"We are asking the U.S. government to process faster," said Anastasiya Polo, co-founder of United with Ukraine, a nongovernmental organization which collaborated with the Mexican government to establish the camp. She noted that within a week since the program was announced on April 21, none of the refugees were "even close to the end of the program." 

"These people cannot stay in this camp, because it is temporary," she said, adding that over 100 of the camp’s migrants are children. 

For The Daily Beast, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service told Scott Bixby: "While the new parole program for Ukrainians is welcome progress, it is by no means a substitute for rebuilding the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program." 

She’s absolutely right.  

Meanwhile, The Atlantic’s Caitlin Dickerson dives deep into the humanitarian efforts and challenges of admitting millions of Ukrainians to Poland, with photos by Marcus Glahn. 

For more on Ukrainian refugees, see our latest "Uniting for Ukraine" explainer and resource on how private sponsorship programs for refugees work. 

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. 

FAITH ADVOCACY — Megachurch pastors and other evangelical leaders will be speaking on a virtual press conference today about the need for immigration solutions this year. The leaders are among 185 participating in more than 40 meetings with members of Congress and their staff today and tomorrow. (Reporters, contact [email protected] for details on how to join today’s Zoom at 12:30 Eastern.) The efforts come on the heels of visits by more than 400 Hispanic Catholics last week, as Rhina Guidos writes for Catholic News Service. "We come in prayer to ask members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, to work together to create solutions," said Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington. "Immigration reform cannot wait any longer." 

EXTENSION — Great news: Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that most immigrants will now get an extension for up to a year and a half for their expiring (or expired) work permits, Michelle Hackman reports for The Wall Street Journal. "The change will immediately help about 87,000 immigrants whose work authorization has lapsed or is set to in the next 30 days," notes Hackman.  "Overall, the government estimates that as many as 420,000 immigrants renewing work permits will be protected from losing their ability to work for the duration of the policy." The policy will officially go into effect on Wednesday. 

‘INDEFENSIBLE’ — Title 42 is "indefensible" and "needs to end," writes The Washington Post’s Editorial Board. With the potential lifting of Title 42 later this month, the Biden administration must continue to prepare for the likelihood of an increase in migrants seeking asylum at the border with sustainable border policy solutions. But here’s the thing: "Notwithstanding the Biden administration’s floundering performance and mixed messaging on the border, the real immigration policy failure has been Congress’s … Its proven inability over decades to enact meaningful reform has left the nation, and Mr. Mayorkas, to grapple with dysfunction." For additional context on the history of Title 42, see our policy explainer.

MIDWEST REVIVAL — Small Midwestern cities are some of the most rapidly diversifying places in the U.S. — and it’s a win for traditionally conservative areas like Columbus, Indiana, Stephen Starr reports for Al Jazeera. Columbus, home to manufacturers like Cummins and Toyota, "is drawing immigrants to fill professional gaps and invigorate the region, even as United States population growth overall has dropped to its lowest rate since the Great Depression." Said City Councilor Elaine Hilber, whose parents came to Indiana from Taiwan: "Columbus is just the right size … You’re able to make things happen and get things done — to help people." 

KABUL TO OMAHA — Mujtaba Karimi, a former Afghan government official, first heard of Omaha when an immigration agent told him it was where his family was being resettled after fleeing the Taliban takeover of Kabul. For the Flatwater Free Press, Andrew J. Nelson reports on the difficult transition that evacuees and resettlement agencies faced when an increase of Afghans began arriving in Nebraska last year. Despite the chaos of rapid resettlement, Omaha’s Refugee Empowerment Center has been working nonstop to meet residents at the airport, help them learn basics like calling 911, and provide cultural orientation such as obtaining driver’s licenses and learning English. Meanwhile, on Friday, the Biden administration called on Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act after the number of Special Immigrant Visas fell by 91% from July to September, per Drew F. Lawrence of Military.com.  

Elsewhere in local welcome: 

• For Eid al-Fitr, a celebration marking the end of the month of Ramadan, many Houston Muslims are donating to local organizations supporting Afghan refugees as a form of zakat, "the giving of alms to those in need." (Sam González Kelly, Houston Chronicle) 
• To celebrate the ending of their first Ramadan in America, "over 300 members of Minnesota’s Afghan community joined neighbors and supporters to break fast together at The Blake School in Hopkins." (Aala Abdullahi, Sahan Journal) 
• The City of South Bend and La Casa de Amistad in Indiana recently partnered up to provide legal support for Afghan refugees, including the City committing to "$100,000 for translation [and] interpretation," among other legal services. (Gemma DiCarlo, WVPE 88.1 Elkhart/South Bend) 

Ali