speak to Here & Now
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Deepa Fernandes to break down the proposed plan, offering questions to
consider.  

Jennie Murray, our President and CEO at The Forum, also weighed in
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on some of the positives in the President's plan - and our
concerns.  

And ICYMI, here are some helpful resources which provide more context,
understanding and solutions around the situation at the southern
border: 

* A Forum white paper, "Alternative Pathways for Arrivals at the
Border."
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* The Forum's new, interactive Journey to the U.S. Southern Border
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from a migrant family's perspective. 

* A blog post, "Blessed: Reflections from the U.S.-Mexico Border"
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including two other
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reflections
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from the same border trip.  

* A recently published fact sheet
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from the Council on National Security and Immigration. 

Welcome to Friday'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] <mailto:[email protected]>. 

**DOMESTIC EXTREMISM** - A Department of Homeland Security
intelligence assessment warns that extreme violence targeting migrants
on the southern border could increase in response to the pending Title
42 lift, reports Luke Barr of ABC News
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"The tactics discussed are consistent with [domestic violent extremist]
messaging and include firearms attacks, the placement of land mines
along migration routes, and luring migrants into trailers to poison them
with gas, according to DHS reporting," the Dec. 23 bulletin states.
"Since at least 2018, DVEs responsible for mass casualty attacks tied to
immigration grievances have prioritized soft targets perceived as being
densely populated by immigrants or facilitating migration to the United
States." CNN
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Priscilla Alvarez first reported the news. For more on how to combat
extremist threats and rhetoric, see our collection of resources about
the Great Replacement Theory
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and how to combat it in your community.  

**KABUL TO AUSTIN** - After going through a harrowing journey to flee
Afghanistan and reach the U.S., Siawash Osian and his family landed in
Texas last January. They benefited from the herculean efforts of local
nonprofits, including the Refugee Services of Texas' Austin office,
which resettled 964 Afghans from October 2021 through September 2022,
reports Benton Graham of The Austin Chronicle
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"There is an Afghan community, of course, but the life system here in
the U.S. is totally different," Osian said. Osian, who worked in IT as
part of the U.S. Special Forces unit, applied for both asylum and a
special immigrant visa, as recommended by the office. He now awaits a
final decision - or a more certain path forward from potential passage
of the Afghan Adjustment Act
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Local welcome: 

* Next month, the International Institute in St. Louis will open its new
Afghan Chamber of Commerce to "help established and new businesses
thrive." (Laura Barczewski, KSDK
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* A national community art project called Welcome Blanket
<[link removed]>, 60 quilts (and counting) with welcome
notes, is helping to embrace new immigrants to Winooski, Vermont. Housed
at the Heritage Winooski Mill Museum through February, new arrivals will
be invited to choose a blanket to take home. (Auditi Guha, VTDigger
<[link removed]>) 

**IMMIGRANT YOUTH CENTER** - Youth center activist Bushra Alabsi has
been teaching immigrant teens at a local mosque in Tenderloin,
California, for the past two decades. The center serves as an
alternative to being on the streets, Alabsi tells Mallory Moench of the
San Francisco Chronicle
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"The Tenderloin is a not-so-good area, and if we have a safe, clean,
nice area, even for kids as they grow up, they don't feel like they
live in such poverty because of their environment," said Alabsi, who is
now looking for a permanent space for the center. Known as the
Tenderloin Family House, the center is one of 31 proposed projects up
for a vote
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with the aim of getting part of the $3.5 million related to the city's
community action plan
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for the neighborhood, notes Moench.  

**THREE KINGS DAY** - Today is Día de Los Reyes (known elsewhere as
Epiphany), celebrated in Mexico and other countries, to honor the Three
Wise Men who were guided by a star to Bethlehem. The holiday is often
celebrated with a rosca de reyes, or king cake, as The Washington Post
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Betty Chavarria deliciously describes for us. The "cake is more than a
sweet holiday treat. Each part symbolizes part of the story of the Magi
... For us, rosca de reyes means one last slice of Christmas magic." The
Three Kings and their journey makes me think of this beautiful poem
<[link removed]> by my friend Laura Hornby of
We Welcome, which makes the connection between caravans in the bible and
what we see at the U.S.-Mexico border.  

Thanks for reading,  

Becka  

 

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