Ten years later, the future of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ (DACA) remains unknown, per Jeff Brumley of Baptist New Global.  

With the program currently facing several legal challenges, leaders across the political spectrum are calling on Congress to pass permanent solutions for DACA recipients and other Dreamers:  

• "Over the past decade, DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people — including many who are integral members of evangelical churches, campuses and organizations — the opportunity to pursue their dreams," the Evangelical Immigration Table wrote in a letter to Congress.  
• A group of 14 "life-long" Republican donors wrote that "Improving border security and providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers is not only morally right; it is also absolutely crucial to addressing labor shortages, reducing food prices and creating jobs for all American families," per Sabrina Rodriguez for Politico. 
• The Forum’s Corporate Roundtable helped facilitate the release of a letter signed by over 40 businesses and organizations — including Apple, Microsoft, Chipotle, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — urging Congress to pass a permanent, bipartisan solution for Dreamers. Rick Jervis has more on the letter in a piece for USA Today.
• In an op-ed for the Pinal Central, Andy Myers, a former vocational pastor and state mobilizer for the Forum, writes: "Only Congress can fix this. These young adults, brought into the U.S. undocumented as children and before their minds could form memories of any other home or country, deserve better." 
• Over at the Baptist Standard, Brenda Kirk, another mobilizer for the Forum, asks how long it will take for Congress to pass permanent solutions for this population, inviting us to pray. 

And though there is mounting evidence that DACA has been successful in helping the middle class grow, without permanent protections, their ability to continue to build their lives in the U.S. remains at stake, per a team at NBC News. An entirely new generation of undocumented high school graduates have already lost their protections from deportation and the legal right to work this year, reports Miriam Jordan of The New York Times. 

Bottom line: Congress must pass legislation that includes a permanent solution for all Dreamers.  

Welcome to Thursday’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].  

SENATE HEARING — On Tuesday, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) held a bipartisan hearing to build momentum for legislation to attract international students, protect DACA recipients, and strengthen the U.S. economy, reports Stuart Anderson for Forbes. "Other countries — who compete with us for economic and political leadership — are making it more attractive for international students to come to their universities and stay after graduation. They’re more than eager to recruit the students who are no longer coming to the United States," Sen. Padilla explained, adding that "DACA has helped hundreds of thousands of young immigrants pursue their dreams, their American dreams, while contributing to their communities, and strengthening our economy."

WORLD REFUGEE DAY — Monday, June 20th, marks World Refugee Day — which has a renewed sense of urgency this year, with a record high of over 100 million people displaced around the globe. Combined, "it would be the 14th most-populous nation in the world," per Sigal Samuel of Vox. He notes that 85% of the world’s refugees relocate to developing countries. "[M]any of these low- and middle-income countries don’t have the resources to be able to care for their own population, let alone millions of newcomers," said the Center for Global Development’s Helen Dempster.  

• For more on how the U.S. can address low levels of  refugee resettlement and continue building capacity, join us tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST on Facebook Live. 
• Additionally, Princeton University’s Religion and Forced Migration Initiative has a great set of tools to help folks better understand the role of religion in forced migration, with a toolkit for World Refugee Day Monday, a refugee resources map, and more. 

RELIEF — Some doctors, teachers, engineers, and other Afghans who were forced to work with the Taliban will now have an opportunity to seek asylum or obtain visas "after the Biden administration loosened a terrorism-related designation on Tuesday," reports The Los Angeles Times’ Hamed Aleaziz. Afghans, "including those who bravely and loyally supported U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan at great risk to their safety, should not be denied humanitarian protection and other immigration benefits due to their inescapable proximity to war or their work as civil servants," said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. 

Locally:  

• The diocesan Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services have welcomed and accommodated more than 1,000 Afghan refugees and other newcomers since October. "It has restructured and almost doubled the size of its staff from 33 to 62, even opening a new office in Woodbridge [Virginia]." (Leslie Miller, Catholic Herald). 
• Hamza Jebran and 32 other Afghan refugees were given the opportunity to work and rebuild their lives with the engineering and manufacturing company Husco in Waukesha, Wisconsin, which "offers everything from translators to transportation support and multi-faith meditation spaces." (Taylor Lumpkin, TMJ4) 
• Syrian restaurant Khalil’s has partnered with the nonprofit Hello Neighbor to help welcome Afghan refugees to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and provide them with jobs. (Alecia Taylor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) 

Thanks for reading, 

Becka  

P.S. This morning, the Biden administration released their border numbers for the month of May. Our policy expert Danilo Zak breaks down what the numbers mean here, and Camilo Montoya-Galvez has more on the border data over at CBS News.  

P. P. S. My favorite migration story of the week: WWE wrestler and film star John Cena traveled to Europe to meet Misha Rohozhyn, a teenage Ukrainian refugee with down syndrome who was confused and stressed about being forced to leave his home in the face of the Russian invasion — and whose mother told him that the family was traveling to meet Cena, his personal hero. The video will melt your heart.