Blas Nuñez-Neto, DHS’s assistant secretary for border and immigration policy, said the number of arrivals at the border justifies the restrictions on asylum after Title 42, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News.

"[The regulation is an] effort to try to address some of the issues we see in the asylum system, especially in light of just the sheer number of people we are encountering right now," Nuñez-Neto said.

Encounters at the border have decreased recently, but Nuñez-Neto recognizes that migration hasn’t stopped: "We know that there are tens of thousands [of] migrants in Mexico and more between Mexico and the Darién."

The new measures have pushed migrants to strategize differently about their journey, or at least the final part of it, as Arelis R. Hernández and Danielle Villasana of The Washington Post illuminate. And Montoya-Galvez separately reports that the U.S. plans to offer asylum seekers nearly 40,000 appointments per month through the CBP One app — twice the current capacity.

Business leaders and others gathered in Socorro, Texas, near El Paso yesterday to call for broader, bipartisan border and immigration solutions, as Julian Resendiz of Border Report covers. "It’s imperative that we talk about our border as being a model for economic development, for being a model of how we treat migrants," said Borderplex Alliance CEO Jon Barela.

Welcome to Friday’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, Katie Lutz, Keylla Ortega, and Ashling Lee. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].

'UNACCEPTABLE TRAGEDY' — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported Thursday that medical staff denied three or four ambulance requests for the 8-year-old girl with a chronic heart condition who then died in custody, reports Valerie Gonzalez of the Associated Press. "(This death) was a deeply upsetting and unacceptable tragedy," said Troy Miller, CBP’s acting commissioner.

DAY WITHOUT IMMIGRANTS — Thousands of businesses across Florida closed Thursday in protest of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) new immigration law, reports Cody Butler of WCTV in Tallahassee. Farther south, businesses closed and agricultural workers went on strike in Homestead, Omar Rodríguez Ortiz reports in the Miami Herald. He notes that Immokalee, Fort Myers, Jacksonville and Orlando were among the other cities where protests took place.

SPECIAL OPS — Members of an all-female Afghan platoon that helped U.S. Special Operations troops are still waiting for long-term certainty in the U.S., reports Ava Sasani of The New York Times. "Every day hurts, because I know that my family is not safe in Afghanistan," said Nazdana Hassani.

This week in local welcome:

In Houston, interfaith Ministries and other nonprofits are helping Afghan refugees as they wait for decisions on their immigration status. (Andrew Schneider, Houston Public Media)
Fundraisers efforts in Port Orchard, Washington, are supporting 170 home schools to help girls continue their education through Kabul-based aid group PARSA. (Hal Bernton, Crosscut)
In Virginia, a Marine veteran is hosting an auto show to raise support for refugees, especially Afghan allies still waiting to be evacuated. (Allison Brophy Champion, The Daily Progress)

DACA’S FUTURE — U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen did not issue a decision on the spot during a court hearing Thursday on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), reports Juan A. Lozano of the Associated Press.

REGIONAL PROCESSING — The White House and the Guatemalan government yesterday announced a six-month pilot of migrant processing centers dubbed "Secure Mobility Offices," Al Jazeera reports. It’s unclear where the offices will operate in Guatemala, but appointments will be open starting June 12.

Thanks for reading,

Dan