BRING THEM HOME — Just before the holiday weekend, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough announced a new initiative to assist deported American service members, veterans, and their immediate family members in returning to the U.S., among other services, Kate Morrissey reports for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Chris Jennewein at the Times of San Diego reports that an estimated several thousand veterans have been expelled from the U.S. since 1996, when deportation of immigrants with certain convictions became mandatory with no judicial discretion. A "small but growing number" of deported veterans have been able to return to the U.S. and become citizens, Morrissey notes — "but because there is no official process, it often takes a team of attorneys for each individual case." 

TITLE 42 — The Biden administration plans to lift Title 42, the public health policy that effectively closed the border to most asylum seekers, by the end of July, Michelle Hackman and Tarini Parti report for The Wall Street Journal. The administration is also expected to begin a phased reopening of nonessential travel at ports of entry. "Once [Title 42] is lifted, families that requested asylum at the border will be permitted to remain in the U.S. for the duration of their cases, which can take years to complete," Hackman and Parti note.  Politico’s Anita Kumar and Sabrina Rodriguez report on the political implications of the policy change, noting that it could bring on "an avalanche of Republican attacks." Keep in mind that current border apprehension numbers are inflated by Title 42 recidivism and Republicans "have made sure to highlight the monthly topline numbers without mentioning that a majority of migrants apprehended are being quickly expelled under the Trump-era order." 

UNACCOMPANIED — A recent report from Catholic University law professor Stacy Brustin in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migrant and Refugee Services "[points] out deficiencies but also opportunities in the care of unaccompanied migrant children in the United States," reports Rhina Guidos of Catholic News Service. "A Vision Forward: Policies Needed to Protect the Best Interests of ‘Category 4′ Unaccompanied Immigrant Children" provides recommendations on record-keeping, access to legal help, and family- and community-based care, among other topics. Said Brustin, who also directs the university’s Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Clinic: "These changes are not only in the best interests of immigrant children but in the best interests of our country."