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.
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Join LIRS in Celebrating World Refugee Day!
World Refugee Day is June 20, but LIRS is honoring our refugee neighbors all month long! Together with our partners and communities around the world, we celebrate the incredible resilience and courage of refugees here in America and recognize the overwhelming adversity faced by nearly 80 million people displaced worldwide.
We invite you to download our World Refugee Day 2021 toolkit to learn more about refugees, to advocate for compassionate policy solutions, to share and uplift their voices, and to support the critical work of welcome.
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At Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, it is our deepest belief that our refugee neighbors should be protected, embraced, and empowered in a world of just and welcoming communities. In honor of World Refugee Day, LIRS spoke with several former refugees about what the day means to them.
Watch the video.
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"Children fleeing some of the most desperate circumstances and seeking protection — no matter where they were born — should never be leveraged as political pawns." —
LIRS CEO Krish O'Mara Vignarajah spoke to CBS News about Texas Governor Greg Abbott's efforts to bar state shelters from housing unaccompanied migrant children.
Read the article.
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LIRS CEO Krish O'Mara Vignarajah also spoke to the Associated Press about Governor Abbott's efforts: "Because Texas-based shelters comprise a significant portion of U.S. capacity," she said, "this order could do real damage, and to the serious detriment of children’s well-being.”
Read the article.
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Spotlight: Protect Our
Afghan Allies
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On Tuesday, June 8, at 4 p.m. ET, join LIRS for "Our Call to Care: More Than Allies," a 30-minute roundtable discussion on the current situation in Afghanistan and state of the Special Immigrant Visa system. We'll discuss stories of Afghan allies and information on what communities of faith and good will can do to help ensure the protection of the Afghan allies who risked their lives to serve the United States mission.
Register now.
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LIRS, along with 70 community-based organizations, human rights groups, and civil society organizations, sent a letter today urging President Biden to immediately implement plans to evacuate vulnerable U.S.- affiliated Afghans and to authorize a pathway to protection for them.
Read our letter.
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TAKE ACTION! Send a message to President Biden today. Urge the administration to provide urgent humanitarian protections, including evacuation, for our Afghan allies who have put their lives on the line for our country.
Send a message to the White House.
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Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel!
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