The Forum Daily | Wednesday, April 3, 2024
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**THE FORUM DAILY** 

As a record number of migrants continue to cross the Darién Gap, Human
Rights Watch released a report

early this morning highlighting Colombia and Panama's negligence when
it comes to their safety, reports Manuel Rueda of the Associated Press
.  

Robberies and sexual assault are among the increasing dangers, Human
Rights Watch reports. The organization urges officials in both
governments to do more to combat the humanitarian crisis in the
Darién. 

"Whatever the reason for their journey, migrants and asylum-seekers
crossing the Darién Gap are entitled to basic safety and respect for
their human rights along the way," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas
director at Human Rights Watch. 

Meanwhile, Pope Francis addressed bishops in Colombia, Panama and Costa
Rica in a letter, reminding them of their pastoral responsibility to
care for migrants, report Ellen Teague and Bess Twiston Davies of The
Tablet
.
"I too am a child of migrants," the pope wrote in a separate letter to a
group of migrants. 

Here in the U.S., the Catholic Church can take concrete steps in service
of its mission "to welcome the stranger, as Christ has instructed us,"
J. Kevin Appleby writes in a National Catholic Reporter

piece.  

First on the list, "The Catholic community must respond strongly to any
attempts to limit its mission to help the disadvantaged and
dispossessed," writes Appleby, now at the Center for Migration Studies
of New York and formerly with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
 

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

**TRANSPORT LAWSUIT** - A federal judge in Boston ruled that a lawsuit
against the private Florida company that flew migrants from Texas to
Martha's Vineyard in 2022 can proceed, reports Greg Allen of NPR
.
Lawyers for Civil Rights, which filed the suit together with three
Venezuelan migrants who were transported, said the ruling "sends a
crucial message: private companies can - and will - be held
accountable for helping rogue state actors violate the rights of
vulnerable immigrants through illegal and fraudulent schemes." 

**FEAR** - Leaders in Texas churches with majority immigrant
populations are helping their congregants deal with the possibility that
SB 4 could survive court challenges, reports Harvest Prude of
Christianity Today
.
"There is a lot of fear in our church in regard to this law and a lot of
uncertainty," said Fort Worth Pastor Anyra Cano. In Georgia, Latino and
immigrant communities are experiencing fear as tough immigration
legislation has passed the state legislature, reports Lautaro Grinspan
of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
. 

**SOLITARY** - Twelve senators sent a letter to DHS leaders demanding
an end to inappropriate solitary confinement in immigration detention
facilities, reports Peter Talbot of The News Tribune
in
Tacoma, Washington. "Under no circumstances should ICE use solitary
confinement as a form of discipline in civil immigration detention," the
senators wrote. Their concern follows the March 7 death in detention of
Charles Leo Daniel, whom researchers found "served 1,244 days in
solitary confinement in two periods separated by only two days." 

**SCHOOL** - Lawmakers in New York City are attempting to address the
safety of migrant children in the city who are selling snacks and candy
on the street instead of going to school, reports Marcia Kramer of CBS
New York
.
Mayor Eric Adams has set up a task force to talk to parents in shelters
and convince them to steer their kids to school. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

**P.S.** As we continue to mourn the workers who died in the Baltimore
bridge collapse, León Krauze in The Washington Post

and Kevin Clarke in America

magazine offer perspective worth reading. 

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