Monthly refugee resettlement numbers tend not to get much attention, but they should: The U.S. continues to resettle numbers far below our own goals. 

The Biden administration posted data yesterday showing that the U.S. resettled only 1,898 refugees in May, fewer than in April. The administration is still struggling to ramp up a resettlement system undercut by COVID-19 and cuts during the Trump administration. 

The data are here, and my colleague Danilo Zak has a great thread on Twitter about them (as usual). Among his observations: "With only 4 months left in the fiscal year, we're on track to resettle just 18,962 refugees … not remotely close to the ceiling Biden set at 125,000." 

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Becka Wall, the Forum’s digital communications VP. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

SUMMIT NEWS — Today at the Summit of the Americas, Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce $3.2 billion in pledges from companies to help address root causes of migration from Central America, Daina Beth Solomon and Ted Hesson report in Reuters. On CNN.com, Jasmine Wright and Priscilla Alvarez take a deeper look at Harris’s work and the challenges she has faced in her efforts in the region. Meanwhile, President Biden is expected to sign a declaration on migration Friday, Alex Gangitano reports for The Hill. The declaration is expected to be "an unprecedented and ambitious step by the United States and regional partners to work together to address the migration crisis in a comprehensive manner."  

A FAMILY’S LONG SEPARATION — When Jesús came to the U.S. to get away from the man who raped her, she left her 14-month-old son behind, worried about the dangerous journey through the desert. That was 22 years ago. As Uriel J. García reports for The Texas Tribune, the Central American Minors program would allow her son to join her in the U.S. — but the pandemic has caused delays, and now a lawsuit filed by attorneys general in Texas and seven other states puts the reunion at risk. "Texas and the other states are attempting to close off one of the only remaining pathways that migrant children have to reunite with their families," said attorney Linda Evarts of the International Refugee Assistance Project. 

INTEGRATION AND SUCCESS — Today’s immigrants and their children integrate and succeed at rates similar to those in previous generations, Stuart Anderson writes in Forbes. In their new book "Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success," economics professors Ran Abramitzky of Stanford University and Leah Boustan of Princeton University also found that "[i]mmigrant success does not come at the expense of U.S.-born workers." Boustan hopes that her research will inspire policy change, as Delaney Parrish writes for Princeton University: "Sometimes we feel so stuck. We feel polarized. Congress can’t pass legislation. On immigration, we’ve been at a stalemate for 50 years. But you look at history, and you see we’ve had wild change. … I think economic history helps us recognize the possibility of scope for change." 

GO COWBOYS — Tayyab Ghazniwal felt a calling when he saw the colors of his native Afghanistan flying outside the School of Global Studies and Partnerships at Oklahoma State University. As Carla Hinton writes in The Oklahoman, Ghazniwal is one of 71 Afghan refugees who have resettled in Stillwater, more than half of whom are living in university housing for now. Through the Oklahoma State University CARES program, English professors and graduate students help refugees "learn basic English, conversational English, and English for the workplace," and churches and others in the community are helping fill gaps in support. Ghazniwal said of seeing the Afghan flag, "It called me to Stillwater, it called me to Oklahoma State University. I felt the hand of God, the voice of God saying ‘come to Oklahoma State,’ and so I came. I found purpose here."  

More local stories of welcome: 

A MITZVAH OF WELCOME — Local organizations and individuals are stepping up to provide aid to Ukrainian refugees, Jalen Small reports in Newsweek. As just one example, Holly Rosen Fink, president and co-founder of the Westchester Jewish Coalition for Immigration (WJCI), immediately mobilized her organization to help the family of "Irena" when she learned they were living in a rodent-infested basement in New York City after a harrowing journey from Ukraine. The coalition has helped Irena and her son "find food, shelter, and a safe place to live" and "helped them connect with legal and educational services, as well as with other well-meaning community members."