As usual, my policy colleague Danilo Zak’s initial breakdown of the numbers reveal some nuance. The high rate of repeat attempts — 26% of all June encounters — is thanks to the continued use of expulsions under Title 42, which carry no penalty for additional tries. These repeat attempts inflate the total number and are a repeat reminder that we need solutions other than Title 42. 

As Danilo notes, the data may be a sign that migration in June followed seasonal patterns, in which arrivals peak in May, then fall in hotter months. But there’s an asterisk: Recent reports indicate a July increase in the Del Rio border sector, which is normally quieter. CBP data show higher-than-usual encounters in the sector since March, and any further increases could strain the agency’s resources severely.  

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez has more on the increase, including the challenge presented by large increases from certain countries such as Venezuela, and a wider range of countries of origin overall. 

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]. 

NEED A MILLION — Two different takes land on 1 million as a crucial number of immigrants missing from the U.S. workforce. It’s the number of "tech superstars" the U.S. should recruit in the next two years to maintain our technology leadership and compete with China, Harvard’s Graham Allison and former Google CEO and executive chairman Eric Schmidt write in an op-ed for Foreign Policy. Meanwhile, Dany Bahar and Pedro Casas-Alatriste of The Brookings Institution have a different take, looking at the 1 million workers missing due to past deportations. "Migrants on the U.S. southern border are able and capable of filling labor gaps in the American economy if they are given the chance, particularly in fundamental occupations," they write. On the ground, a lack of workers is affecting shrimp season in Texas, as Antonio Vindell reported last week in the Rio Grande Guardian and expands upon with Texas Standard’s Yvonne Marquez. By all measures, we have room to grow.  

BUREAUCRATIC DELAYS — Immigration lawyers are increasingly turning to congressional offices on both sides of the aisle for help navigating their clients through the bureaucratic delays of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ visa backlog, reports Suzanne Monyak of Roll Call. "[Applicants] want to resolve those matters as quickly as possible. And for them to drag on in perpetuity, it leaves them with anxiety, and they have to go to work every day with that cloud hanging over them," said Rep. Adriano Espaillat, (D-New York). "I think that that’s horrible." Back in February, 47 House lawmakers, including Florida Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R), called on Congress to improve the USCIS Contact Center, which handles applicant customer service requests.  

BORDER ACCOUNTABILITY — Condolences to the family of the Texas National Guard soldier who died Thursday, as Davis Winkie of the Army Times reports. The unidentified Guard member is the eighth connected to Operation Lone Star to have died since the fall. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Express-News editorial board takes a hard look at the operation and the rhetoric of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and other Texas Republicans: "[A]ll Texans need honesty and solutions from state leaders about the southern border and Operation Lone Star. Instead, we get more of the same inhumane policy."  

RECRUIT’S FATHER DETAINED — ICE officers detained the father of Khaled Ebayyah, a recent Marine recruit who is Muslim, Jeremy Stahl reports in Slate Magazine. The father had recently obtained paperwork granting him residency through at least May 2023. "It was traumatizing because I’m now enlisted in the Marine Corps right? And here’s my initial thoughts, ok, so, ‘is this how you get treated as a Muslim for serving the country,’" Ebayyah, who is 18, recalled. ICE has not explained the detention, which appears to go against a May ICE directive meant to protect military members and their families. "If we’re not able to get my dad out of the detention center or the county jail that they have him in beforehand, I’m going to probably end up delaying my ship date by a little bit," said Ebayyah, who was scheduled to go to basic training yesterday.  

FREEDOM — With help from nonprofit SLO4 Home, an Afghan family is settling into its new home on California’s Central Coast, Kimberly Cruz reports for KSBY News. "John," a former interpreter for the U.S. military, said his whole family was at risk in Afghanistan: "Once you get out of your home in the morning to do something, to go to work, you weren’t sure if you were going to [make it] back home safe or not." Today, in the U.S., their daughter can just ride her bike freely. "My daughter is so happy, you know. That makes me so happy with the freedom she has," said John’s wife, "Maria." 

Elsewhere locally: 

• In Cleveland, nonprofit US Together partnered with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement to create a Microenterprise Development program to help "eligible refugees and immigrants develop, finance, and expand small businesses." (Aja Hannah and Lee Chilcote, The Land) 
• The Employee Council in Iowa held its first session aimed at teaching Sioux City businesses about the "best practices for hiring and maintaining employees from other countries." One speaker was Afghan refugee who shared his experiences working in a local meat packing plant. (Siouxland News) 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan