Friday, January 13
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THE FORUM DAILY

Asylum-seeking migrants can now use the updated version of CBP One
<[link removed]> app to request
an appointment to approach a land port of entry at one of eight ports
in Texas, Arizona, and California, according to a new fact sheet
<[link removed]>. 

This follows the Biden administration's border policy announcement
<[link removed]>
on Jan. 5. 

The app is available in English and Spanish. Migrants from Central and
Northern Mexico will have to upload biographical information as well as
a photo. 

As Ted Hesson and Daina Beth Solomon of Reuters
<[link removed]>
report: 

"President Joe Biden's administration touts the app as a more
regulated, potentially quicker alternative to crossing the border. But
advocates worry asylum seekers will be required to submit personal
information without being guaranteed entry and that some may not have
access to a cell phone or internet connection." 

Access to the app could potentially reduce border crossings, or at
least, that's CBP's goal, they note. But questions remain about how
many people know about it, have access to it, or understand how to use
it, if eligible.  

Meanwhile, as Biden's proposed policy changes roll out, shelter
operations are voicing their concerns about potentially not having
enough space to house those newly expelled, per Julian Resendiz of the
Border Report
<[link removed]>.
In anticipation of a potential increase of migrants, CBP has opened a
new soft-sided migrant processing facility in Northeast El Paso, that
would process up to 1,000 migrants, Resendiz also reports
<[link removed]>.  

In other big (agency) news, on Thursday, the U.S. extended and
redesignated Temporary Protected Status which could benefit over 2,000
Somali immigrants
<[link removed]>
who have been living in the U.S since Jan. 11. An estimated 430 Somalis
will be able to eligible to renew their work permits and deportation
protections, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News
<[link removed]>. 

Welcome to Friday'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. Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so we'll be back in your
inbox on Tuesday. Have a nice holiday weekend! If you have a story to
share from your own community, please send it to me at
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>. 

**Correction:** We apologize for misattributing a source in last
Friday's edition of The Forum Daily. We meant to cite 15-year-old
Aisha Majdoub, who attends the youth center, in our summary of this San
Francisco Chronicle
<[link removed]>
piece by Mallory Moench. 

**BIPARTISANSHIP**- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is pushing for
immigration overhauls, federal permitting procedures as well as new
trade deals in its new legislative agenda unveiled Thursday, reports
Kate Ackley of Roll Call
<[link removed]>.
More importantly, it's urging Congress to work together, despite
current divides and tensions with House GOP leaders. "Business demands
better from our government," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President
and CEO Suzanne Clark in the trade group's annual "State of American
Business" address, per Caitlin Oprysko and Daniel Lippman of POLITICO
<[link removed]>.
"... The polarization, the gridlock, the overreach, the inability to act
smartly or strategically for our future, is making it harder for all of
us to do our jobs, to fill our roles, [and] move the country forward." 

**AFGHAN WOMEN SOLDIERS** - Thoroughly vetted U.S-trained female
Afghan soldiers will be at risk of losing their humanitarian parole
status - and be subject to deportation - if Congress doesn't act
to protect them as promised, writes Bill Richardson for an op-ed in The
Arizona Republic
<[link removed]>.
Known as the Female Tactical Platoon (FTP), "[t]hese Afghan women
stepped forward in a culture that does not always encourage leadership
or action by women and laid it all on the line for their fellow citizens
and their U.S. allies," said Retired U.S. Central Command Commander Army
four-star General Joe Votel. "This group deserves our support." As
Richardson notes, passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act would help these
brave women soldiers earn a legal pathway to residency in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department published a new tool
<[link removed]> Thursday for
Afghans under humanitarian parole to seek family reunification, reports
Kylie Atwood of CNN
<[link removed]>. 

Locally: 

* Thanks to Lutheran Services Carolinas <[link removed]>, the
first Afghan family in Greenville, South Carolina, has been reunited
after more than a year apart since the fall of Kabul.  (Peyton Furtado,
WYFF News 4
<[link removed]>) 

* The new Nebraska Afghan Community Center, created last year, is a
small apartment in midtown Omaha. But it is the "picture of
hospitality," community gathering, conversing, and laughing, with tea
brewing, and helpful services in Pashto and Dari. (Christopher Burbach,
Omaha World-Herald
<[link removed]>) 

**LEGAL REPRESENTATION NEEDED** - Following an expansion of funding
for existing programs for asylum seekers and refugees, immigration
advocates are pushing for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to pursue broad
immigration reforms, reports Raga Justin of Times Union
<[link removed]>.
Most notable is their support for a bill that would provide a statewide
right to legal representation for those facing deportation. If passed,
New York would be the first state to guarantee that immigrants are
provided a lawyer throughout their immigration court proceedings.  

**FLAGMAKERS** - A new National Geographic documentary called "The
Flagmakers," <[link removed]> currently airing on Disney Plus,
"examine[s] life inside a factory that makes American flags," whose
employers are mainly refugees and immigrants, reports Russell Contreras
of Axios
<[link removed]>.
The film features immigrants and refugees from Latin America, the Middle
East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia, who work at the Eder Flag
factory in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. "The people that literally sew the
stars and stripes of our nation are very much representational of our
nation," said filmmaker Cynthia Wade. 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara  

**P.S.** At North High School in Des Moines, Iowa, Sophomore MJ
Mangok, originally from Egypt, challenged his soccer coach
<[link removed]>
to spend a day in his shoes. Chenue Her of Local 5 News We are Iowa
<[link removed]>
has the heartwarming story.

 

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