Yesterday President Biden signed a bill that immediately ends the COVID-19 national emergency, Kelly Garrity reports in Politico. The separate public health emergency — including Title 42 — is still set to expire in May. 

Meanwhile, advocacy groups are concerned about the administration’s plan to restart an expedited screening program for asylum seekers in U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) custody as part of the transition after Title 42, per Sandra Sanchez of Border Report. The administration says migrants will be able to contact legal-services providers, but CBP facilities do not allow lawyers inside.  

Credible fear interviews have been conducted in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities that have special areas for legal consultations, Sanchez notes. "ICE isn’t perfect, but they are designed for this type of detention and for these interviews," said Priscilla Orta, an attorney with Lawyers for Good Government’s Project Corazon. "CBP is different."  

CBP facilities hold migrants for only up to 72 hours. "This interview determines the rest of a migrant’s life," Orta said. "Seventy-two hours is not enough time to prepare. It is not enough time to find an attorney." 

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Clara Villatoro, Joanna Taylor and Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].    

CUBA TALKS — A new round of U.S.-Cuba migration talks is scheduled for Wednesday, Matt Spetalnick and Ted Hesson report for Reuters. The meeting follows a January decision to resume U.S. visa processing and consular services in Havana in response to last year’s record-breaking number of border apprehensions of Cuban migrants. Per an anonymous State Department official, talks will focus on solutions that "[foster] family reunification, and [promote] greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba." 

SOCIAL MEDIA — Some cartels are utilizing social media to recruit fentanyl dealers in Texas without ever setting foot in the U.S., per Alfredo Corchado and Kevin Krause at The Dallas Morning News. "It’s just a reminder that we collectively, as a government, are putting a lot of our attention in the wrong places," said Texas A&M assistant professor Aileen Teague. "This shows the futility of border security and policing in a sense, because [the cartels] can really use all of this tech infrastructure that we as a society rely on." 

MAKESHIFT SHELTER — An abandoned, burned-out building in Juárez, Mexico, has become a makeshift waiting room for migrants hoping to reach the U.S., reports Lauren Villagran of the El Paso Times. Its use underscores strains on the city’s shelter system and the challenges to obtain CBP appointments through the CBP One app, which has had problems including "crashing and equity issues including for those with darker skin, whose photos the app sometimes rejects." 

2 BOATS, 1,200 MIGRANTS — The Italian Coast Guard is escorting two boats carrying 1,200 migrants to safety in the Mediterranean Sea, Barbie Latza Nadeau and Alex Stambaugh report for CNN. "The migrants had been stranded along an immigration route between Italy and Malta that NGOs have warned is perilously dangerous," they report.  

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT — A bill that would allow DACA recipients to become police officers is moving forward in the Illinois legislature with bipartisan support, Jeremy Gorner reports in the Chicago Tribune. "We need a lot of good candidates to come forward to try to help fill the [hiring] gap …. We’re not going to be the party of ‘no.’ We’re going to be the party of good policy," said state Rep. John Cabello (R). 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan