As we approach World Refugee Day on June 20th, now is the time to make your voices heard to tell your Members of Congress to stand in solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers, rebuild the U.S. resettlement program, and fully restore asylum protections. In recognition of the sacrifice, resilience, and contributions of refugees, tell your Members of Congress to hold the administration accountable to re-establish U.S. moral leadership and welcome people fleeing violence and persecution.
Contact Your Members of Congress Today!
Email or call your 2 Senators and 1 Representative.
Sample Script/Email: “My name is [insert name], I’m your constituent from [city, state], and [as a person of faith/ as a person who cares about refugees/as a refugee], I urge you to commemorate World Refugee Day on June 20th and publicly support refugee and asylum protections. On World Refugee Day, we honor refugees in the United States and around the globe, and we celebrate the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home countries to escape conflict or persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Our nation has a long bipartisan history of promoting the safety, health, and well-being of millions of refugees and asylum seekers, including the education of refugee children and displaced persons who flee war, persecution, or torture in search of protection, peace, and freedom. My community welcomes refugees, and I urge you to:
- Cosponsor the 2022 World Refugee Day Resolution, championed by Senator Menendez and Congressman Lieu, which will be introduced on Tuesday, June 21st (original cosponsors should contact Srdan Sadikovic by June 17th at 10am ET (Senate) and fill out this Microsoft Form by June 17th COB (House));
- Robustly invest in the U.S. resettlement program and hold the administration accountable to boldly rebuild the U.S. resettlement program to resettle refugees languishing in precarious situations like at-risk Afghans, Eritreans, Syrians, Cameroonians, Rohingya, Ethiopians, among others;
- Support and pass an Afghan Adjustment Act — and hold the administration accountable to create a designated parole program for Afghans and continue relocating at-risk Afghans who are left behind; and
- Urge the administration to welcome people with dignity by immediately ending the use of the unlawful and immoral Title 42 policy, oppose anti-asylum legislation such as the Public Health and Border Security Act of 2022, and fully restore asylum protections.
My community celebrates World Refugee Day, and I urge you to do the same. Thank you”
Amplify on Social Media: Share this message with your Senators & Representatives on social media! Click here for graphics and here are some sample posts:
- The world recently hit a devastating milestone. More than 100M people have been forced from their homes due to conflict and persecution. This #WorldRefugeeDay, let’s honor our refugee neighbors and uphold the U.S.’s leadership in welcoming ALL people in search of safety.
- My community welcomes refugees! This #WorldRefugeeDay, let’s continue to honor our refugee neighbors by:
☑️ Terminating Title 42
☑️ Support funding for refugee resettlement
☑️ Welcome all vulnerable refugees awaiting U.S. resettlement
☑️ It’s a fact: the U.S. is stronger with refugees. - We need to welcome our refugee neighbors and recognize their many contributions. The time to support resettlement and asylum protections is NOW! #WorldRefugeeDay
State & Local Advocacy: Your state and local leaders need to hear the same message. Tell them that your community welcomes refugees and ask them to sign this letter. To contact your state and local officials, you can access sample emails/call scripts here or fill out an auto-generated action alert. You can look up your local elected officials at http://contactingcongress.org/local and usa.gov/elected-officials. To tweet your state and local officials, click to find the twitter handles for your governor and state legislators. Sample tweets and graphics for the state and local elected official sign-on letter are available here.
Sample Additional Asks for State & Local Officials: “Will you be a champion for refugee resettlement, oppose any and all anti-refugee proposals, and help us enact pro-refugee policies?”
- Depending on your state and local context, you can ask state and local leaders to:
- Pass a refugees welcome resolution to commemorate World Refugee Day;
- Support workforce development opportunities for refugees, such as emergency licensing for internationally-trained medical professionals; and/or
- Provide local funding to support refugee community members and service providers;
- Sign this letter calling on the President to meet his commitment to resettle refugees now and in fiscal year 2023.
Additional Resources:
- RCUSA 2022 WRD Policy Asks
- RCUSA World Refugee Day Toolkit
- UNHCR 2022 World Refugee Day Report, World Refugee Day Overview, World Refugee Day Messaging, and World Refugee Day Toolkit
- World Refugee Day Faith Toolkit
- CWS Map of Affiliate Sites for Refugees & Asylum Assistance
- UNHCR: Global displacement hits another record, capping decade-long rising trend
- Statement by President Biden on WRD 2022
Thank you for taking action, and please share this alert with your networks!