Governors from at least eight states are withholding or recalling National Guard troops from efforts to secure the U.S. border with Mexico. Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland said, "Until this policy of separating children from their families has been rescinded, Maryland will not deploy any National Guard resources to the border." Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts described what's happening at the border as "cruel and inhumane," telling his troops "to hold steady and not go down to the border—period." 

Ashraf Kambere was 13 when rebels captured his family and killed his parents in war-torn Congo. He escaped with his 3 younger siblings to Uganda where they met his aunt and "sister-cousin" and applied for resettlement to the United States. They were ultimately approved and relocated to Utah. Ashraf enrolled in Utah International Charter School, dedicating himself to becoming an engineer. After spending 5 hours every day commuting to the campus, Ashraf graduated this week.

WeWork, a global co-working space and community-building platform, hosted a panel and pop-up market on Monday in Denver to kick off World Refugee Week. State Senator Steve Fenberg, refugee entrepreneurs, SIV recipients, VFAI member Travis Weiner, and others were in attendance. WeWork has a presence in 73 cities around the world and has pledged to hire, mentor, and train 1,500 refugees in the next five years.  

This week, two of our VFAI leaders, Maggie Seymour and Ben Wormington, wrote about what World Refugee Day means to them.

Maggie’s piece in the Charleston Post and Courier urged Southern communities to channel their famous spirit of hospitality to embrace refugees. While Ben’s Medium piece touched on the patriotic themes of honor andcourage to make the case for America fulfilling its promises to interpreters and translators who risked their lives to stand by us—Ben’s Iraqi interpreter has been waiting for a visa appointment through the resettlement program since 2008.

In honor of World Refugee Day, VFAI-NY/NJ was invited to the New York Stock Exchange to view the ringing of the closing bell. Joined by two SIV recipients, a recently arrived refugee family from El Salvador, and members of Church World Service, the group spoke to NYSE staff about the spirit of the day and how refugees risk everything to come to America so they can be part of this great economy, not as takers, but as contributors.

Also on World Refugee Day, Washington Nationals closer, Sean Doolittle, our own Scott Cooper, and a group from USA for UNHCR, got together before Wednesday’s game on June 20^th.  Reflecting on the stories of the refugees he met that night, Sean tweeted that "America is still a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world." In light of the current issues at the border, Sean emphasized that we as Americans have an obligation to others with dignity and respect.