The Forum Daily | Wednesday, November 26, 2025https://www.forumtogether.org

Happy Thanksgiving a day early! Read on for stories with a holiday focus. 

But first up, the Trump administration’s plan to re-vet all refugees approved during the Biden administration is causing anxiety for those who would be affected, report Corey Williams, Mike Catalini and Rebecca Santana of Associated Press [link removed]. 

"It was and it still is a dream to be in America. If they start sending back people to their home countries, you don’t have the rights that you have here and the opportunities," said a man who came here with his family as a refugee from Syria. 

The administration stated concerns about security. Advocates point out that refugees are the most highly vetted immigrants entering the United States. 

"Amid pre-existing backlogs, this unprecedented plan calls for spending unnecessary resources on re-vetting a population and freezing their ability to contribute to their new country and support themselves," Jennie said yesterday in a statement [link removed]. 

Additionally, in a statement from the Council on National Security and Immigration [link removed]-, leader Margaret Stock said that "Strong vetting and secure borders are essential to national security, and the refugees in question have already completed an extensive, multistep vetting process before their lawful admissions." 

Jimmy Gutierrez’s story at WUWM 89.7 [link removed] looks at how Wisconsin community members and the refugees they welcome are being affected by earlier changes the administration has made. 

Finally, we want to say thank you for reading and engaging with us. We’re forever grateful for your support — and if you’re interested in continuing to show your support through a donation [link removed], we’d be grateful for that, too. 

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. The Forum team will be out for the holiday until Monday. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s VP of Strategic Communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Masooma Amin, Jillian Clark, Christian Penichet 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].   

**CELEBRATIONS INTERRUPTED** — For many families this year, Thanksgiving and other celebrations are being marred by the realities of increased immigration enforcement, reports Maura Fox of The San Diego Union-Tribune [link removed]. "We’re trying to do Thanksgiving, but it’s completely different. My husband was the joy of the holidays," said Rosa Martinez, whose husband was deported seven months ago. As families and friends are celebrating less, they are also spending less, which hurts local businesses, Martinez notes. 

**NEW FRONTIERS** — Political analyst Juan Williams’ family will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow while watching his nephew take off on a mission to the International Space Station. None of this would have been possible without sacrifices Juan Williams’ parents made 60-plus years ago in immigrating to the United States. "This Thanksgiving, I am grateful to live in a country where the grandson of Panamanian immigrants can represent America in the heavens, on a mission of peace and science," Williams writes in The Hill [link removed]. 

**A KIND RESPONSE** — Resharing this one: After being threatened and harassed, the owners of Annie’s Café in Bountiful, Utah, are offering a free Thanksgiving meal tomorrow to "anyone in need," reported Carmen Nesbitt of The Salt Lake Tribune [link removed]. Co-owner Annie Bennett is a U.S citizen who emigrated from Argentina decades ago. After receiving threatening calls over the summer, the owners chose kindness and generosity. "There’s too much hate between people," Bennett said. "I will never stop helping." 

**REFUGEE THANKSGIVING** — The African Community Center in Denver will host its 20th annual Refugee First Thanksgiving, 9news.com [link removed] reports. The dinner provides an opportunity for newcomers to share gratitude and build community at the center, which has served refugees from more than 60 countries. "It's just like a beautiful way to meet new people, and to have an introduction to something that can bloom into a beautiful relationship for everyone," Iftu Abdi, who works at the center, tells 9News’ Alexandra Lewis and Sam Schacher. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

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