Scott Powers
A handful of faith leaders in Florida have joined a letter writing campaign from the Church World Service to Florida’s U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and the rest of Congress urging them to restore the United States’ refugee acceptance program.
The letters, signed by a dozen Florida faith leaders from various denominations, calls for members of Congress to support full restoration of a refugee resettlement program run through many churches and other organizations, and to return to the prior norm of processing the admissions of about 95,000 refugees a year.
The letter contends that program has been reduced by 75 percent since President Donald Trump took office and that there is growing concern it would be eliminated altogether.
“It is a moral atrocity to turn our backs on persecuted people at a time when there are over 25 million refugees, more than at any other time in history. An end to the U.S. refugee program would have long-term global and domestic implications on regional stability and the future of migrant protection,” the letter states. “We urge you to return to the historic norm of setting a goal of resettling 95,000 refugees per year. We have committed our time, labor, resources, and prayers to the welcome and support of refugees, and we know that there are countless volunteers, congregations, and community groups across the country, like ours, that stand ready to do the same.”
Among the 1,333 signees nationally are Lay Leader Jennifer Tucker of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Jacksonville; the Rev. Susan Rogers of The Well at Springfield in Jacksonville; the Rev. Wilifred S. Allen-Faiella of St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Miami; the Rev. Eve MacMaster of the Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Gainesville; Asli Yalim of the Refugee Task Force of Florida; and Lay Leader Yvette Hyater-Adams of the Mindfulness Community Buddhist center in Atlantic Beach.
Church World Service, founded in 1946, is dedicated to supporting refugees, immigrants and other displaced individuals.
“This letter with the signatures of over 1,300 faith communities and people of conscience who have sponsored, welcomed, or volunteered to help refugees is a testament to a proud American tradition. In fact, refugee resettlement began in the United States by religious congregations living out their call to welcome refugees,” Rev. John L. McCullough, president of Church World Service, stated i a news release. “The leadership of the U.S. faith community in refugee resettlement has created a public-private partnership of which all Americans can be proud. There are countless other congregations and community groups waiting to live out their faith and their values by welcoming our refugee siblings.”
3 comments
Ray Blacklidge
October 1, 2019 at 4:54 pm
Let’s call this what it is, a money grab. These Churches can continue their program if they choose to and fund themselves. Many of these problems associated with USRAP begin with a lack of information sharing between the agencies involved.[51]:36 Much of the information gathered from refugees is not shared between agencies to ensure that the placement meets the needs of the refugee. For the most part, this information is only used to assess refugee admissibility into the resettlement program. At no point during the resettlement process does a government employee or contracted party have the responsibility to investigate and report “the presence of a needs-related vulnerability for the purposes of ensuring post-arrival assistance. Instead, such information is only gathered to help support the individual’s persecution claim.”[51]:38
Similarly, medical examinations and interviews of refugees performed by the USCIS overseas are not used to determine the health and resettlement needs of the refugee. Rather, this information is used to assess the admissibility of the refugee.[61]:10 In fact, resettlement agencies must make placement decisions before they even receive the medical records of refugees.[61]:10
One of the most crucial factors to the success of refugees is where they are placed in United States.[50]:10 Even though the most vulnerable populations are being targeted for resettlement, these vulnerabilities are not being communicated to the placing agencies.[50]:11 No structured system exists in USRAP for the collecting and distributing of refugee information for planning purposes.[51]:41 This failure to share information down the resettlement chain hurts the resettled refugees and the success of USRAP.
Because critical information is not always considered when a placement decision is made, it is not surprising that many refugees leave the locations of original placement to look for better opportunities elsewhere. In many instances, refugees will seek out communities of fellow country-of-origin nationals.[50]:16 Current legislation recognizes this secondary migration as a “natural and expected phenomenon.”[50]:16 However, there are no tools or tracking system in place to manage this phenomenon.[50]:16 USRAP takes no measures in anticipating foreseeable trends in secondary migration by refugees.[51]:35 When refugees move, they get lost in the system and their federal assistance money does not follow them. Consequently, these secondary migration refugees lose out on a part of their eight months of cash and medical treatment.[51]:35
“”Refugee Crisis in America: Iraqis and Their Resettlement Experience” by Georgetown University Law Center, Human Rights Institute”. Scholarship.law.georgetown.edu. 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
U.S. Government Accountability Office, Refugee Assistance: Little Is Known about the Effectiveness of Different Approaches for Improving Refugees’ Employment Outcomes, GAO-11-369 (Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office, 2011).
Andorra Bruno (January 4, 2011). “U.S. Refugee Resettlement Assistance” (PDF). Fas.org. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
Immigration and Nationality Act 8 U.S.C. § 1522(c)(1)(A) (1996).
“U.S. Government Accountability Office, IRAQ: Iraqi Refugees and Special Immigrant Visa Holders Face Challenges Resettling in the United States and Obtaining U.S. Government Employment, GAO-10-274 (Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office, 2011)” (PDF). Gao.gov. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
Jessica A. Kaczorowski, et al.,”Adapting Clinical Services To Accommodate Needs of Refugee Populations” Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 42, no. 5 (2011): 361, DOI: 10.1037/a0025022
Meital Waibsnaider (2006). “How National Self-Interest and Foreign Policy Continue To Influence the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program” (PDF). Ir.lawsuit.fordham.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
“PROPOSED REFUGEE ADMISSIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012” (PDF). State.gov. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
Report to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Abandoned Upon Arrival: Implications for Refugees and Local Communities Burdened by a U.S. Resettlement System That is Not Working, 111th Cong., 2d sess., (2010).
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Donald Kerwin (2012). “The faltering U.S. refugee protection system: legal and policy responses to refugees, asylum-seekers, and others in need of protection”. Refugee Survey Quarterly. 31 (1): 1–33. doi:10.1093/rsq/hdr019.
Jeremiah
October 2, 2019 at 9:08 pm
Flooding the country with illiterate refugees is a big money maker for all these church do gooders. When will they look out for poor Americans? Never because it doesn’t pay!
Disgusted
October 2, 2019 at 9:13 pm
Why isn’t it a moral atrocity to turn our backs on poor & homeless Americans? Oh wait, it doesn’t pay!
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