The Forum Daily | Thursday, August 29, 2024 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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**THE FORUM DAILY**U.S. veterans' commitment to support our Afghan allies left behind after the August 2021 fall of Kabul remains strong. Many continue to invest their time and money in efforts to resettle allies in the United States, reports Hope Hodge Seck of The Washington Post [link removed].??

Sean Halpin, a former Army intelligence officer, has been tracking and supporting 176 Afghan linguists and family members waiting for resettlement. He has provided his own money to many of them for food and other needs - to the tune of about $400,000 over the years, he estimates.??

Nonprofit Operation Recovery launched the website Impacts of War [link removed] to help U.S. leaders understand veterans' personal efforts and the need for more government action to support Afghan allies. Veterans can report their contributions of time and money to Afghan rescue and resettlement, as well as share stories of atrocities that they witnessed in Afghanistan.??

In The Washington Times [link removed], Stephen Dinan shares the challenges, triumphs and welcome resettled Afghans in the D.C. area have experienced.??

And in an op-ed for The Hill [link removed], Jennie again calls on Democrats and Republicans to offer solutions: "Legislative action from Congress is the only real path to permanent change for Afghan evacuees in the U.S. ... Yet we see almost no movement on such legislation, forcing those who have already been through so much to wait out their limbo."??

Welcome to Thursday's edition of The Forum Daily. As a reminder we will be off tomorrow and Monday, so expect us back in your inbox Wednesday morning! I'm Dan Gordon, the Forum's strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Joanna Taylor, Ally Villarreal and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].??

EMPOWERING EMPLOYEES - Through a partnership with the Forum's English at Work [link removed] program, San Antonio-based produce company Fresh Texas is helping resettled Afghan employees thrive in their new home by providing free English classes [link removed] at the worksite. Improved English skills not only are critical for new arrivals' career opportunities, but also improve business outcomes and customer satisfaction across industries.??

In local welcome:??

* Marquette University professor Louise Cainkar??and the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition created "Restorative Sewing Circles," through which Afghan women are building community. (Melissa Barclay, Marquette Today [link removed])??

* Bard College in New York and Eastern Michigan University are among schools celebrating the arrival of the first cohorts of sponsored refugee students as part of the Welcome Corps on Campus [link removed] program. (Bard News [link removed]; Melissa Thrasher,??EMU Today [link removed])??

* In Brentwood, New York, refugees Karim from Afghanistan and Valerie from Ukraine share their resettlement experience with the support of the Sisters of St. Joseph. (Zoe Kourajian, U.S. Catholic [link removed])??

FLORIDA - Advocates in Florida say new state laws add burdens to an immigrant community still struggling with a severe law passed last year, reports Nancy Guan of WUSF [link removed]. One bill, effective July 1, bans counties and municipalities from accepting IDs other states issue to undocumented immigrants, making it harder for undocumented individuals to live and support their families, Guan notes.??

OPERATION LONE STAR??- At least 17 Texas National Guard members have died while deployed as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's (R)??Operation Lone Star [link removed] Rose L. Thayer of Stars and Stripes [link removed]. Sgt. Bishop Evans drowned in the Rio Grande in 2022 while attempting to rescue migrants. Other causes include a medical emergency, an accidental shooting, a traffic accident, and suicide.??

PROGRAM REVAMP

**??**- The Biden administration may restart the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans "as soon as this week," per Julia Ainsley and Laura Strickler of NBC News [link removed]. Officials see the program as an important deterrent to unauthorized border crossings??- and as Manuela Nivia writes in an op-ed for??The Hill [link removed], it's a critical pathway for migrants fleeing intensifying violence and persecution at home.??

Thanks for reading,??

Dan??

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