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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. 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.
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