Thursday, January 12
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THE FORUM DAILY

U.S. immigration authorities approved the first group of Cubans to enter
the U.S. on Wednesday via the recently expanded humanitarian parole
program
<[link removed]>,
report Nora Gámez Torres and Syra Ortiz-Blanes of the Miami Herald
<[link removed]>. 

The Department of Homeland Security has not confirmed how many cases
have already been approved since the program began receiving
applications last Friday, they note. Yesterday however, "hundreds of
Cubans were chatting on WhatsApp, Facebook and other apps about their
applications and how to fill out the required forms." 

Meanwhile, several other Cubans have spent years waiting to reunite
with their loved ones through the formal family-reunification
immigration process, which is approved by U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services - the same agency approving parole cases.  

An estimated 225,000 Cubans came to the U.S. last fiscal year, mostly
encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border, Torres and Blanes note. Migration
by sea has also increased, with hundreds recently arriving in Florida in
masse.  

Dave Sherwood and Anett Rios of Reuters
<[link removed]>
report that with the new proposed policies, some Cubans will continue
to look for other ways to migrate to the U.S.  

Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum,
weighed in
<[link removed]>
on the border policy announcement last week. 

While The Washington Post
<[link removed]>'s
columnist David Ignatius describes President Biden's approach to
immigration - and the new policies - as a trade-off.  

"The central idea is that while migration is essential, it must be more
orderly and manageable," he writes. While Biden's immigration plan
won't "fix our shattered system ... it recognizes that people aren't
morally defective if they demand a more secure and effective border
policy." 

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

'WELCOMING THE WORLD'S TALENT' - Without an increase in
population, the U.S. will continue to face economic challenges now and,
in the future, according to a new volume
<[link removed]>
of research by The Aspen Economic Strategy Group. "[T]he U.S. economy is
confronting a wholly different set of economic headwinds," including
demographic changes, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who leads
the strategy group, told Axios
<[link removed]>'
Neil Irwin. "These challenges threaten to constrain our productive
capacity and reduce future standards of living ... [W]e should play to
our strengths by welcoming the world's talent, unleashing innovation,
and providing a stable, open and competitive business environment."
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently sounded a similar theme on Fox
News' "Mornings with Maria": "We need an immigration policy. We need
to stop illegal immigration. We need more legal immigration," per FOX
Business
<[link removed]>'
Kristen Altus.  

BUILDING TRUST AND COMMUNITY - When Alan Hernandez originally from
Zacatecas, Mexico, was 15, he tried volunteering at the Avon Police
Department in Colorado. But due to his immigration status, he was turned
down. After getting his permanent residency, and never giving up, he
became a police officer and is now a detective working in the Rocky
Mountains community, reports a team at Cronkite News Arizona PBS
<[link removed]>.
Using his experience to better connect with Avon's large immigrant
community, Hernandez said, "They always tell me they are scared to go to
the police ... That it is easier for them to speak to a Spanish-speaking
officer who maybe understands their immigration status and understands
the battles they have to fight." The department has even hosted a unique
program called Latino Police Academy
<[link removed]> (Academia de Policía
Para Latinos) for about a decade, which has helped build trust between
both police and immigrants here. 

**VISA HURDLES** - A number of visa challenges are crushing
international graduates' dreams of becoming journalists in the U.S.,
reports Ngai Yeung for Poynter
<[link removed]>.
Among the challenges are limitations for programs like the Optional
Practical Training (OPT), permitting foreign students to temporarily
work in their field; obtaining a work visa like H1-B as part of the
lottery system; or an O-1 visa for individuals with extraordinary
ability or achievement. Getting newsrooms to sponsor future foreign
journalists is almost impossible, "due to paperwork, high fees and
unpredictable wait times" notes Yeung. "It's kind of discriminatory
- you're open to any race, sexual orientation, but why not a
foreigner?" said University of Southern California graduate Dongyao Nie.
International students of all careers are challenged by the immigration
system once they graduate. In a Forum statement for the record
<[link removed]>,
we note that a lack of immigration reforms often forces
American-educated foreign students to live in legal limbo, hindering
their careers and livelihood. 

BORDER LOVE STORY - Yedid Sanchez, originally from Mexico, and Tom
Kobylecky from Chicago, know what it's like to be part of a
mixed-status family, living "with a foot in two countries." The Guardian
<[link removed]>
Aaron Nielsen, with photos by Jamie Kelter Davis, tells their incredible
story, centered on commitment and sacrifice. As a result of Yedid's
ban to enter the U.S. for at least a decade due to past illegal entries,
Tom had to relocate to Reynosa, Mexico, to work and be with his family.
Together they "decided to ride out a 10-year sentence in exile and get
right by the law," notes Neilsen. In 2017, they initiated Yedid's visa
process, and in early December 2021, she was granted her visa - a
process that took 13 years total, notes Nielsen. If all goes as planned,
they'll close on a new house in Byron, Illinois. How exciting! 

Thanks for reading,  

Clara 

P.S. Inspired by copies of her father's letters and artifacts,
"Letters from Home," is a one-woman play by performer Kalean Ung,
exploring her father's immigration story. He had fled Cambodia during
the Khmer Rouge regime. The show will be staged at the Merrimack
Repertory Theatre through Feb. 5 in Massachusetts, per Cameron
Morsberger of the Lowell Sun
<[link removed]>.

 

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