Welcome to This Week at LIRS! 


Every week, we catch you up on what's new at LIRS—from upcoming events to media appearances, important immigration updates, and more. 
On February 4, President Biden announced his intention to approve an executive order that establishes guiding principles for his administration’s implementation of the U.S. Refugee Admission Program and paves the way for his commitment to resettling 125,000 refugees in the administration’s first full fiscal year in office. As LIRS CEO Krish O'Mara Vignarajah stated, this order is "a bold recognition of the scope and scale of the worst global displacement crisis in history." 
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Did you catch LIRS on PBS NewsHour this week? We're thrilled to see President Biden taking swift action to help rebuild our long-broken immigration system, from working to reunite separated children and families to addressing the root causes of migration. 

Watch the full segment.
"Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the chief executive of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said 17 of the organization’s 48 resettlement offices closed because of financial constraints from the cuts to refugee admissions.'It was death by a thousand cuts,' Ms. Vignarajah said."

Read more about the long road to rebuilding the refugee resettlement program in the New York Times.
 
On Thursday, Senators Durbin (D-IL) and Graham (SC-R) re-introduced the Dream Act of 2021. If passed, the legislation would provide a permanent lawful status to nearly two million Dreamers – immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. The permanent status would shield them from deportation and allow them to work and support their families. 

Raise your voice to protect Dreamers from deportation by writing to your Senator today.
TAKE ACTION! As we enter a new era in immigration policy, we want you to join us in the work of welcome. Our Hope Rising Toolkit will provide you and your community with concrete ways to prepare for changes to the United States immigration system in the next 90 days (and beyond). 

Download the toolkit.
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