COMMUNITY DINNER — The nonprofit HIAS Pennsylvania hosted a potluck Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday for Afghan evacuees who resettled in the area last year, reports Susan Snyder of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Ethiopian Community Development Council, an Arlington, Virginia-based resettlement agency, held a similar event, reports Laura Meckler of The Washington Post. "No politics, no religion, no nothing; just people getting together," said Sarah Zullo, director of the African Community Center. "When people are actually sitting together to eat, we find we have a lot more in common than our differences." On the advocacy front: The International Rescue Committee, along with big companies like Door Dash, Uber, Airbnb, and The U.S Chamber of Commerce, recently sent a letter to Congress pushing for passage of the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act this year, per Khaama Press. 

DREAM ACT — Immigrant activists are calling Congress to approve a path for permanent residency before the end of the year for those enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, reports Shannon Young for KGNU and Aspen Public Radio. "In order to have something more permanent, and I can stay in this country and eventually become a citizen, we need the DREAM Act, or a path to citizenship," said DACA recipient Jesus Castro. "We grew up in this country, we are part of this economy, we call this place home, and we want to have something better. We want to have a permanent solution and feel safe, and in order to feel safe, we need a path to citizenship." Several faith-based organizations around the country have also continued to urge Congress to pass a permanent solution for Dreamers, per Jessica Weisman of The People’s Vanguard of Davis. 

NEXT STOP, PHILLY — For the second time in the past week, Texas officials unexpectedly bused a group of asylum-seeking migrants to Philadelphia, per NBC10. "It’s not just unproductive and disappointing, but downright irresponsible and calloused to do this unannounced and without coordination, showing blatant disregard for the sanctity of human lives," said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney on Wednesday, in response to Texas Gov. Abbott’s (R) actions. Regardless, "Philadelphia is a proud welcoming city," said Kenney. "For those arriving in Philadelphia please know you are welcome here." Migrants who were transported to the city of brotherly love were from Ecuador, Colombia, and other countries.

VISITATION RIGHTS — Immigrant families are still struggling to see their loved ones in detention, despite Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lifting a pandemic-related ban in May to reinstate social visits, reports Juliana Kim for NPR. In José Hernandez’s case: not only does the drive to visit him take four hours, but his parents don’t have a car to go see him. Individual facilities also continue to use their discretion — often using COVID measures as a proxy — to prohibit visits, notes Kim. "The inconsistency with the visitation guidelines has made it more difficult for my parents to see me," said Hernandez, who is currently detained at a facility in Bakersfield, California. "I just want the chance to see my family and give them a hug before worse comes to worst: I have to leave the country I’ve called home for 29 years." 

‘WORLD CUP DREAMS’ — The Cornell University engineering school began partnering with an all-girls robotics team called Afghan Dreamers to "inspire young people to dream big, in both soccer and STEM learning," reports Tom Fleischman of Cornell Chronicle. Many of the girls fled Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul. The team has been working on developing a free, downloadable soccer video game named, "World Cup Dreams." Said professor David Schneider: "We hope this might be empowering for young girls. There could be a young girl in Cambodia who could download this game for free on a phone. She could read the small blurb about the Dreamers and maybe, just maybe, be a little bit more inspired to dream what she could make happen too."   

Thanks for reading, 

Clara