On Saturday, to comply with a court order, the Biden administration paused its immigration enforcement priorities, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News.

The court order leaves "deportation agents across the U.S. … without any official instructions on which immigrants they should, and should not, detain." More than that, legal experts note that the "absence of national standards could lead to inconsistent enforcement actions across the U.S., including arrests of immigrants whom agents were previously instructed not to detain."

Said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute: "Individuals in jurisdictions which have historically been more prone to enforcement have more to fear now than those in jurisdictions that have a more balanced approach toward enforcement."

Welcome to Monday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].

UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN — Gov. Ron Desantis (R) of Florida has put his state at the forefront of blocking shelter for unaccompanied migrant children. For The New York Times, Miriam Jordan offers the facts on the transport of these children, including who’s on the flights, where migrant children are going and why, and why children are arriving. "It is our legal responsibility to safely care for unaccompanied children until they can be placed with a family member or other vetted sponsor," the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. To which I would add: Compassion and human dignity call for humane responses.

BY SEA — The number of Haitian migrants crossing the Caribbean by boat has increased significantly in recent months "as gang violence, poverty, and political instability worsen in Haiti," reports Jasmine Aguilera for TIME. According to an analysis by the magazine, the U.S. Coast Guard encountered about 6,000 between October 2021 and this month. The Coast Guard is partnering with its Haitian counterpart and other Caribbean nations, increasing their use of ships and air patrols, while ensuring safety measures, Aguilera notes. "[T]here is no place to inhabit, there is no place to live, there is no place to work, there is no place to dream," said Louis Herns Marcelin, a sociocultural anthropologist at the University of Miami.

HUMANITARIAN PAROLE — Afghan ally Delagha Askerzada and his family were among the more than 5,500 evacuated Afghans who resettled in the Houston area after fleeing from Afghanistan, reports Elizabeth Trovall for the Houston Chronicle. Thanks to a volunteer immigration attorney and Askerzada’s well-documented case, various legal options for asylum may be available. But for most evacuated Afghans who were brought to the U.S. via humanitarian parole, which offers temporary protection for two years, "It’s really tough," said Shala Gafary of Human Rights First. "We’re very mindful of the fact that the clock is ticking." As Trovall notes, "A swift act by Congress could make this logistical legal nightmare go away for tens of thousands of Afghans and refugee resettlement agencies …." We’re all for it.

Locally:

The Refugee Women’s Alliance helped Afghan refugee Zahra Karini resettle in Washington state, where she now volunteers for the nonprofit Hazara Community of Washington "to help other Afghan women like her work through personal struggles with mental health and sometimes domestic abuse." (Anushuya Thapa and Indunil Usgoda Arachchi, InvestigateWest)

The Vermont Agency of Education donated $200,000 to support two national refugee nonprofits, including efforts "to offer targeted professional learning opportunities for teachers serving Afghan students and other multilingual newcomers." (Bennington Banner)

FIRST AMENDMENT — Ten years ago, longtime border activist Christian Ramírez witnessed male border officials patting down female migrants and began taking some photos of the scene. Soon after, he was stopped by private security officials and surrounded by a group of Customs and Border Protection officials who confiscated his phone, deleted the photos, and detained him for 30 minutes, according to court records. "Ten years later — and after two dismissals and a federal appellate ruling — the case resulted in a settlement that forces CBP to acknowledge the rights of people to document activity in public spaces," reports Wendy Fry for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

‘CARMELA FULL OF WISHES’ — Newbery Medal-winning author Matt de la Peña recently visited seven libraries in the Denver metro area to read his children’s book centered on migrant families, "Carmela Full of Wishes," reports Sara Martin for the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel. The book, with illustrations by Christian Robinson, not only is a tribute to his father but "thoughtfully explores social class, immigration and mixed-status families" while "visually embrac[ing] Mexican culture."

Thanks for reading,

Dan