The preliminary number from a State Department source would represent more than double the number of refugees the U.S. resettled in 2021 — a record low of 11,445, as our press statement underscores. But more work lies ahead to, in Montoya-Galvez’s words, "rebuild a resettlement system gutted by Trump-era limits and the COVID-19 pandemic." Last week, President Biden set the same 125,000 admissions cap for fiscal year 2023.  

It’s also worth noting that the numbers exclude at least 130,000 Afghans and Ukrainians who entered the U.S. under humanitarian parole or as asylum seekers at the border. Those have been strong efforts by the administration — and the American people welcoming them. But, unlike those who arrive through the Refugee Admissions Program, they have no certainty about future permanent status.  

Deputy Assistant State Department Secretary Sarah Cross told Montoya-Galvez that the administration plans to launch a private refugee sponsorship program later this year that would allow private citizens to support refugee resettlement.  

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP. We’ll be taking a break tomorrow for Yom Kippur and will be back on Thursday. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].  

NATIONAL GUARD — On Monday, Gov. Chris Sununu (R-New Hampshire) announced that more than 160 soldiers from the state’s National Guard would be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border in response to a mobilization order from the Department of Defense, Hannah Cotter of WMUR reports. Sununu said guard members will focus on surveillance and "assist with the trafficking of people, weapons and drugs at the border." Deployment is slated to last a year. Speaking of the border, take a couple of minutes to watch our policy expert Danilo Zak’s new video explainer about the transport of migrants between states — and about the solutions we really need to address challenges at the border. 

ALLIES IN DANGER — Thousands of our Afghan allies still in danger in Afghanistan have been barred from visas, often because of technicalities, reports Andrea Castillo of The Los Angeles Times. "I can’t continue my life like this. The Taliban, if they find me, they will send me to jail or kill me," said a former interpreter identified only as "H.S." for his safety. He said his date mix-up between the Western and Afghan calendars during a counterintelligence screening led to his visa denial. For NPR, D. Parvaz reports on the anxiety for the 74,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants still waiting for a process that can take four years. They include women, for whom leaving Afghanistan is especially difficult. Meanwhile, in a Florida Today op-ed, Loki Mole writes that the Biden administration and Congress have a moral obligation to welcome and honor our Afghan allies by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act — in part to honor veterans like Mole’s grandfather. 

In local welcome:  

• Since the fall of Kabul, nearly 300 Afghan evacuees have resettled in mid-Missouri. Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri has supported evacuees with job resources, shelter, education workshops and more. (Jamie Holcomb, Columbia Missourian)  
• The nonprofit organizations Catherine McAuley Center and Central Furniture Rescue are partnering to furnish Afghan families’ homes in the Cedar Rapids area before their arrival. (Elijah Decious, The Gazette) 
• Partnering with Accenture, Welcome.us and Human Rights First, Google hosted an asylum clinic at its headquarters in New York City, pairing 22 Afghans with volunteer attorneys and support staff to help with their applications. (Sophie Salmore, Human Rights First) 

RESETTLING IN OHIO — Violetta Musiiovska fled Ukraine with her two daughters in March and has resettled in Ohio at least for now. Nearly six months later, she’s still waiting for work authorization from the U.S. government, reports Peter Gill of The Columbus Dispatch. While Ukrainian parolees are eligible to work and receive financial assistance, they must apply on their own, which is time-consuming, Gill notes. "I want to do something myself," said Musiiovska, a former manager at a women’s health clinic in Lviv. "… The main problem still remains — I don’t have my work authorization." Also in The Columbus Dispatch, despite dwindling refugee admissions and budgets, nonprofit organizations in the Greater Columbus area have continued to support new arrivals, turning to support from foundations in the city and state, per Peter Gill and Dane King. 

RESOURCES — "Entre Mundos," a program from Radio Jornalera in Minnesota, is offering Latino immigrants information on issues they face in their daily life "between (cultural) worlds," reports Vicki Adame of MPR News. The station began as a channel to inform workers about their rights and help with immigrants’ needs, according to Francisco Segovia, one of the radio hosts. Meanwhile, The Washington Post’s Samantha Chery is out with a helpful guide and glossary explaining the history and meaning of terms including Hispanic, Latino, Latinx and Latine.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. More on the recent Lifeway Research poll of evangelicals from Mark Wingfield of Baptist News Global, including this from World Relief President Myal Greene: "This study underscores what World Relief offices around the country have found in their interactions with the thousands of local churches and tens of thousands of volunteers: Large majorities of evangelical Christians recognize that their faith compels them to care sacrificially for refugees and other immigrants, and they want to see governmental policies that reflect those concerns as well."