Migrants using the newly launched CBPOne mobile app are hitting several technological snags, reports Elliot Spagat of the Associated Press. 

"Many can’t log in; others are able to enter their information and select a date, only to have the screen freeze at final confirmation. Some get a message saying they must be near a U.S. crossing, despite being in Mexico’s largest border city," Spagat writes. 

Applications are also only available in English and Spanish. With many Haitians using the app, Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said authorities failed to take "the most basic fact into account: the national language of Haiti is Haitian Creole."   

CBP said it plans to roll out the application in Creole in February, but has not announced implementing other languages yet, notes Spagat.  

Some other technological issues include challenges with uploading a non-live photo and keeping the locator function on, notes CBP. Without these required items, the CBPOne app won’t work.  

"If these appointments start dragging out to two or three or four months, it’s going to be much harder to keep it going," said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney and former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D). "If people aren’t getting through, they won’t use the program." 

Over in New York, Nicholas Fandos of The New York Times explains the recent history of the state’s handling of its increase in migrants, starting from last summer. And The National Immigration Forum just published a breakdown of recent southern border-related news for additional context.  

Welcome to Monday’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]. 

WORKFORCE PLANS — On Friday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a strategic plan aimed at strengthening the country’s immigrant workforce. But experts question whether these plans will offer long-term solutions to solve the health sector’s workforce shortage, per Kathleen Steele Gaivin of McKnights Senior Living.  

AG REFORM TALKS — Minnesota’s new state Senate agriculture chair, Aric Putnam, recently invited "farmers of all stripes — row-croppers, immigrant small shareholders, organic growers" to discuss agricultural legislation and reforms, including those related to immigration, reports Christopher Vondracek of the Star Tribune. The discussion included the need to legalize driver’s licenses for immigrants, "who fill vital jobs on farms." 

TEXAS BORDER COSTS — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) border enforcement measures, including the most costly and controversial Operation Lone Star (OLS) effort, have cost the state’s taxpayers $4.4 billion in the first two years, report Jasper Scherer and Neena Satija of the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. And Texas Republicans are pushing to spend even more for another two years, Jasper Scherer reports in a follow-up story. 

AGAINST THIS BILL — American Evangelicals should be deeply concerned by the newly-introduced H.R. 29 bill, writes our friend, Myal Greene, the president and CEO of World Relief, in an op-ed for The Hill. "This issue is personal to many evangelicals, and we do not want our elected officials to sacrifice the persecuted church on the altar of border security … and that means voting against H.R. 29." 

‘THE NONNAS’ — On a positive note, Staten Island’s Enoteca Maria is a restaurant run by about a dozen international women, mainly grandmothers, "most of whom are matriarchs," reports Sydney Page of The Washington Post. Known as "the nonnas" or Grandmas in Italian, the cooks come from all over the world, including Peru, India, Trinidad and several other countries. "These ladies, they’re the source" of an authentic, warming meal, said restaurant owner Joe Scaravella.  

Thanks for reading, 

Clara