Tuesday, January 17
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THE FORUM DAILY

On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced
<[link removed]>
that noncitizen workers who are victims of or witnesses to workplace
labor violations can now apply for protections against deportation, if
eligible, reports Rebecca Santana of the Associated Press
<[link removed]>. 

For migrant workers assisting in labor investigations, the new
guidelines will create a "streamlined and expedited" process in a
centralized location online
<[link removed]>. Additional
instructions online are in English and Spanish, with the ability to
submit a request there, per the agency's press release
<[link removed]>.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a branch of DHS,
would then review the applications.  

To apply, migrant workers must show well-documented proof of the labor
or employment agency detailing the investigation, including why they
need DHS support, and proof of identity, notes Santana. If approved,
those cooperating with a labor investigation can legally stay in the
country temporarily for two years, subject to termination at any
time, or apply for authorization to work during that period.  

The latest guidelines build upon an October 2021 memo
<[link removed]>,
in which Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas permitted
the agency to consider requests for deferred action protection for
migrants supporting labor enforcement investigations, which was formerly
considered on a case-by-case basis. 

"Unscrupulous employers who prey on the vulnerability of noncitizen
workers harm all workers and disadvantage businesses who play by the
rules," said DHS Secretary Mayorkas in a statement. "We will hold these
predatory actors accountable by encouraging all workers to assert their
rights, report violations they have suffered or observed, and cooperate
in labor standards investigations. Through these efforts, and with our
labor agency partners, we will effectively protect the American labor
market, the conditions of the American worksite, and the dignity of the
workers who power our economy."   

The move has also been championed by labor and human rights advocates. 

Welcome to Tuesday'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]>. 

**'NOT THE END OF THE STORY' **- Isabel Márquez fled
cartel-related violence in Mexico when she was only 17, arriving to the
U.S. as an undocumented and unaccompanied minor. Today, she is an
associate pastor, who uses her lived experience to connect, welcome, and
serve migrants fleeing violence and economic devastation in Latin
America and elsewhere, Dianne Solis writes in The Dallas Morning News
<[link removed]>.
Hundreds of migrants have found support and care at the respite center,
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, where she and volunteers' work. "All
these obstacles that we suffer as migrants and all the obstacles that we
suffer as asylum seekers are part of the journey to actually know that
God is there in the journey with us," said Márquez. "... But it's not
the end of the story. It's just the comma." In her daily work,
Márquez advocates for the right that all migrants have to apply for
asylum, with a chance to start a new life.  

**SERVING OTHERS** - After having fled Latin American countries with
deteriorating economies, many west African migrants have traveled to New
York in hopes of seeking opportunity and refuge. But with limited
options to start over, as Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura reports in The New
York Times
<[link removed]>,
these men are turning to the one person who has opened his heart and
home in the Bronx: Imam Omar Niass. In the past two years, Imam Omar
estimates that he has temporarily housed about 300 men. When he ran out
of space in his home, he created a makeshift tent in his backyard so
migrants wouldn't have to sleep in the streets. Today, he has about
70-plus men sharing the tight space and participating in prayer. "I'm
never, ever tired," Imam Omar said. "How can you get tired helping
people?" 

**A DAUGHTER'S PLEA** - Days after NY1 exclusively aired his
6-year-old daughter's plea
<[link removed]>,
Julio Patricio Gomez was released from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) custody, reports Victoria Manna of Spectrum News NY1
<[link removed]>.
Gomez said he came to the U.S. from Ecuador over two decades ago and had
applied for asylum. But after missing a court date in 2010, a judge
issued an order of removal. Fast forward to Oct. 14, Gomez was taken
into custody for being convicted of a misdemeanor assault from two years
ago. Attorney Paige Austin, who is representing Gomez, argues that the
order of removal was issued in absentia, deeming it unlawful. Gomez's
deportation is now paused until his appeal can be heard. With growing
backlogs in immigration courts, Manna notes it could be years until that
day comes. Still, after reuniting with his daughter, Gomez said, "I'm
like, 'No. This can't be real,' and the moment I saw her, it was
just amazing, because this is my life." 

**'IN SOLIDARITY'** - Helping asylum seekers to gain legal entry
into the U.S. is both a moral and biblical imperative, writes Rabbi Ari
Witkin, Director of Leadership Development at the Jewish Federation of
Metro Detroit, in an op-ed for the Detroit Free Press
<[link removed]>.
Drawing from his personal history and recent border trip experience with
other rabbis, he writes: "The Jewish people know firsthand that
immigration policy can be a matter of life or death. Like the thousands
gathered at our southern border today, many of our families arrived in
this country with nothing more than what they could carry on their
backs, fleeing danger in search of refuge in America. Today we stand in
solidarity with those who need the safety we have been afforded." 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara  

 

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