We hope you had a meaningful Juneteenth yesterday.  

Today, on World Refugee Day, we honor the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their homes — including more than 43 million who have had to leave their countries of origin altogether and need to be resettled, per U.N. data. 

The team at Al Jazeera helps us visualize, and helps humanize, worldwide displacement in a new post today. It’s more than worth your time. 

The day also allows us to celebrate refugees’ contributions, including here in the United States, and it reminds us of the importance of welcome. 

In Forbes, Matt Symonds shares stories of former refugees who are showing promise in the business world after continuing their educations. "Education is something no one can take away from you," reflects Ema Pasic Reid, a former refugee from Bosnia-Herzegovina who now holds a leadership role at New Balance in Boston. "It opens up new perspectives and helps you step outside of the ‘box’ of a refugee mentality." 

The federal government also is marking the day, including in a blog post on refugees’ contributions. According to a Department of Health and Human Services study released this year, "The net fiscal impact of refugees and asylees was positive" from 2005-2019, to the tune of $123.8 billion. 

And in an op-ed in The Dallas Morning News, Jalil Dawood shares her own story as a refugee who escaped religious persecution in Iraq.  

To read how we can help support refugees, take a look at our resource from last year. And test your knowledge with this updated quiz. (Your editor’s score to beat is an embarrassing 2 of 5.) 

Welcome to Thursday's edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Samantha Siedow, Ally Villarreal and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

FAMILIES — Before the day was out Tuesday, our quick-working policy team had posted explainers related to the Biden administration’s newly announced actions. Get the details on relief for certain mixed-status families. Then read affected families’ reactions in Valerie Gonzalez and Juan A. Lozano’s Associated Press story.  

DREAMERS — Our second explainer delves into the announced streamlining of a waiver process for which Dreamers are already eligible. One outcome could be better access to H-1B visas for DACA recipients, Stuart Anderson writes in Forbes. "We have been advocating for this clarifying guidance around D-3 waivers with the current administration since 2022, so it is exciting to see it come to fruition," said Miriam Feldblum, Executive Director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. 

NURSES — Health groups warn that a freeze on visas for foreign nurses could impact already tight staffing at health care facilities, reports Nathaniel Weixel of The Hill. "This latest visa freeze halts the flow of qualified international nurses when American hospitals need them most, and the only way to correct it is through congressional action," said Patty Jeffrey, President of the American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment. 

GROWTH — The legacy of the 1980 Mariel boatlift, during which 125,000 Cuban migrants arrived in the U.S. in seven months' time, both stands in contrast to and offers lessons for today’s migration challenges, researcher Anthony Capote writes in the Miami Herald. Research "shows that even a large and sudden increase in the number of immigrants ... can spur economic growth without any significant reduction in wages for other workers," he writes.   

Thanks for reading,  

Dan