Wednesday, January 18
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THE FORUM DAILY

The U.S. needs to increase immigration and apprenticeships to address
the significant worker shortfall now and in the future. 

It's a message Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has alluded to clearly
<[link removed]>.
Labor Secretary Martin Walsh underscored it today at the World Economic
Forum in Switzerland, reports Joshua Kirby of The Wall Street Journal
<[link removed]>. 

"We need immigration reform in America," Walsh said during a panel about
the future of jobs. "... The threat to the American economy long-term is
not inflation, it's [about] immigration. It's not having enough
workers." 

Walsh noted that while many foreign students come to the U.S. to get
educated, they face the possibility of deportation if they can't get a
work visa in time afterward.  

In Bloomberg Law
<[link removed]>,
Laura Foote Reiff, shareholder and co-founder of Greenberg Traurig's
business and immigration and compliance group, goes into detail about
the need to update employment-based visas and reform quotas. [Reiff is
also board president of America Is Better, the Forum's sibling
(c)4.] 

Without needed changes, "employers will continue to struggle to fill
jobs in many industries, such as nursing, and other highly skilled
positions. ... Such reforms would help bolster the U.S. economy and
national security, and would bring our immigration system into the 21st
century." 

Meanwhile, immigrant workers holding H-1B visas for specialized skills
are feeling the brunt of big tech's layoffs as they urgently try to
find a new sponsor or start over elsewhere, Anna Kramer reports for
WIRED
<[link removed]>. 

The U.S. must do better to pass labor reforms. Combined, these efforts
would address worker shortages; provide a reliable, legal workforce for
employers; and uplift immigrant talent to maintain the country's
global competitiveness.  

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of The Forum Daily. I'm Dan
Gordon, the Forum's strategic communications VP, and I have extra
big thanks for Dynahlee Padilla-Vasquez, Clara Villatoro and Katie Lutz
for running with The Forum Daily while I've been out with a sick
toddler. If you have a story to share from your own community, please
send it to me at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>. 

**FEAR OF DISCRIMINATION** - Ohio driver's licenses and state ID
cards will show holders' citizenship status as a result of a new law,
raising concerns about discrimination, reports Peter Gill of The
Columbus Dispatch
<[link removed]>.
The new law
<[link removed]>,
set to take effect on April 7, will require voters to present photo ID
at polling places. Advocacy groups have noted that the new law might
increase chances for everyday discrimination against noncitizens, who
use their IDs often - on visits to a doctor's office, applying for a
loan or insurance, or interacting with the police, for example. With the
law's implementation, "I'll feel bad, ashamed, to show people my ID
and people might look down upon me if they know I'm not a citizen,"
Chhabi Bhujel, a Nepali immigrant, said. 

**THE DARIEN GAP** - Almost a quarter of a million migrants crossed
the dangerous Darien Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama in 2022 on
their journey north, nearly double the 2021 total, the Associated Press
<[link removed]>
reports. At least 36 migrants died during the journey, according to
International Organization for Migration (IOM), noting that the true
number is likely higher given that some migrants are never found. "The
stories we have heard from those who have crossed the Darien Gap attest
to the horrors of this journey," said Giuseppe Loprete, IOM chief of
mission in Panama. "Many have lost their lives or gone missing, while
others come out of it with significant health issues, both physical and
mental, to which we and our partners are responding." 

**SEA JOURNEYS** - Growing numbers of Cuban and Haitian migrants
arriving by sea continue to be turned back, reports Richard Luscombe of
The Guardian
<[link removed]>.
The U.S. Coast Guard turned back 177 Cuban migrants last Thursday, while
Customs and Border Protection agents took into custody a group of
Haitians who swam ashore to Miami. The Coast Guard has intercepted and
returned more than 4,900 Cubans at sea since Oct. 1. Locally, however,
many have been supporting arriving migrants. "Hermanos de la Calle"
(Brothers of the Street), a nonprofit organization that normally assists
homeless people, has been placing migrant families in shelters or
hotels, reports Ivan Taylor of CBS Miami
<[link removed]>.
Migrants must show proof that a sponsor is waiting for them in the
state, since Hermanos offers only short-term support. 

**U.S. CAPACITY TO WELCOME** - A wealthy nation like the U.S. has the
capacity to embrace and welcome asylum-seeking migrants with dignity,
primary-care physicians James Huang and Kate Sugarman write in a letter
to the editor of The Washington Post
<[link removed]>.
To help address increased border crossings, the country must "see the
people crossing the border as human beings with the potential to live
full lives," they write, in response to the Biden administration's
latest immigration policy. Council on National Security and Immigration
leader Elaine Dezenski also recently weighed in
<[link removed]>
on Biden's proposal, noting some positives - but also the need to do
more. "The recent attention by President Biden on the southern border is
welcome, but the Administration and Congress need to work together to
pass needed reforms to fix a dysfunctional immigration system," she
writes. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan

 

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