Welcome to a slightly different Daily, devoted to marking World Refugee Day. 

Last week UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, announced that forced displacement hit yet another new record in 2022. "People around the world continue to show extraordinary hospitality for refugees as they extend protection and help to those in need," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "But much more international support and more equitable responsibility sharing is required." 

According to UNHCR’s new Global Trends Report, 108.4 million people were forcibly displaced in 2022. Low- and middle-income countries hosted 76% of the world’s refugees and other people in need of protection. But the United States remains the world’s largest recipient of new claims from people seeking protection.  

Two-thirds of Americans agree that "it is important that the U.S. welcome and preserve essential protections for people fleeing persecution," even as the country addresses border challenges, according to May polling. The results point to the need to continue rebuilding our refugee resettlement infrastructure — and for Congress to work on how better to welcome others fleeing persecution while also prioritizing order at the border. 

In the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a message for today’s commemoration: "Refugees represent the very best of the human spirit. They need and deserve support and solidarity — not closed borders and pushbacks." 

Welcome to Tuesday’s special edition of The Forum Daily honoring World Refugee Day. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Clara Villatoro, Ashling Lee, Christian Blair and Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

‘A PATHWAY TO SAFETY’ — In a new blog post, our policy expert Alexandra Villareal breaks down the opportunity for Americans to sponsor refugees and others who have been displaced. "The U.S. immigration system is deeply broken, and many of those needing humanitarian assistance today have been categorically boxed out of existing visas to get here," Villareal writes. But for many of them, private sponsors "may even be able to offer the greatest gift of all — a pathway to safety." 

HIRING, TRAINING — The Tent Partnership for Refugees announced over the weekend that 40 companies have committed to hiring and training more than 250,000 refugees across Europe, reports Camille Bello of Euronews. "Our goal is to get them not only just meaningful employment but jobs that they can continue to thrive and be able to continue value add to our company," said J Ofori Agboka, who leads human resources for worldwide operations at Amazon.  

U.S. UPTICK — The UNHCR report tallies 35.3 million refugees worldwide. The Biden administration has set a "ceiling" of 125,000 refugee resettlements in fiscal year 2023. Eight months in, we aren’t close to reaching that cap. But trends are improving: More than 6,000 refugees have been resettled in each of the past three months. If this trend continues, the U.S. could resettle about 60,000 refugees — topping 50,000 for the first time since 2017, as our policy expert Dan Kosten has noted. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan