"Managing migration in a humane way should be the first priority of U.S. policy, rather than trying to prevent it and punishing people seeking refuge," said Michael Breen, president and CEO of Human Rights First. (In the San Antonio Express-News, Cameron Vickrey of Fellowship Southwest sounds a similar tone from the Christian perspective.) 

Advocates are hopeful about the bipartisan support a solution for Dreamers and farmworkers recently garnered, Resendiz notes. 

Separately, Tara Watson of the Brookings Institute suggests how the president should address immigration in the speech, including an opportunity: "He can put the ball back in Congress' court, where it ultimately belongs." 

Last year, Biden noted the need for better solutions for Dreamers and farmworkers, among others, as Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post notes. Although there was some movement, including passage in the House, the Senate did not get to a vote. But efforts to find a political center in this new Congress, including on immigration, aren’t dead, Burgess Everett reports in Politico. 

Welcome to Monday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Dynahlee Padilla-Vasquez, Clara Villatoro and Thea Holcomb. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

LONG-TERM CARE — "Immigration policy is long-term care policy," David Grabowski of Harvard Medical School tells Michelle Andrews of Kaiser Health News. Amid a tough labor market, increased legal immigration pathways could help bridge the gaps, experts say, but the federal government must step in. Our home health care paper focuses on one aspect of this need.  

RUSSIANS SEEK REFUGE — The number of Russians who crossed at ports of entry between October and December was more than double the same period a year earlier, Alicia A. Caldwell reports in The Wall Street Journal. Most are likely to seek asylum, given Russian government actions amid the war in Ukraine. In case you missed it last week, Mike Baker of The New York Times has more on the story of two Russians who fled for the United States — by boat. 

WIN-WIN — Refugee admissions remain relatively low and asylum seekers must wait months for work authorization to support themselves. That leaves available jobs open and impairs the economy, the New York Daily News editorial board writes. But Congress could act: "We can do the right thing by those fleeing violence and persecution, and do right by our economy. Win-wins are rare in public policy, and this is one worth taking." 

(GRAND)MOTHER TONGUE — For the Los Angeles Times, Karen Garcia shares stories about second- and third-generation Latino Americans’ push to reclaim Spanish as part of their cultural heritage. This piece hits home for our colleague Dynahlee Padilla-Vasquez, who wrote on this subject a few years ago in The River.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan  

P.S. Read this one twice: Lhakpa Sherpa, who works at Whole Foods in West Hartford, Connecticut, and is originally from Nepal, has climbed Mount Everest 10 times — the most ascents ever by a woman, Bhadra Sharma and Adam Skolnick report in The New York Times.