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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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