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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:
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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