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.
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.
