A memo from the Department of Homeland Security is calling for a "major overhaul of medical care for migrants" after the recent death of an 8-year-old girl in Border Patrol custody, reports Nick Miroff for The Washington Post.

DHS acting chief medical officer Herbert O. Wolfe said in the memo that the Texas facility where the 8-year-old Anadith Reyes Alvarez was held "lacked sufficient medical engagement and accountability to ensure safe, effective, humane and well-documented medical care."

The preliminary investigation goes beyond, and, in the memo, Wolfe describes "an ad hoc system with little ability to manage medical records, poor communication among staff and a lack of clear guidelines for seeking help from doctors outside the border agency," notes Miroff.

Separately, Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News reports on the death of a 6-year-old Afghan boy on June 13, who was under the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

According to HHS, the boy would have been diagnosed with terminal illness and medical attention was provided. This case marks the third death of a child in HHS custody this year, Montoya-Galvez writes.

Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s strategic communications manager, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Karime Puga, Ashling Lee, Christian Blair and Marcela Aguirre. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at cvillatoro@immigrationforum.org.

HEAT EFFECTS — The South Texas heat wave has claimed one migrant’s life and is pushing smugglers to adjust their routes, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report. Brooks County Sheriff Urbino "Benny" Martinez said that most migrants die from dehydration and exposure to the harsh elements in the area, and some others are left behind by smugglers. Related to this topic, the Forum’s Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force published a new paper examining the links between cartels and human smuggling across the border.

FAILED PROGRAM — A new study shows that the Boston program "Dedicated Docket" which aimed to make asylum cases faster, for two years has led to the opposite, participants have been more likely to be deported and less likely to prevail in an asylum case, report Mike Damiano and Tal Kopan of the Boston Globe. The study found that most people assigned to the program lacked legal representation and fared significantly worse than those who did, Damiano and Kopan note.

SKILLED WORKERS — Germany is revising immigration laws to attract skilled workers and fill 2 million job vacancies, report Lisa Hänel and Andrea Grunau of DW. The proposed changes include lower income requirements for the EU Blue Card and a point system for job seekers, among others. However, concerns are being raised about visa processing capacity and Germany’s digital infrastructure.

LONG WAIT — More than 3,200 Afghans remain in Albania waiting for their resettlement in the U.S., reports Llazar Semini of the Associated Press. Albania first agreed to house Afghans for one year, but their stay has been extended because of visa process delays.

Local welcome:

Having received 900 Afghans in a short span in 2021-2022, Iowa is expanding refugee services in anticipation of additional refugee arrivals. (Linh Ta, Axios Des Moines)
Afghan children whose education was disrupted by war are learning again in San Antonio schools. (Camille Phillips, Texas Public Radio)
Mohammad Mir Shahnoory, who was separated from his family during the Afghan airlift, was joyfully reunited with them in Brick, New Jersey, just in time for his high school graduation. Now he’s heading to Harvard! (Karen Wall, Patch)

Thanks for reading,

Clara