Here’s another round-up of what we’ve been reading and watching, from in the news and around the web.

The Washington Post reports that a new study debunks a common myth that refugees are economic burdens. It shows refugees end up paying more in taxes than they receive in welfare benefits after just eight years of living in the United States. The study also concludes that refugees coming to the United States as children graduate high school and enter college at the same rate as U.S. born citizens. And refugees coming to the United States as adults work at higher rates, and their reliance on government assistance is on par with U.S.-born citizens.

This week we’ve got two inspiring stories about refugees who demonstrate just how much refugees give back to the United States when they resettle here:

Army Sgt. Ali Alsaeedy is an Iraqi native who studied as an engineer in Baghdad while U.S. forces were arriving to transform his country for the better. After graduating from college, conditions in Iraq made it hard to find work, but he eventually landed a job in information technology for a satellite communications company. One day while at work a man came into the store to ask if he would be able to install an internet network on a U.S. military base. Happy with his work and impressed by his English, he was immediately offered a job as a translator. Sgt. Alsaeedy worked with the U.S. Air Force and the Marines in Qaim, Iraq, becoming a brother to the men and women he served alongside. He was able to resettle to the United States under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, and now resides in Norfolk, Virginia with his family. Grateful to the United States for the opportunities he was given, and yearning to give back, he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer, attended airborne school, and was deployed to Iraq, where his unit happened to operate in the neighbored he was raised in.

Mohammad Nadir was a refugee from Kabul, Afghanistan who assisted U.S. forces in his country as an interpreter for the International Security Assistance Force. Growing up in Afghanistan, he was always in the presence of uniformed personnel, driving him to strive to serve his country, and America, as a United States Marine. He was able to come to the United States in 2014 on the SIV program, and was finally able to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps—fulfilling his childhood dream to serve.

This week also brings us two inspiring stories of veterans giving back. As a U.S. Marine and Army veteran who served three tours in Iraq, Chase Millsap understands the importance of advocating for refugees, and especially for the SIV program. He shares the story about an Iraqi officer who saved his life when a sniper shot at him during a perimeter walk in Iraq. That Iraqi officer, nicknamed ‘the Captain’, is currently in a refugee camp in Turkey with his family awaiting visa issuances to resettle to the United States; they’ve been waiting nearly three years. Millsap remains dedicated to their cause, and to other refugees, working as a volunteer VFAI leader, the founder of the Ronin Refugee Project and a member of the board of directors of No One Left Behind.

Another veteran committed to helping refugees is VFAI’s own founder and director, Scott Cooper. After serving for over two decades as a U.S. Marine, he understands the battlefield. UNHCR recently highlighted Cooper’s advocacy, conveying how refugees are actually the key to genuine security. He understands the vetting process conducted by the United States, and has worked tirelessly to strengthen the SIV program. Cooper himself has helped over a dozen refugees resettle in the United States.