The plan initially would process around 300 Afghans as they await approval of special immigrant visas in the Asian country, where they would remain "for no more than a few months," report Dan Lamothe, Ellen Nakashima and Michael Birnbaum of The Washington Post.
U.S. officials said the American government will provide Afghans arriving in the Philippines with food, housing, security, medical services and transportation at a facility outside Manila. Officials expect the agreement would be eventually extended as a temporary "way station," the Post notes.
The agreement comes three years after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan and the U.S. withdrew its troops. The Biden administration has resettled over 160,000 Afghans in the United States, but many thousands more remain waiting around the globe to be resettled.
Meanwhile, those Afghan allies who already made it to the U.S. are facing legal limbo. Congress could solve their uncertainty through legislation, writes Eskinder Negash, President and CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, in an op-ed for Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"Afghans here in the United States after three years in limbo can no longer wait," writes Negash. "Congress and the administration can take other steps to support Afghans, both in the United States and abroad."
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Dan Gordon, Joanna Taylor and Ally Villarreal. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
NEW PROGRAM— The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the full eligibility criteria yesterday for the new "Keeping Families Together" program, reports Andrew Kreighbaum of Bloomberg Law. The initiative benefits undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens. A bilingual hotline is now in place for those looking for information around the new program, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report. But some eligible immigrants are waiting to apply due to uncertainty around the November election, reports Tyche Hendricks of KQED.
TRAGEDY — Unidentified assailants in Sonora, Mexico, opened fire on a vehicle carrying migrants on Sunday, the Associated Press reports, killing one and wounding eight others. While authorities gave no motive for the attack, the AP notes that cartels in the area frequently attack migrants who do not comply with demands for payment.
RETURNING FLIGHTS — Flights funded by the U.S. to repatriate migrants from Panama are scheduled to begin today, report Elida Moreno and Kylie Madry of Reuters. The flights are meant to take deported individuals and those voluntarily repatriating back to their countries of origin. There has been no word as to where the first flight is headed today. The U.S. has allocated $6 million for migrant repatriations from the Central American country as part of an agreement to reduce irregular migration, as highlighted by Demian Bio of the Latin Times.
WELCOMING FACE — For over a year now, Sister Martha Lopez has been the welcoming face many immigrants first meet when they enter St. Teresa's Church on Manhattan's Lower East Side looking for assistance in an unfamiliar place, reports Camillo Barone of the National Catholic Reporter. "I consider the services we offer to migrants like caresses God gives them through us," Lopez said. A team of case assistants and volunteers help share resources and welcome newcomers alongside Lopez through the nonprofit Catholic Charities.
