Previously, Mayorkas has said that a strategy is in place for when the policy is repealed. Yet, critics note there has not been much clarity on border management plans, given the anticipated increase in migrants seeking asylum. 

Over at CNN, Rosa Flores, Rosalina Nieves, and Amir Vera report that a few hundred vulnerable migrants waiting in Reynosa, Mexico, for Title 42 to roll back have been permitted to enter the U.S. this week, per sources on the ground. They were among the more than 7,000 migrants in the area waiting for the policy to lift.   

According to one source, an estimated 95 families were allowed entry, including children with special needs and pregnant women with children. Some had been waiting more than a year. 

Meanwhile, more than 20 states [all with Republican attorneys general] have asked a federal judge in Louisiana to immediately block the Biden administration from ending Title 42, CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez reports. The states argue "that the administration had begun to process migrants under immigration law instead of through the public health authority." 

(Note: The New York Times’ Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater report that a new GOP memo, prepared by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), "shows how Republicans plan to weaponize the issue of immigration as part of their midterm campaign strategy" in an oversight hearing next week.) 

On Title 42, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) told Politico: "Everyone is looking for a quick and easy solution, and it’s that kind of thinking that has, in my view, created a situation where we don’t address the root causes … We’ve had Title 42 for over two years in place. Has that deterred migration? Has any of that stopped asylum seekers? Has any of it curbed the numbers? No." 

She’s exactly right.  

We are talking about people asking for an opportunity to seek asylum and a better life. If we do not repeal Title 42, migrants will continue to be exploited and the cartels will just keep making money. An endless cycle. Title 42 clearly isn’t the answer; we need to seriously talk about the border and broader immigration solutions, as noted in our latest press statement. And as Katherine Tully-McManus notes in Politico’s Huddle this morning, a press conference next Wednesday, including Reps. Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Illinois) and Dan Newhouse (R-Washington), will move in the direction of targeted reforms. 

Welcome to Friday’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. 

‘UNITING UKRAINE’ — On Thursday, the Biden administration announced a new humanitarian parole program called "Uniting Ukraine" to help streamline the process for Ukrainians seeking asylum in the U.S., report CNN’s Arlette Saenz, Priscilla Alvarez, and Kate Sullivan. "This new humanitarian parole program will complement the existing legal pathways available to Ukrainians, including immigrant visas and refugee processing," President Biden said. The program also requires sponsorship by a U.S. citizen or individual, nonprofit, or resettlement organization. For more on the program’s logistics, see Ben Fox’s piece in the Associated Press. Still, as our policy expert Danilo Zak told WORLD Magazine’s Addie Michaelian, there are better options for protection than humanitarian parole, which is only temporary; its use is "an indictment of our refugee resettlement system."  

NETWORK — For WDET, Laura Herberg reports that some Afghans in Metro Detroit hotels have been waiting months for permanent housing. The new Detroit Refugee Network, which comprises corporate and community leaders, could help, as Mike Householder of the Associated Press reports. The network hopes to raise more than $1 million to provide Afghan and other refugees with housing, education, transportation, legal support, and utility assistance. "Everyone wants opportunity. And in Detroit, we are here to help [refugees] and those who want to pursue that American dream," network co-chair Dr. Sonia Hassan said at an Afghan welcome event. 

Elsewhere in local welcome: 

• "We really want to ensure that all of our community is able to access the foods that are meaningful and nutritious and familiar to them," said Ashley Newell with Food Bank of the Rockies, whose volunteers recently packed up 1,200 boxes worth of food for Afghan refugees in Denver. (Jennifer McRae, CBS4) 

NEW AMERICANS — An annual report from the Department of Homeland Security finds that a little over 700,000 immigrants were granted lawful permanent residence in the last fiscal year, compared with "more than a million people who became lawful residents in each of the previous six years," Reid Wilson reports for The Hill. More people from Asian countries moved to the U.S. than people from North American countries, per the data. But despite the net positive migration seen last year, "We would require as a country that million [new resident] level every year to maintain economic growth," notes Phillip Connor, a senior demographer with FWD.us. "Instead, we have a 50 percent reduction in it, so we are really in a challenge globally." 

MIXED-STATUS FAMILIES — "Mija," a feature documentary by Isabel Castro, explores what it means to grow up as an American child with undocumented parents and still try to achieve the American dream, reports Graciela Mochkofsky of The New Yorker. "All sorts of things fall on the shoulders of those kids who can navigate the system," said Roberto Gonzales, a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. "There is an enormous responsibility to be successful." The film will be released in theaters and on Disney+ later this year. I’m looking forward to watching. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali