As most Americans absorbed the shock of the Taliban’s full takeover of Afghanistan over the weekend, officials at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service followed the rapidly deteriorating situation with resignation, knowing it could have gone differently.
Warfare, droughts, famine, widespread hunger, floods, locust swarms and a global pandemic – all of these have been endured by the South Sudanese over the past decade. Amid the turmoil, faith leaders like Edward Dima, pastor of First Baptist Church in Kajo-Keji and president of the
Pope Francis on Thursday denounced “aggressive” nationalism that rejects migrants, and said Catholics should follow the Gospel-mandated call for an inclusive, welcoming church that doesn’t distinguish between “natives and foreigners, residents, and guests.”
Faith-based refugee resettlement groups are celebrating President Joe Biden’s decision to raise the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. for the remainder of the federal fiscal year to 62,500, even as they acknowledge that they need to rebuild their capacity after years of cuts.
Church groups in Colombia are mobilizing to support thousands of Venezuelan refugees who recently fled a military offensive and are stuck in a remote Colombian border town. Read full piece
Religious minorities and others fleeing persecution are among the world’s most vulnerable people, and the United States needs to reclaim its position of moral leadership in responding to refugees and asylum seekers, a panel of experts insisted. Read full piece
Three faith-based refugee resettlement organizations are declaring “victory” in their court battle to block President Donald Trump’s 2019 executive order allowing state and local officials to refuse refugees.
President-elect Joe Biden promises to reverse Trump's refugee policy, raising the annual ceiling for refugee admissions to 125,000. President Trump ordered last month that no more than 15,000 refugees be admitted to the United States in 2021, the lowest level in the history of the
President-elect Joe Biden announced he will raise the number of refugees allowed into the United States to 125,000 in his first year in office, a major reversal from President Donald Trump’s steep cuts to the U.S. refugee program.
The Trump administration has announced the maximum number of refugees it plans to admit into the United States in the coming year, and once again, it is a historic low: 15,000. Several faith-based organizations involved in refugee resettlement expressed outrage at the number.