In his second State of the Union address, President Biden touched briefly on border resources and a path toward citizenship for Dreamers, people with temporary status, farmworkers and essential workers, Rafael Bernal reports for The Hill. 

Biden also touted job growth in his speech — and could have made immigration part of that conversation too. "Job growth and immigration reforms are directly related," our President and CEO, Jennie Murray, said, per Sandra Sanchez of Border Report. "The president and Congress should seize the opportunity to address both. More legal channels for immigrants will help counter inflation, address labor shortages and fill essential roles, from farmworkers to tech workers." (Read our full statement here.)  

As Jennie notes, "The question is what happens next. … The president should help bring Republicans and Democrats together for these crucial conversations." 

Today, we’ll be hosting a Facebook Live at 1:30 p.m. EST with Jennie and our policy expert Larry Benenson to talk more about the State of the Union address and why Congress needs to make passing immigration reforms a priority this year.  

Welcome to Wednesday’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 Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

THE END OF TITLE 42 — A brief from the Department of Justice yesterday confirms that Title 42 will end with the lifting of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, Myah Ward reports in POLITICO. (Ward had earlier reported on the uncertainty around the policy’s end.) Meanwhile, Border Patrol agents called on Congress for more resources at the border, per Benjamin Wermund of the Houston Chronicle.  

PREMIUM PAY — U.S. employers are hiring migrant workers "more quickly, at higher pay and under better working conditions" than before to retain talent amid an extremely tight labor market in some sectors, report Santiago Pérez and Michelle Hackman of The Wall Street Journal. 

GREEN CARD EXPENSES — With U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services planning to increase immigration fees, low-income immigrants, including some green card applicants, could feel the brunt of it, reports Juliana Kim of NPR News. While fee waivers can help, not all applicants are eligible, and some say the process can be long and challenging.  

REFUGEE WELCOME — A new States Newsroom analysis finds that community members in several metro areas have stepped up to sponsor thousands of Ukrainians in need of refuge, albeit temporarily, via the Welcome Corps program, reports Ashley Murray of the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Meanwhile, in partnership with others, the Diocese of Sioux City launched a new free immigration services program this week called "Welcome," per Jared McNett of the Sioux City Journal.

Thanks for reading, 

Dan