The Forum Daily | Wednesday, May 28, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

THE FORUM DAILYInterviews for student visas are on pause while the Trump administration considers a required social media screening for all applicants, reports Nahal Toosi of Politico [link removed].  

A State Department cable Politico obtained does not specify what the vetting would look for but does reference executive orders around antiterrorism and antisemitism measures, Toosi notes.  

The plan could slow down the student visa process extensively, putting institutions of higher education in a difficult position. "The idea that the embassies have the time, the capacity and taxpayer dollars are being spent this way is very problematic," said Fanta Aw, CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. "International students are not a threat to this country."   

A decline in international students could mean less talent and money not just for colleges and universities but for the country more broadly, report Jennifer Jett and Peter Guo of NBC News [link removed].  

"China will become significantly more attractive than before to students and researchers from the Global South," said Simon Marginson, a professor of higher education at the University of Oxford. "Western Europe will also gain significantly." 

Welcome to Wednesday’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, 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]. 

**REDIRECT** — With a drop in border crossings, the administration is planning to send hundreds of border agents to assist Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) with interior enforcement, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News [link removed]. The effort reflects the "government-wide campaign" to crack down on immigration enforcement, Montoya-Galvez writes. Forum Fellow Theresa Cardinal Brown takes a closer look at this shift in her op-ed in The Hill [link removed].  

**‘PEOPLE ARE TREMBLING’** — The deportation of Cuban immigrants with alleged communist ties is raising mixed feelings within the Cuban American community, reports Joshua Goodman of the Associated Press [link removed]. Historically, the president has had strong support from the 2.4 million Cubans living in the U.S., but some feelings are shifting, Goodman notes. "People are trembling," saif Tony Freitas, a Cuban immigrant who arrived in the 1980 Mariel boatlift. "For any little thing, you could be deported." 

**FARM WORKFORCE** — Farmers continue to share concerns over their workforce as the federal government remains undecided on H-2A policies while increasing immigration enforcement, reports Tareq Saghie of The Guardian [link removed]. Scott Field, a farmer from Minnesota, expresses the need for legal paths for workers: "There is just flat out nobody out here available to work. ... Talk about a revitalization of Rural America if they made it easier for [immigrant workers] to come here and stay with their families." 

**VENEZUELANS’ FUTURE** — The hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are about to lose Temporary Protective Status (TPS) now face uncertainty, reports Nicole Acevedo of NBC News [link removed]. Some are choosing self-deportation, which for many means a dangerous journey back, reports Annie Correal of The New York Times [link removed]. Meanwhile, in his op-ed for The Hill [link removed], Raul A. Reyes warns against the pitfalls of self-deportation.  

For more on how immigration policies affect individual lives: 

* Ukrainian families in Alaska are facing uncertainty as their humanitarian parole nears expiration. (Jenna Kunze, Anchorage Daily News [link removed]) 

* A Venezuelan high school student with a pending asylum case was detained outside a courthouse after a check-in last week, then transported among four states. (Michael Elsen-Rooney, Chalkbeat [link removed]) 

* In Georgia, a community has come together to support an immigrant mother of four who was detained by ICE. (Billal Rahman, Newsweek [link removed]) 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

P.S. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law a bipartisan measure to stem illegally providing immigration legal services, earning praise from advocates, reports Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix [link removed].

[link removed]

[link removed]    [link removed]    [link removed]    [link removed]

[link removed]

Unsubscribe from this email list [link removed] or opt out from all Forum emails [link removed]

National Immigration Forum<br>10 G St NE<br>Suite 500<br>Washington, D.C. 20002<br>United States
www.immigrationforum.org [link removed]