Experts hired by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties found "barbaric" and "negligent" conditions in more than two dozen ICE detention facilities across the nation from 2017 to 2019, Tom Dreisbach of NPR reports.

Inspectors found a range of misconduct and "what they described as racist harassment of immigrants and retaliation against detainees who filed complaints," Dreisbach reports. The government reports also cited inadequate staffing of ICE medical clinics and a lack of adequate medical health care as consistent, and sometimes deadly, problems.

"Migrants have human dignity, and ICE detention centers must prioritize humane treatment," Forum President and CEO Jennie Murray said in our statement. "The Biden administration must ensure that the conditions described in these reports do not persist today." Read more of our suggestions at the link.

Special thanks today to Karime Puga, who has helped us with the Daily this summer. We’re pausing the Daily on Fridays this month, so we’ll be back Monday. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the rest of the great Forum Daily team includes Clara Villatoro, Ashling Lee and Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].

HARSH CONDITIONS — The idea for buoys in the Rio Grande dates to the Trump administration, an alumnus of which is now the Texas "border czar," Julia Ainsley reports for NBC News. Meanwhile, in the remote Border Patrol facility in Ajo, Arizona, some migrants have been held in a chain-link enclosure amid triple-digit temperatures, reports Melissa Del Bosque of The Border Chronicle. The situation was first reported by The Intercept on July 21. This past weekend, humanitarian volunteers and activists held a 24-hour stakeout followed by a protest in front of the Border Patrol facility, Del Bosque writes.

LIMITING OUR POTENTIAL — Business leaders are highlighting labor shortages as a barrier to the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, reports Alisa Reznick of KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk. Fewer young Americans are pursuing careers in construction and manufacturing as immigrants with the necessary skills face immigration status challenges and visa backlogs. Business owners are urging the Biden administration to expand workforce authorization for immigrants.

MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS — Researchers publishing in medical journal Pediatrics this week found that Latino children living in states with more anti-immigrant laws and policies have higher odds of chronic physical or mental health conditions, writes Edwin Flores of NBC News. The study emphasizes "the importance of addressing the health impacts of state laws as well as the effects of public attitudes that perpetuate racist and/or anti-immigrant sentiments."

HURDLES — Jeff Brumley of Baptist News Global picks up on our new polling showing strong support for legislation along the lines of the Afghan Adjustment Act. The need is clear as the impermanence of resettled Afghans’ status contributes to their resettlement challenges. Mehr Sher of Carolina Public Press and Carla Hinton of The Oklahoman report on those challenges in their respective states. And don’t miss Navy veteran #AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver’s appeal to the president and Congress in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Locally this week:

Hello Neighbor’s Founder and CEO Sloane Davidson writes about how communities can build on our welcome of Afghans — including by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act. (George W. Bush Presidential Center)
Speaking of neighbors, read how Utahns are helping former-refugee schoolchildren belong (Holly Richardson, writing in the Deseret News). And KSL has the first of a series on "the experiences of Afghan refugees in Utah and the people who try to help them" (Andrea Smardon, KSL.com).

Thanks for reading,

Dan