Join us during Refugee Council USA’s Refugee Advocacy Days on May 2nd and 3rd, when hundreds of advocates are traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with their Senators and Representatives and urge them to support people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Advocacy Days represent an important opportunity for community members across the country to join the call for bold leadership from Congress to provide critical support and investment in our nation’s capacity to welcome. Even if you aren’t traveling to D.C. in person, you can still make your voices heard.
Increasing conflict, climate displacement, and persecution around the world have forced more than 100 million people to flee their homes – more than at any other time in history. More than 32 million of those who have been displaced are refugees, approximately half of whom are children. Meanwhile, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program was decimated by Trump-era cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic, and during its prolonged rebuild, the current administration has often employed temporary protection pathways like humanitarian parole to respond to emerging crises. With restrictive anti-asylum policies continuing at the border and the enduring need to support many formerly displaced new Americans here in the United States, now is the time to ensure Congress hears our call for policies that allow all forcibly displaced persons to integrate and thrive in their new communities.
Engage in collective action during RCUSA Refugee Advocacy Days the week of May 1 by contacting your Members of Congress and urging them to support refugees, asylum seekers, and other forcibly displaced persons through needed oversight, legislation, and funding.
CONTACT YOUR TWO SENATORS AND ONE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY!
On the right-hand side, you can send an email or receive a phone call that connects you to your Members of Congress.
Sample Email/Script: “As your constituent from [CITY/TOWN] and [a person of faith/refugee/ member of my community], I urge you to invest in our capacity to welcome and support rebuilding and strengthening our refugee resettlement program.
With these requests I join the calls of refugees, forcibly displaced persons, and other community members from across the country, many of whom are traveling to DC on May 2 and 3 to meet with their elected leaders to discuss the critical importance of welcoming policies. I urge you to live up to our community’s long history of welcome and specifically to work with your colleagues in Congress to:
- Hold the administration accountable to strengthen the U.S. resettlement program and implement robust permanent protections for forcibly displaced people. Congress must conduct needed oversight to grow pathways to permanent protections, ensure we resettle as many people this year as possible, and invest political will in inclusive and welcoming policies.
- Endorse and support legislation to welcome refugees and strengthen access to permanent protections. I urge you to advance bills that live up to the values of refugee protection and inclusion, including,
- The Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow evacuated and relocated Afghan humanitarian parolees the opportunity to apply for permanent status.
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- The Refugee Protection Act, which would restore and strengthen the refugee resettlement program and bolster asylum protections.
- The New Deal for New Americans Act, which would promote the inclusion and integration of refugees and immigrants and set a minimum annual refugees admissions goal of 125,000.
- Enact robust funding for U.S. resettlement and humanitarian protection programs. Congress must provide robust funding for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (State/PRM), the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS/ORR), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS Humanitarian Programs), and related accounts to fully rebuild capacity for refugee resettlement and help refugees and other forcibly displaced persons to integrate and thrive. (Find information about these funding requests here: State; HHS; DHS.)
All individuals who have faced forced displacement are deserving of safety and lasting protection – be they stateless, refugees, asylum seekers, climate displaced, humanitarian parolees, unaccompanied children, or survivors of human trafficking. Thank you.”
Amplify on Social Media: Share this message with your Senators & Representatives on social media! Below are some sample social media posts and here you can find some sample graphics:
- #RebuildingWelcome is possible if we all work together! This week in DC, @RCUSA_DC is hosting their annual #RefugeeAdvocacyDays in support of our refugee, immigrant and asylum seeking neighbors. We must uphold our nation’s legacy of welcome by supporting families in search of safety!
- More than 100 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. We must support the #RefugeeProtectionAct, #AfghanAdjustmentAct and the #NewDeal for New Americans Act to help our refugee, immigrant and asylum seeker neighbors thrive! #RefugeeAdvocacyDays
- There are 32 million refugees living around the world, half of whom are children. Congress, we must continue to support our refugee neighbors and uphold our nation’s legacy of welcome and compassion! #RefugeeAdvocacyDays #RebuildingWelcome
- My community is better with refugees. They start businesses, contribute to our economy and bring their skills and talents. We must strengthen the U.S. resettlement program to protect our neighbors who have been forcibly displaced from their homes and welcome them to communities across the United States. #RebuildingWelcome #RefugeeAdvocacyDays
Additional Resources:
- RCUSA Priorities for the 118th Congress
- Refugee Resettlement 101
- Funding backgrounders on LHHS
- Funding backgrounder on SFOPS
- Funding backgrounder on USCIS
- One Pager on Office of Refugee Resettlement
- Afghan Adjustment Act One Pager
- Afghan Adjustment Act FAQ
- Security Vetting Info for Afghans
- RPA One Pager
- Refugee Protection Act of 2022 Section by Section
- New Deal for New Americans Act One Pager