Dear Friends,

I have good news – this week President Biden announced that he was raising the cap on the number of refugees who can be admitted to the United States this year to 62,500. While 62,500 is still far too low to meet the need, it represents a dramatic improvement over the historic low of 15,000 put in place by the Trump Administration.

People of faith played a significant role in achieving this victory. Throughout the Trump Administration, people of faith, many of whom have a personal understanding of the importance of welcoming refugees, advocated for an increase in the number of refugees our country would accept. Then in the last few weeks, when it appeared that President Biden might waver on his commitment to raise the cap on the number of refugees allowed into the U.S., people of faith responded yet again to press him to keep his promise.

If you participated in this effort by signing a petition, calling your Members of Congress, or by assisting with refugee resettlement efforts, thank you. 

There is still much we need to do to rebuild the infrastructure for vetting and welcoming refugees and advocates still need to encourage President Biden to further increase the cap next year (see this New York Times story for further context). But today, please consider tweeting or posting on other social networks your thanks to President Biden:

Thank you @POTUS for raising the refugee cap. Our country should always be ready to welcome those fleeing torture, war, and other crises. #RestoringWelcome 

We need to show the President that Americans stand with refugees and will always welcome them to the United States.

Sincerely,

Rev. Ron Stief
Executive Director