In other news, President Biden addressed the economy in his State of the Union speech, but as Lawrence Downes writes in an op-ed for CNN, it could have been an opportunity to say more about our workforce. 

More specifically, "how making the American workplace better for everyone means making it better and safer for immigrants, including the 11 million undocumented," Downes writes. "... Starting now, he can focus on the ways his administration is going to honor immigrants’ contributions to the state of this union. He can protect, support and unleash them to do great things, changing the country for the better."

Related to our labor needs, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) sent a letter to Biden yesterday recommending solutions for the administration’s recently expanded humanitarian parole program, per Padilla’s pressroom. Among the recommendations are granting migrants who meet workforce needs work authorization within 90 days. 

If you missed our Facebook Live recapping the State of the Union address yesterday, tune in here. If you’re encouraged by what you’re hearing, please call on President Biden and Congress to prioritize immigration reforms, pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, build better border solutions, and pass a permanent solution for Dreamers. 

Welcome to Thursday’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]. 

U.S. AND MEXICO — The Biden administration is weighing a border agreement with Mexico that "could allow U.S. authorities to carry out large-scale deportations of non-Mexicans back across the border," including Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, reports a team at The Washington Post. "Their plan would permit hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the United States lawfully, while threatening severe consequences for those who don’t follow the rules," they write. 

EL PASO WALMART CASE — On Wednesday, Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty to 90 federal charges related to the racially motivated mass shooting at the Cielo Vista-area Walmart in El Paso, on Aug. 3, 2019, reports Aaron A. Bedoya of El Paso Times. For more on how great replacement theory is connected to the immigration debate, see our helpful resource here. 

STATE BILLS — Indiana lawmakers advanced a proposed bill on Tuesday that would allow eligible immigrants to earn driver privilege cards, per Tom Davies of the Associated Press. Over northwest, Oregon’s Senate Bill 610 is pushing to extend food assistance to undocumented immigrants, reports Oregon Capital Chronicle’s Lynne Terry. And our friend, Kathy Tran, Delegate for the 42nd House District in Virginia, recently tweeted that her Refugee Nursing Licensure bill got a unanimous vote. Progress.  

CBP ONE BIAS — The CBP One app’s required facial recognition is reportedly failing to register photos uploaded by migrants with darker skin tones, including Haitians and Africans, reports Melissa del Bosque in The Guardian. It is "effectively barring them from their right to request entry into the U.S," writes del Bosque.  

‘DARE TO DREAM’— Migrant women in our shelter are "strong, determined and resilient, and they dare to dream of a life beyond survival," writes Judith Cabrera, co-director of the Border Line Crisis Center in Tijuana, Mexico, in a powerful op-ed for The San Diego Union-Tribune. "If we are able to come together to overcome difficulties, it is because our hearts are open to recognizing valuable contributions in others." 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara