"CBP [Customs and Border Protection] has not collected and recorded, or reported to Congress, complete data on migrant deaths or disclosed associated data limitations," according to the GAO report.  

The data reveal that the Tucson sector reported fewer migrant deaths in the Border Patrol’s Border Safety Initiative Tracking System (BSITS) than Arizona’s OpenGIS Initiative for Deceased Migrants system between fiscal years 2015 through 2019: 0nly "339 reported by the Border Patrol vs. 699 for the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office and Humane Borders," notes Anderson. "That would represent an undercount of 360, or 72 immigrant deaths per year in the Tucson sector alone." 

An undercount of migrant deaths at this scale "should be a wake-up call to Congress," he writes. "The current enforcement-only policies or even harsher versions of those policies will bring more death and tragedy." 

In other pressing border news, CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports that the Biden administration is preparing 19,000 beds at shelters and housing sites in anticipation of an increase in unaccompanied minors seeking asylum amid the forthcoming Title 42 lift. 

As we noted last week, we need to think larger than Title 42 — and hone in on lasting border and immigration solutions, which balance security and compassion. 

Welcome to Wednesday’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 RESPONSE — Speaking of balancing security and compassion, about 200 evangelical leaders gathered yesterday under the umbrella of the National Association of Evangelicals, World Relief, the Evangelical Immigration Table, and the Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus urging Congress to pass immigration reforms, Jeff Brumley reports for Baptist News Global. "We want to see people who are made in the image of God be treated with dignity, with decency, with honor, with respect," said Derwin Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church in Indian Land, South Carolina, as part of a two-day fly-in with U.S. senators, their staff, and organizers. "Our prayer and our hope [are] that there would be smart, reasonable immigration reform that not only secures our borders, but also secures the dignity and worth of human beings."  

‘WE MISS OUR COUNTRY’— Naseema Ahmadzai and her family celebrated their first Ramadan away from home in Miami with mixed feelings, reports The Miami Herald’s Michelle Marchante. "It’s difficult. We miss our country. We miss our homeland, of course, we miss our people," said Amhadzai. "But still, when we see our community, our Muslim brothers and sisters here ... I’m grateful, I’m very excited." Meanwhile, Roll Call’s Caroline Simon reports on Twitter that GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Rob Portman (Ohio), and other senators from both parties "seem open to the [White House] Afghan Adjustment Act proposal. But whether it’ll make it into the Ukraine funding bill is a different question." 

Other stories of local welcome:  

• Students at St. John Catholic School in Georgetown, Kentucky, raised $3,369.50 and other goods for Afghan refugees and donated the proceeds to Kentucky Refugee Ministries. (Emily Perkins, Georgetown News-Graphic) 
• A newly formed nonprofit in Burlington called The Vermont Afghan Alliance aims to "bridge the gap between the Afghan population and state and local service providers" and "serve as a designated community space for Afghans to come together during traditional holidays, gatherings and religious services." (Cam Smith, WCAX) 

CUBAN MIGRANTS — Migrants from Cuba are traveling to the U.S. by foot in record numbers — compared to four decades ago — with an estimated 150,000 expected to arrive this year alone, per senior American officials, report Maria Abi-Habib and Eileen Sullivan of The New York Times. Political repression, a lack of economic opportunities, and a new visa-free travel policy in Nicaragua, are forcing Cubans to flee and seek asylum elsewhere. According to CBP data, almost 79,000 Cubans have arrived at the southern border since October, which is more than the total in the past two years combined. To remedy the situation, the U.S. and Cuba recently had high-level talks on the need to restore regular migration channels. 

MYSTERY SOLVED — For almost a decade, Ayda Zugay has been searching for a woman named Tracy, who gifted her and her sister an envelope with $100 after fleeing the former Yugoslavia, reports Catherine E. Shoichet of CNN. "I want to be able to find Tracy to thank her for her generosity, for her kindness, for her empathy, and for welcoming my sister and I," Zugay said in a recent video on Twitter. Thirty-four hours after CNN published the story — and with the help of two of Tracy’s close contacts — Zugay was able to connect with Tracy over Zoom, wrote Shoichet in a touching follow-up story. "I just want to encourage everybody in the world to just be kind. What does it hurt? Except it helps everyone..." Tracy said. "So, I’m very, very thankful that I have found you girls, that you have found me." 

AREPAS — For the Associated Press, Regina Garcia Cano shows how Venezuelan immigrants have inspired Mexican cities to bring their traditional cuisines to life. "The Venezuelan diaspora has brought shops selling arepas — stuffed corn cakes common to that country and neighboring Colombia," writes Garcia Cano. "They also are increasingly filling their fellow immigrants’ yearning for cachitos, empanadas and pastelitos while earning much-needed money." It’s a win-win situation: "They feel the warmth of Venezuela when they see these (foods)," said Nelson Banda, who now sells food outside the Venezuelan Embassy in Mexico. And … "everyone sets up their own business in their own way and sells what they can." 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali