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. 


Raise your voice to support comprehensive immigration reform! 

 
On Thursday, President Biden’s groundbreaking immigration reform proposal was introduced in Congress. The US Citizenship Act of 2021 would provide DACA and TPS recipients with green cards, setting them on a path to citizenship, improve the family reunification process by reducing visa backlogs, and create a pathway to earned citizenship for approximately 11 million immigrants in the country without legal status.

It has been over 30 years since Congress passed a law to reform the country’s immigration system and adjust the status of undocumented immigrants in the country. As a result, millions of hardworking families have lived in the shadows while contributing to our economy and communities.
 
We must make our voices heard and urge Congress to pass the US Citizenship Act of 2021. Send an email to your legislators today! 
Contact Your Congressperson
Yesterday marked our first LIRS Townhall of the year, "The First 30 Days: Biden's Actions on Immigration." It was an excellent, incredibly informative event, and we're grateful to our panelists from American Immigration Council, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, League of United Latin American Citizens, and New American Economy for their time and expertise. Don't miss it. 

Watch the webinar.
"At the end of 2016, there were around 325 local offices across the U.S. that resettled refugees in their area. But by the end of 2019, more than 100 had shut down or suspended their services.

'Infrastructure that had been built over four decades was ultimately decimated in four years,' [said] Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service."

Read the full ABC News article about the need to rebuild the refugee resettlement infrastructure. 
 
As we enter the season of Lent, we invite you to join us for our 10-minute
Digital Lenten Retreat. Whenever you have the time, feel free to take a moment to explore the meaning of the season through Scripture, prayer, and reflection.

Participate in the retreat.
Check out our new digital hub for prayers for immigrants and refugees. This is a place for the faithful to honor the journey of the migrant and the refugee. Join us in seeking to understand the global realities that our migrant brothers and sisters face and lifting them up in prayer. 

Visit the prayer center.

Coming Up
We hope you will join LIRS for an evening celebrating the national book launch of the second edition of They Are Us: Lutherans and Immigration with Pastor Stephen Bouman on February 23 at 7 p.m. ET. Pastor Bouman will share his experience writing the book, stories of the incredible people he has met, and reflections on how much things have changed since the first edition.

Register for the event.
FOLLOW LIRS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook
Twitter
Link
Website
DONATE
Copyright © 2021 Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive communications from us on our website. Thank you!

Our mailing address is:
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
700 Light St
Baltimore, MD 21230-3850

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp