The Forum Daily | Friday, December 01, 2023
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THE FORUM DAILY

**Note: The top section of today's edition includes reports of sexual
violence, in the sixth paragraph. **

A trio of stories highlight the urgent need for more humane and orderly
paths for seeking refuge in the U.S. 

In fiscal year 2017, six migrants died in the Border Patrol's El Paso
Sector. In 2023, the number was 149 - and the tracking of such deaths
is inconsistent, Lauren Villagran reports

in the first of an El Paso Times series
.
The story, including photos by Omar Ornelas, is a difficult but
important read. 

"Where is the humanity?" asked Ruben Garcia, executive director of
Annunciation House in El Paso. "Where are the ethics? The morality? The
justice in all of these human beings who are dying in the desert?" 

Separately, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) whistleblower
says a medical contractor at the border had multiple problems ahead of
an 8-year-old's death while in U.S. custody, reports Nick Miroff of The
Washington Post
.  

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Project, which represents
whistleblowers, sent a letter to Congress laying out Troy
Hendrickson's allegations, which include significant staff shortages,
a lack of proper employee clearances and licenses, "billing errors
resulting in overpayments of millions of dollars," and other issues.  

And migrants who haven't yet reached the U.S. are at risk of sexual
violence, Ryan Foley of The Christian Post

reports. Doctors Without Borders says it has treated about 400 survivors
of sexual assault this year, attacked as they crossed the Darién Gap
into Panama. The number includes 107 just in October. The group says far
more assaults are going unreported. 

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 Jillian Clark, Clara Villatoro, Isabella Miller and Darika
Verdugo. If you have a story to share from your own community, please
send it to me at [email protected]
. 

**NEGOTIATIONS** - The Biden administration is urging a bipartisan
team of senators to reach a deal on border and asylum changes in
exchange for support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a team at Politico

reports. Scott Boylan, a DHS veteran and Council on National Security
and Immigration leader, said in a statement

that Congress should seize the opportunity to modernize border security
and improve asylum processes -as well as protect Dreamers and our
Afghan allies. 

**HOTLINE** - The State Department has established a hotline for
Afghan refugees facing potential deportation from Pakistan while
awaiting approval to come to the U.S., Akmal Dawi reports in VOA News
.
About 25,000 Afghans now in Pakistan have pending applications for U.S.
resettlement. 

This past week in local welcome:  

* Individuals and nonprofits are coming together in the Fort Worth,
Texas, area to help resettled Afghans feel welcome in their new homes.
(Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
) 

* Army National Guard veteran Chris Purdy calls for continuing
assistance for our Afghan allies, including the passage of Afghan
adjustment legislation, as we approach the 75th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (Chris Purdy, Austin
American-Stateman
) 

* Azizgul Ahmadi, a resettled Afghan and former Female Tactical Platoon
member, uses her experiences to uplift other Afghans now living in
Virginia. (Heather Rousseau, The Roanoke Times
) 

**TEXAS BILL** - Uriel J. García of The Texas Tribune

has a good explainer today about Senate Bill 4, which awaits Gov. Greg
Abbott's signature. Advocates are warning that the bill could harm
children, reports Stella M. Chávez for KERA News
. 

**'IMPERMANENT RELIEF'** - For migrant parents wrongfully separated
from their children during the Trump administration, "The government's
short-term and impermanent relief denies families the stability and
support they deserve as they piece their lives back together," Kelly
Albinak Kribs opines in The New York Times
.
Kribs, the former federally appointed child advocate for separated
immigrant children, lays out more things she says the government should
do - and still can. 

**SAVING LIVES** - Humanitarian parole for Haitians, as well as
Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, is saving lives, Lorsynsha Tilus of
the International Rescue Committee writes in a Miami Herald
op-ed.
"Now, with some in Congress suggesting drastic limits on parole
authority and asylum protections, I fear more people once again will
face death when seeking better, safer lives," she writes. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan  

** **

 

 

 

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