Friday, January 27
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THE FORUM DAILY

Democratic lawmakers are urging President Biden to protect the rights of
asylum seekers and refugees. In a letter sent to the White House on
Wednesday, a group of 77 Democratic lawmakers criticized the
administration's recent policies "restricting asylum access for
migrants crossing the southern border," report Julia Ainsley and Frank
Thorp V of NBC News
<[link removed]>.
 

"We recognize that the United States is experiencing a difficult
migration challenge at the southern border. But as elected officials, we
are duty-bound to propose legal solutions, one that protects
asylum-seekers while also securing the safe removal of migrants who have
no legal claim to stay in the United States," said New Jersey Sens. Bob
Menendez, one of the co-signers at a press conference Thursday. 

"Instead of issuing a new asylum transit ban and expanding Title 42, we
encourage your administration to stand by your commitment to restore and
protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees," the lawmakers wrote
in the letter. 

Separately in Utah, the Venezuelan community has denounced its attorney
general's decision to join 19 other GOP states suing the Biden
administration for its recently expanded humanitarian parole program,
reports Sydnee Gonzalez of KSL.com
<[link removed]>. 

The criticism comes as the U.S. could begin implementing another
Trump-era border policy to fast-track, rapid asylum screenings at the
U.S.-Mexico border. The measure aims "to determine whether arriving
migrants at the border have a legitimate fear of persecution or torture
in their home countries," five sources told Ted Hesson and Kristina
Cooke of Reuters
<[link removed]>. It
is unclear when this will begin.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and
other senators from both sides of the political spectrum talked about
reviving bipartisan immigration efforts soon, per Suzanne Monyak of Roll
Call
<[link removed]>.  

Let's hope bipartisan efforts can lead to real, long-lasting border
and immigration solutions. 

And for Reason Magazine
<[link removed]>,
Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy, makes
the case that providing more legal, accessible pathways for migrants to
work or seek protection in the U.S. "is the only viable way to reduce
illegal immigration." It's worth reading. 

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. If you have a story to share from your own community, please
send it to me at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>. 

**WASI'S CASE** - Criminal charges have been dropped for
asylum-seeker Abdul Wasi Safi, known as Wasi, who served alongside U.S.
special operations forces in Afghanistan, reports Haley Britzky of CNN
<[link removed]>.
Unfamiliar with the asylum process, Wasi was apprehended after crossing
the southern border. Wasi's immigration attorney Jennifer Cervantes
explained: "He didn't understand that he needed to go to a port of
entry to ask for asylum, otherwise this case would have been very
different. ... He thought that he needed to apply as soon as he found a
CBP (Customs and Border Protection) official to give him his documents,
and that's exactly what he did."  

Meanwhile on local welcome: 

* To mark its one-year anniversary of operations, the Wausau
Multicultural Community Center, a new central Wisconsin refugee
resettlement agency, celebrated with individuals and families who have
since resettled in the area, including Afghans. Agency leaders then
outlined plans to place about 150 additional refugees in the region this
year. (Rob Mentzer, Wisconsin Public Radio
<[link removed]>) 

* Thanks to Sajida Saafi, an Afghan teacher at the nonprofit Community
Refugee and Immigration Services in Columbus, Ohio, a group of women are
learning English with confidence and getting acclimated in the
U.S. (Peter Gill, The Columbus Dispatch
<[link removed]>)  

**DETENTION** - On Tuesday, New Mexico legislators proposed a bill
that would ban local governments and state agencies from beginning new
contracts with ICE and private immigrant detention facilities, per
Morgan Lee of the Associated Press
<[link removed]>.
If passed, the bill could undo contractual agreements that permit
groups to detain immigrants at the Otero County Processing Center in
Chaparral in southern New Mexico "and spur closer oversight at others,"
notes Lee.  

**UNEMPLOYMENT FUND** - Colorado is the first state to create an
unemployment assistance fund for undocumented immigrant workers, reports
Talib Visram of FastCompany
<[link removed]>.
After Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed the bill into law, the state used
AidKit <[link removed]> to help run the program to reduce costs
and streamline efforts. The state "hopes the model can be a template for
the rest of the country to help support marginalized workers," writes
Visram.
"[Undocumented immigrant workers] are a critical part of our economy,
and we can legally discriminate against them," said Mark Newhouse,
cofounder of AidKit. 

**DREAMER SCHOLARSHIPS** - The nonprofit TheDream.US
<[link removed]>
is calling for more applicants from Ohio for its Opportunity Scholarship
program through Tuesday, reports Peter Gill of The Columbus Dispatch
<[link removed]>.
The scholarship provides up to $80,000 over four years to cover tuition,
fees and on-campus housing and meals for a bachelor's degree at five
of its partner universities. "During a time of uncertainty for many
Dreamers, we will remain steadfast in our support of undocumented youth
and their futures," said Gaby Pacheco, the organization's director of
advocacy, communications, and development, as she encouraged all
eligible immigrant youth to apply by deadline. 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara 

**P.S.** Psst! Don't miss our interactive journey to the border now in
Spanish and English
<[link removed]>.

 

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