The Forum Daily | Friday, September 22, 2023
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THE FORUM DAILY

Since Wednesday at least two deaths have occurred at the U.S.-Mexico
border, including that of a 3-year-old boy who drowned

while crossing the Rio Grande with his family. As our President and CEO
Jennie Murray noted
 last
night, we can and must do better. And on a personal note, as a mom-to-be
expecting her own little one in just a few short weeks, I can't even
imagine the pain of losing your child. I haven't even had the honor of
meeting this one yet, and they are already an immeasurable part of my
life. America can and must create border policies that balance the
dignity of human life with safety and security.

To help address the increase, around 800 military personnel are being
sent to the U.S-Mexico border as unprecedented numbers of migrant
crossings continue, reports Pricilla Alvarez, Ed Lavandera, and Ashley
Killough for CNN
.
With local and federal resources strained, the military personnel will
"fill critical capability gaps, such as ground-based detection and
monitoring, data entry, information analysis, transportation, and supply
chain support, until DHS can address these needs through contracted
support," according to a statement given by a spokesperson for the
Department of Defense (DOD).

The increase in arrivals comes after a temporary decline in border
crossings due to the Biden administration's border policies, reports
Lauren Villagran of the El Paso Times
.
The policies, which aimed to provide legal pathways and consequences for
irregular crossings, were initially effective but have become
insufficient as demand for appointments exceeded capacity, resulting in
a backlog of asylum seekers.

 "It is deeply frustrating that not only does our country need
immigrants," said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, "[B]ut
Congress's refusal to open up those legal pathways is, in many ways,
what's driving people to the border."

Welcome to Friday's edition of The Forum Daily. I'm Becka Wall, the
Forum's digital communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also
includes Jillian Clark, Ashling Lee and Katie Lutz. If you have a story
to share from your own community, please send it to me at
[email protected] .

**BEHIND THE NUMBERS** - With several different scenarios underlining
our strained immigration system playing out across the country, Rebecca
Santana for PBS

looks at what might be causing the high number of migrant crossings. The
United States has faced immigration surges before, but you have to go
back decades to see similar numbers to today. With new forms of
communication and more families seeking protection, our immigration
system is in dire need of a meaningful update.

**PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS** - A report jointly released by Open Doors
U.S. and World Relief shows that the number of persecuted Christians
resettled in the U.S. from countries where they face persecution remains
low, writes Ryan Foley of The Christian Post
.
The report indicates that U.S. refugee admissions for Christian refugees
from the 50 countries with severe persecution remained near historic
lows, citing a 70% decrease compared to 2016. "Recent shifts in U.S.
policy reveal that America is no longer the safe haven for displaced
persons that it once was," per the report.
[link removed]

**SAFE MOBILITY** - The Biden administration is focusing on
establishing migration centers in Central and South America in an effort
to keep migrants from making the harrowing journey to the U.S- Mexico
border, reports Genevieve Glatsky and Zolan Kanno-Youngs for The New
York Times
.
So far, the program - called the safe mobility initiative - has run
into a few problems, such as online portals being shut down due to
overwhelming traffic. Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National
Security Council, said it would "take time to build up the program to
the scale we want to."

**AFGHAN EXPANSION** - Protections from deportation for some Afghan
nationals have been expanded and extended, reports Rebecca Beitsch for
The Hill.

 The decision renews Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months for
around 3,100 Afghans who were already in the United States prior to the
fall of Kabul and extends TPS to an additional 14,600 individuals who
arrived more recently. While the program offers some measure of
reassurance, Congress has yet to give Afghan nationals a permanent
solution by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act
.

Thanks for reading,

Becka

 

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