Our hearts go out to the families of the two Americans who were killed in Mexico after being kidnapped, as well as to the two who survived. 

In other news, many immigration and faith groups are alarmed about the Biden administration’s openness to reviving migrant family detention, reports Jeff Brumley of Baptist News Global. 

"Family detention has long been established as exacting a tremendous mental and emotional toll on children and parents alike," said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. "The very concept of family detention is antithetical to core American values and robs vulnerable people of their God-given dignity." 

Brumley also notes faith leaders’ concerns about the asylum rule the administration recently proposed. The rule "perpetuates the misguided notion that heavy-handed enforcement measures are somehow a solution to the realities at the border," Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso (and a Forum board member) said during a webinar last week. "Decades of similar approaches have demonstrated otherwise."  

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]. 

IN HONOR OF WOMEN — We’re celebrating International Women’s Day today, in part by acknowledging a call to our consciences. Afghan women are lamenting the return to oppression under the Taliban as much of the world looks away, Sami Yousafzai reports in CBS News. Meanwhile, Gillian Brockell of The Washington Post writes about the woman behind this global day: Theresa Serber Malkiel was a Russian-born Jewish woman whose family immigrated to New York City. Also, in the Post, five comic artists, including a Ukrainian and Afghan, draw what a community of women means to them.  

FILLING CRITICAL ROLES — A coalition of immigration, business and clean-energy groups, as well as some lawmakers, support passing immigration reforms to help fill much-needed labor gaps, a team at POLITICO reports. "There’s no question that addressing our broken immigration system in America would address many workforce shortages," said Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico). "There’s employment needed right now. Jobs are available." 

OFFSHORING TALENT — From a different angle: In a recent survey of workplace immigration trends, 93% of companies that responded said they expect to relocate employees to other countries, with immigration and visa challenges a major factor, reports Andrew Kreighbaum of Bloomberg Law. "There’s a continued frustration with the finite viability and challenge of securing a visa," said Envoy Global President and CEO Dick Burke.  

IN PURSUIT OF DREAMS — A growing number of people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are thinking about leaving the U.S. amid continuing legal challenges to the policy, a team at ABC News reports. "I still consider myself a dreamer in the sense that I’m a DACA recipient, but I'm done dreaming. I want a real life," said Miguel, whose family emigrated from Colombia and who plans to move to Canada this summer to pursue his dreams and find stability. 

TO BE LICENSED (AND INSURED) — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has signed into law the bill that will allow an estimated 80,000 unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, reports Zoë Jackson of the Star Tribune. Minnesota joins 18 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico in allowing residents to access driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, Jackson notes.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan