**B Stands for Beacon**

Good afternoon,

Sunday, June 20th marks World Refugee Day - a global celebration of
refugees' strength, resilience and determination. World Refugee Day is
also an opportunity for advocates to raise awareness of the obstacles
faced by displaced persons and reflect on how we can better serve and
protect this vulnerable population.

A refugees is an individual who

"owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race,
religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or
political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is
unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the
protection of that country." Refugees, like Blessing Ovie
,
who left her home in Nigeria at 9 years old, endure lasting trauma. But
after being granted refugee status, and resettling with a foster family
in Traverse City, Michigan, Blessing began to feel hope
:
"You know when something dies and you feel like this thing is done for,
but all of a sudden you turn around and you see something rising up? At
that point, you're not sure what you're seeing. That's what happened
when I came here."

The refugee program is a beacon of hope for displaced persons like
Blessing. Both at home and abroad, refugee resettlement agencies work
hard - with minimal resources - to resettle and integrate refugees
into American communities. This is hard work that has been further
complicated by efforts from the previous administration to dismantle the
American refugee program. Today, many resettlement agencies and their
local affiliates must completely rebuild their programs
:
from hiring new staff to mobilizing new volunteers to repopulating their
refugee pipelines.

This World Refugee Day, we urge the Biden administration and Congress to
take the necessary steps to restore the U. S. Refugee Admissions Program
(USRAP) and ensure that refugees, like Blessing, can access this
lifesaving program for years to come. Rebuilding the refugee program is
not only a challenge, but an opportunity for the United States to
reclaim its role as a global humanitarian leader. As stated

by Elizabeth Neumann, a leader of the Council on National Security and
Immigration , "For decades, the United States
demonstrated both strength and compassion by serving as a haven for the
world's most vulnerable refugees. And by investing in the USRAP, the
Biden administration and Congress have an opportunity to re-assert our
leadership, promote our democratic values and encourage other countries
to do the same." We couldn't agree more.

Take care,

Kathleen

P.S. This week marked the 9th anniversary of the DACA policy, which has
prevented over 800,000 innocent young people from "being ripped away
from the only home they know
."
Dreamers deserve a stable future. Stand with us and ask your Senator
to vote for a permanent solution for
Dreamers. 

**Kathleen Gillen**
Assistant Vice President of Field & Constituencies
National Immigration Forum 

**NEWS CLIPS TO NOTE:**

****

**CNN:** Senators introduce bill to improve visa program to protect
Afghan interpreters who helped US

** **

**STARS AND STRIPES:**US Embassy in Kabul pauses visa services as
coronavirus cases surge

**ASSOCIATED PRESS:** US closes Trump-era office for victims of
immigrant crime
 

**USA TODAY:**Amid uncertainty over immigration bills, Texas case, VP
Harris to meet 'Dreamers' on 9th anniversary of DACA

**NEW YORK TIMES:**Biden extends temporary work permissions for some
undocumented immigrants who are victims of crime.

**** 

 

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