The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has resumed deportation flights to Haiti despite the ongoing crisis there, reports Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald.  

The fallout from mass gang violence had led to an unofficial pause in the flights earlier this year. But an Immigration and Customs Enforcement flight carrying 52 Haitians landed in Cap-Haïtien yesterday morning. 

"It is simply cruel to deport individuals to Haiti at this time. I am very concerned that we are not following the law and our international obligations by adequately assessing asylum concerns and basic humanitarian principles," said Randolph McGrorty, executive director of Catholic Legal Services in Miami.  

Haitians with residence in the U.S. since at least Nov. 6, 2022, are eligible for Temporary Protected Status through Aug. 3. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said earlier this month that the administration was not anticipating a TPS renewal or expansion for Haitians, Charles reports. (Find our fact sheet on TPS here.)  

Members of the Haitian diaspora are worried for their friends and family still in Haiti, report Samantha Chery and Emmanuel Felton of The Washington Post. In the past few weeks, the violence in Haiti resulted in deaths and the destruction of homes, leaving many Haitians without shelter.  

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, Ally Villarreal and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

RECS — The Urban Institute’s recent report on the experiences of resettled Afghans was the focus of a conversation this week at the University of Chicago, reports Eunice Alpasan of WTTW. Passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act is among the report’s recommendations. "Living in legal limbo is incredibly unhealthy for the mental state of anybody who finds themselves in such a position," said co-author Jessica Darrow. 

This week in local Afghan welcome: 

‘A SIMPLE ACT’ — Speaking of local welcome — assisting an Afghan family via the Welcome Corps brought minister Wes Dillon’s faith community in New Hampshire together, Dillon writes in Church Leaders. "Welcoming refugees has helped our community to be generous and kind. It’s a simple act, but it has turned us into better people," Dillon writes. Texas is a leader in Welcome Corps signups, Stella M. Chávez of KERA writes — and "[i]t’s a dream come true for a lot of people," in the words of Jacob Mabil, Arcelia Martin of The Dallas Morning News reports.

GROWTH — In a new Brookings Institution report, researchers find that immigrants are driving population increases in many cities, reports Marc Ramirez of USA Today. With fertility rates at historic lows, "the growth or decline of a place depends increasingly on migration — both domestic and international," said University of New Hampshire professor Ken Johnson. Our demographic challenges leave us ongoing room to grow. 

RISING — After his mother was murdered in Mexico, Aaron Mariscal immigrated to the United States at age 13. Just 11 years later, he is one of the top salesmen at Cardone Ventures in Scottsdale, Arizona, reports Ellen McNamara of Fox 10 Phoenix. "I feel like when you surround yourself with a good environment, the right people, good values, and you have a great opportunity, that’s when you tap into your potential," Mariscal said. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan