Tuesday, July 26
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THE FORUM DAILY

The deaths of 53 migrants in a smuggler's semitrailer in San Antonio
last month were not an aberration, Jason Buch writes in The Texas
Observer
.
Loss of life is "a feature - not a bug" of the use of deterrence in
immigration policy, made official in 1994. 

Deterrence is "the idea we can somehow make coming to this country more
miserable than the natural disasters, civil wars, gang violence, and
economic hardship that displace people in the first place" - and the
results are deadly, Buch notes. According to government data that are
almost certainly an underestimate, about 7,500 people died trying to
reach the U.S. between 1998 and 2018 alone, per Human Rights Watch.  

"[T]here is no deterrent practice you will find to stop people from
searching for safety. And for the U.S. to create those policies is
inhumane and unacceptable," said Guerline Jozef, director of the Haitian
Bridge Alliance.  

In The New York Times
,
Miriam Jordan reports on how smuggling migrants has evolved from a
"network of freelance 'coyotes' into a multi-billion-dollar
international business controlled by organized crime, including some of
Mexico's most violent drug cartels." As a result, federal authorities
say there has been an increase in migrant kidnappings and extortion
across Mexican border cities. At least 5,046 people faced human
smuggling charges in the U.S. last year alone, compared with 2,762 in
2014. 

Meanwhile, the nonprofit Colibri Center for Human Rights in Arizona is
trying to bring closure to families who have lost loved ones along the
journey northbound, Julian Resendiz reports in Border Report
.
Mirza Monterroso, the Missing Migrants Program director at the center,
blends forensic skills, language, culture and empathy to support
families in need. 

Welcome to Tuesday'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] . 

**HONDURAS** - The increase in migration from Honduras will be the
focus of a meeting today between Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro
Mayorkas and Honduran President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento, per
Sandra Sanchez of the Border Report
.
CBP data show an increase in recent months in apprehensions of
Hondurans, most of whom are blocked under Title 42. Mayorkas is also
scheduled to speak with U.N. agencies that help migrants and people who
are vulnerable. 

'IT HAPPENED SO SUDDENLY' - Previously routine ICE check-ins are
once again resulting in deportations, Kate Morrissey reports in the San
Diego Union-Tribune
. The
change comes after the Supreme Court voted not to lift an injunction
blocking the Biden administration's immigration enforcement guidelines
,
meant to prioritize deportations of people with criminal backgrounds or
who raised national security concerns. "I was thinking a lot about how
they were going to separate me from my family," said Eduardo Sanchez,
who has no criminal record and was deported following a recent check-in.
"It happened so suddenly." 

OPPORTUNITIES - Tennessee

is the latest of 16 states to pass legislation offering immigrants
opportunities to obtain professional licenses and opportunities, reports
Liz Gold of The E.W. Scripps Company
.
"States realized there were a lot of people with different statuses with
in-demand skills," said Eric Figueroa of the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities. Meanwhile, in Lincoln, Nebraska, organizations such as the
Nebraska Extension and Echo Collective are helping immigrants and
refugees thrive while fostering welcome, reports Evelyn Mejia of The
Lincoln Journal Star
.
The Nebraska Extension program is giving immigrants and refugees tools
to start small businesses, while Echo Collective is helping refugees
and immigrant women overcome barriers they face while rebuilding their
lives. 

**'BECAUSE OF FOUZIA'** - When his hometown fell to the Taliban,
Afghan Sayed Hashmi, who had worked for the U.S. government, had no
choice but to flee with his family. In need of support, Hashmi called
Jewish Family and Community Services in the San Francisco Bay
Area (JFCS) and reached Fouzia Azizi, head of refugee services and an
Afghan refugee herself, Diane Winston reports for Religion News Service
.
"Fouzia gave me the feeling that I'd found my sister," Hashmi said.
"She talked with me for two hours and said everything will be OK." Since
the family resettled in October 2021, Fouzia has helped Hashmi find a
job and housing. "The U.S. is a difficult place to be a refugee," Hashmi
said. "My situation is good because of Fouzia." 

Abroad and locally:  

* Brazilian Baptists have recently welcomed over 100 evacuees from
Afghanistan to Vila Minhya Pátria, "where they receive care, learn
skills to prepare them for long-term residence in Brazil, and see the
love of Christ in action." (Ken Camp, Baptist Standard
) 

* Organizations in St. Louis are planning to welcome and resettle an
estimated 350 to 1,000 Afghans currently living in Albania, while
continuing to support those who have already arrived. (Sydney
Stallworth, KSDK
)
 

* In Vermont, multiple school districts are hiring multicultural
liaisons who are helping refugee students, supporting their teachers
and families, and providing other essential services. (Auditi Guha,
VTDigger
) 

Thanks for reading,

Dan

 

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