News from the Week of February 17, 2019

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At the end of last week Congress approved four thousand additional Special Immigrant Visas for our Afghan partners through this fiscal year. The bipartisan effort highlights what we can achieve if we work together and stresses the importance of advocating for our wartime allies on their path to security.

In 2007, Army Sergeant Daniel Cowart tackled a man wearing a suicide vest while on patrol in Iraq. The suicide bomber detonated the vest, critically injuring Cowart. After originally receiving the Silver Cross for his heroic actions, Sgt. Cowart’s award is now being promoted to a Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award the military has to offer.

For his 92nd birthday, World War II veteran Edmund Rusinek spent fifteen hundred dollars treating military families to meals at Chick-fil-A. Many years ago an elderly man bought him a meal during his draftee training, so now he pays that kindness forward.

The second-largest number of refugees fleeing Mali are currently living in Mauritania. With children making up over sixty percent of the group, education is extremely important. Many of these minors are now able to go to school for the first time and invest in their long-term futures.

Refugees from Myanmar living in Thailand now have the opportunity to go home. Aided by UNHCR, the Myanmar government is committed to reintegration.