Preliminary border apprehension data reveal that the Biden administration apprehended more than 170,000 migrants at the southwest border in March — "the most in any month for at least 15 years and up nearly 70 percent from February," Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports for The New York Times. The figure includes more than 18,700 unaccompanied children and teenagers.  

The data "suggest a new level of challenge for the administration as they look for a sensible border strategy, particularly given the rise in the number of families," Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, told The Washington Post. "They’re facing a set of tough options for trying to manage the flow in a way that’s consistent with the desire for humanitarian treatment and yet dissuades people from coming." 

Important context from our policy team: Keep in mind that the March apprehension numbers for single adults are vastly inflated because of Title 42, a public health policy that allows border officials to immediately expel migrants at the border. The policy was implemented by Trump in March 2020 and has been left largely intact under Biden. If we consider families and children by themselves, we’re seeing a number comparable to recent past increases (and we still are not close to the peak seen in 2019). 

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has placed around 28,000 radio ads in Latin America since January "as part of a stepped-up campaign to discourage people from journeying to the U.S.," CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports. The main message: "Don't put your kids' lives at risk based on false hopes." 

Welcome to Monday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. I'm Joanna Taylor, Communications Manager at the Forum and your NN host again this week. Seen a story you think we should include? Send it to me at [email protected].  

BORDER REALITIES — Guatemala now has the sixth-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world, Kevin Sieff reports for The Washington Post. The hunger crisis "was caused in part by failed harvests linked to climate change, a string of natural disasters and a nearly nonexistent official response. Supply-chain disruptions then led to a spike in prices." The devastating effects are directly linked to Guatemalan migration to the U.S., Sieff writes, with the majority of Guatemalans recently arriving in the U.S. citing food security as a major factor in their decisions to make the journey north. The situation in Guatemala underscores the need for more sustainable, forward-looking solutions to effectively address the current situation at the border. "We must accept this unfortunate reality and create a system that can legally, efficiently and safely absorb more of these immigrants and refugees. They will keep coming; there is no other solution," Jorge Ramos writes in an opinion piece for The New York Times. 

ELIZABETH — "Mommy, I have bad news for you," 13-year-old Elizabeth recalls telling her mother on the phone. "Don’t cry, but Mexican immigration caught me," Unaccompanied Central American minors like Elizabeth "will wait in shelters in Mexico, often for months, for arrangements to be made. Then, they will be deported," reports Maria Abi-Habib for The New York Times. Elizabeth’s pending deportation highlights the stark difference between border apprehension in Mexico versus in the U.S.: Those apprehended at the U.S. border "can try to present their case to the American authorities, go to school and one day find work and help relatives back home," explains Abi-Habib. But Elizabeth and her friend Yuliana, both apprehended by Mexican authorities, "felt that their failure to cross had upturned the tremendous expectations that had been placed on them: to reunite with a lonely parent, to work and to send money to family members left behind." 

IRMA — Irma Chavez, a Salvadoran-born mother of four who has called Springdale, Arkansas, home for years, has renewed her Temporary Protected Status (TPS) every 18 months for the past two decades, report Amy Taxin, Jeff Roberson, and Marcos Alemán of the Associated Press. While TPS allows recipients to live and work legally in the U.S., they still face constant uncertainty (moreso under the Trump administration, which attempted to cancel the program for immigrants from several countries). Now, President Biden "is backing legislation that would give Chavez and hundreds of thousands of people like her a shot at becoming American citizens." Said Chavez of the potential for permanent status: "I’d always be protected from deportation. It would have a big impact." A major part of that impact, the AP notes, is "the assurance she’s long dreamed of that she will never be separated from her children."