LIRS Asking Clergy to Sign Presidential Determination Letter for Refugee Resettlement
As we approach the end of the federal government’s fiscal year (Sept. 30), the Administration is considering how many refugees to welcome in 2021. Although refugee admissions have gone down each year of the current Administration, we know refugee admissions have not been eliminated due to strong advocacy, particularly from the faith community.
The ELCA AMMPARO and LIRS Advocacy teams invite you to sign-on to this letter addressed to the President and Secretary Pompeo, where we urge them to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in fiscal year 2021. All ELCA bishops and rostered ministers are invited and encouraged to sign on to the letter. The deadline to sign on is Tuesday, Sept. 15 COB.
We encourage you to share widely in your synods to ensure we have as strong a voice as possible. If you would like to learn more about the presidential determination, please visit this LIRS webpage for a list of frequently asked questions.
Please show your support for refugees by signing-on to this letter:
Also available from LIRS:
Welcoming Refugees Toolkit is attached and downloadable at lirs.org/advocate.
Refugee Council USA advocacy webinar on Friday, Sep. 11th from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET. You can register for the webinar here. It will discuss:
The upcoming Presidential Determination and virtual advocacy efforts
Civic Engagement and NPNA's New American Voters campaign
Updates regarding USCIS, appropriations, and others