The Forum Daily | Friday, May 2, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**First and foremost, a big thank-you to our fantastic intern Soledad as she wraps up. Thank you, Sole, for all your help! 

To the news, including lots on the immigration-enforcement front again today .... 

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot use the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to detain or deport Venezuelan immigrants, reports Melissa Quinn of CBS News [link removed]. 

In his ruling, the Trump-appointed judge wrote, "The historical record renders clear that the president's invocation of the AEA through the proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute's terms."  

Separately, the rise in transfers of migrants to faraway facilities increases costs for taxpayers and makes it harder for detainees to win their cases, reports a team at Bloomberg Politics [link removed]. The graphics help tell the story. 

Meanwhile, reports of individuals being denied due process, mistreated and neglected are increasing as they are swiftly transferred from one facility to another without prior warning, reports Sam Levin of The Guardian [link removed].  

"It’s really terrifying when people can’t reach their loved one, especially right now as people are sent off to prisons in foreign countries or disappeared completely," said Annie Gonzalez, a volunteer with the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network.  

Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Broc Murphy, Clara Villatoro and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. 

**MOTHER AND CHILD** — The Venezuelan foreign ministry released a statement accusing the United States of "kidnapping" a 2-year-old girl after immigration officers separated her from her mother as they were boarding a deportation flight, reports Michael Rios of CNN [link removed]. "[The U.S.] once again committed the extremely serious offense of separating families and removing a minor from her emotional environment and, in particular, from her biological mother," the statement said. The toddler is currently in U.S. custody with the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 

**OUR ALLIES** — Veterans are rallying to help those who helped them in Afghanistan, reports Beth Bailey of Fox News [link removed]. Operation Enduring Welcome is "the safest, most secure legal immigration pathway our country has ever seen," said Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, founder and president of #AfghanEvac. Meanwhile, Dan De Luce and Rich Schapiro of NBC News [link removed] share the harrowing journey — and uncertainty — of Mohammad, who worked with a U.S. military contractor and was tortured by the Taliban before fleeing here.  

For more on resettled Afghans: 

* Khaibar Shafaq resettled in Owensboro, Kentucky, and found inspiration in the late Pope Francis as he helps new arrivals to the U.S. (Jason Allen, CBS News [link removed]) 

* Georgians who have helped welcome Afghans are speaking out against deporting our allies — with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) specifically highlighting Afghan Christians. (Courtney Francisco, WSB-TV [link removed]) 

* Afghans anxious to welcome family members still stuck overseas are in limbo. (Sahara Sajjadi, Phoenix News Times [link removed]) 

**UNSETTLED** — Tanvi Misra of The Guardian [link removed] lets us hear from Javier Salazar, 19, one of the Venezuelan migrants in Texas who was on his way to a deportation flight to El Salvador when the Supreme Court blocked the removals. Salazar is still in U.S. custody, praying for his release. "I thank God that we weren’t sent to El Salvador, but I am still sad knowing that I am in this detention facility when I do not [even] have any tattoos [and have committed] no crimes," Salazar said.  

**MAY DAY** — Immigrant workers were highlighted in demonstrations across the country yesterday marking May Day or International Workers’ Day, reports Teo Armus of The Washington Post [link removed]. Outside the White House, speakers highlighted workers including the six construction workers who died in last year's bridge collapse in Baltimore. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

**P.S.** Global Greens, which supports immigrant farmers in Iowa, has new growing space as it works to fill funding gaps, reports Rachel Cramer of Iowa Public Radio [link removed]. 

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