Foster parents, some inspired by their faith, are caring for children who crossed the border unaccompanied — and more are needed, Giovanna Dell’Orto of the Associated Press reports. 

About 140,000 unaccompanied children were encountered at the U.S-Mexico border in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, and nearly 10,000 were in the government’s care as of the most recent data. 

The stories Dell’Orto shares of some of the foster children and families are moving at a moment when challenges seem great. 

Those challenges are putting greater pressure on Catholic agencies and leaders, Kate Scanlon reports in a well-done look back at 2023 for OSV News. Meanwhile, Steve Eng, advocacy director at the National Association of Evangelicals, writes of a trip with Christian organization Border Perspective that was true to its name. 

Finally, at the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, the holidays are an opportunity to offer a sense of hope to people who have left everything behind, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report.  

Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said of giving migrants a warm holiday welcome, "It’s almost giving back what’s rightfully theirs: a sense of value, and we are, and so I think that’s the best gift we can give them this Christmas." 

Wishing you joyful holidays as we sign off until 2024! We’ll be back in your inbox Jan. 3. If you find the Daily helpful, please consider supporting the Forum as the year closes out. 

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

U.S.-MEXICO — The U.S. plans to send top officials to Mexico in coming days to talk about border challenges, Chris Megerian and Mark Stevenson report for the Associated Press. Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Public Safety has formalized a policy to prevent the separation of migrant families, reports Benjamin Wermund of the Houston Chronicle. State troopers’ detention of fathers on trespassing charges had resulted in dozens of families being separated earlier this year.  

NURSES NEEDED — Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck, North Dakota, has continuously sought nurses from abroad to fill critical roles and expand services — without success, reports Lisa Rein of The Washington Post. Among 59 nurses from the Philippines, Kenya and Nigeria whom the hospital anxiously awaits, "We’re projecting no arrivals until the first quarter of 2025 or later," Wendy Kopp, chief of nursing and clinical services, had to tell colleagues this fall. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act aims to alleviate these shortages but continues to face political hurdles.  

CLOCK TICKING — Our country has a responsibility to offer permanent refuge to our Afghan allies, Chaplain Ted Hamm writes in a Greenville News op-ed: "With the clock ticking, the burden is on our leaders to ensure not only that our Afghan allies remain protected, but also that our country lives up to its values as a defender of freedom and a safe haven for those who need our protection." Council on National Security and Immigration leaders reaffirmed their support for legislative solutions in a paper published this week. 

And in local welcome: