Meanwhile, official border numbers for March are in. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained 221,303 migrants at the border last month, with a marked increase in Ukrainian refugees, reports Maria Sacchetti of The Washington Post. The total number of encounters is up 33% from February. CBP officials detained more than 5,000 Ukrainians last month, compared to 1,150 the previous month. 

Important note: Danilo Zak from our policy team explains that because of the high number of repeat crossings, the more accurate number of unique border encounters in March was much lower — 159,900. 

Title 42 also impacted the March data: 50% of all encounters were immediately expelled under the policy, including 60% of single adults. And the recidivism rate remained sky-high at 28%. 

While many Ukrainians are permitted to enter the U.S. under humanitarian parole, those numbers have not been published yet. (This comes as the Biden administration extended Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians by more than a month Monday, as Caroline Simon reports in Roll Call.) 

Still, most Ukrainians fleeing the war won’t qualify for TPS. The Biden administration needs to utilize — and expand — the refugee ceiling, or develop clear legal avenues to help Ukrainians seeking refuge here.  

"There are no clear instructions for Ukrainian displaced people of how they should arrive in the U.S. So, out of desperation they’re going to Mexico because Mexico allows people with Ukrainian passports to arrive there," Michael Levitis, whose father is from Ukraine, told The Washington Post. 

For your calendar: Register for this timely conversation on how Christians can serve refugees at 1:30 p.m. ET with Matthew Soerens of The Evangelical Immigration Table and Bri Stensrud of We Welcome. 

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. And if you know others who’d like to receive this newsletter, please spread the word. They can subscribe here.  

BORDER PUSHBACK — A growing number of Democrats want the Biden administration to delay the end of Title 42 until there is a plan in place to manage a potential increase of migrants, per Alexander Bolton of The Hill. Meanwhile, Elket Rodríguez of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship listed seven reasons why ending Title 42 would be a good thing for Fellowship Southwest. And as Bob Evans of Northern Public Radio explains, "Instead of an instrumental tool or weapon we need desperately an immigration policy that will help define us as ‘the last, best hope of mankind.’" The political chaos isn’t being well-received on the southern side of the border: Alfredo Corchado reports in The Dallas Morning News that Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador isn’t too happy with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) border security efforts that impeded trade. "Legally they can do it, but it’s a very despicable way to act," López Obrador said of Gov. Abbott’s truck inspection initiative. "I would say it’s chicanadas (half-baked) antics from the state government." 

FOOD INSECURITY — Food insecurity in Ukraine and an increase of migrants seeking protection at the U.S.-Mexico border were the topics of conversation for Sunday’s "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," per Wyatt Mayes of CBS News. With Ukraine being a major producer and exporter of agricultural products amid an ongoing war, food prices are expected to increase, per a U.N. report. "This is a very serious problem if we don’t get the farmers back in the fields," said David Beasley of the U.N. World Food Programme. On the southern border, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley is helping NGOs support asylum-seekers with food, water, and essential services. "I am more focused ensuring that those families who are at our border that I see daily — who face violence, face persecution, can have access to protection and — humane treatment," said Sister Norma Pimentel. Meanwhile, here’s a beautiful story of faith, food and the immigrant community.  

‘GRATEFUL FOR THEIR HELP’ — With the help of military veteran and Missouri native Timothy Griffin, Siam Alokozai and his family were able to flee Afghanistan and find refuge in Canada, reports Jenna Rae of KMOV. "I would have to convince them over and over again to make the journey to the airport, evade Taliban checkpoints, wait there all day in record heat, thousands of people there," said Griffin. The former U.S. Counter Insurgency Specialist and his team "were the people that actually saved their lives," said Ahmad Alokozai of his brother’s escape. "Transporting them from Kabul into Peshawar, [Siam] said they were grateful for their help." 

On local welcome: 

• Loving Library, a nonprofit founded by children, "is working with the Scottsdale Unified School District and the International Rescue Committee to collect books for Afghan refugees." (Anita Roman, FOX 10) 
• Spearheaded by The Bosniak American Association of Iowa and Des Moines Refugee Support, Bosnians in the area "collected food and hygiene products for Afghan refugees at the Ezan Mosque." (Taj Simmons, WHO 13 News) 

STORY TIME — Andreas von Sachsen-Altenburg’s startup Storytime Online is launching this month, where he’ll be working "with global refugees to create, translate, and narrate children’s books in dozens of languages," reports Alexa Gagosz for the Boston Globe. Driven by his motive to find a solution for his sister learning a second language, von Sachsen-Altenburg got to work making stories accessible, educational, and fun — all while supporting refugees. "While anyone can use Storytime Online, I’m hoping it bridges a gap for migrant populations, refugees, and multicultural families," he said.

Thanks for reading, 

Ali