Right now, members of Congress are negotiating the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2025), which begins October 1st. Without decisive action from Congress, key programs and services for displaced people the United States has promised to protect will face dramatic cuts.
With the looming November elections creating uncertainty about the office of the president and the composition of Congress, it is highly unlikely that Congress will finalize the federal budget for FY 2025 before the September 30th deadline. To avert a government shutdown, Congress is likely to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) – a short-term stopgap funding measure that maintains funding levels from Fiscal Year 2024.
Should Congress pass a CR, it can include an “anomaly,” which allows for additional funding and legislative changes separate from the prior fiscal year’s budget. In such an anomaly, Congress has an important opportunity and a moral imperative to include needed resources and support for populations fleeing persecution and violence.
The anomaly must include needed Office of Refugee Resettlement funding for community-based programs and services to support newcomers, reauthorize benefits eligibility for arriving Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, and extend additional resources for efforts to protect Afghans at risk.
Members of Congress also must reject attempts to include in the CR deleterious legislation like the SAVE Act, which erects new barriers to voting that would disproportionately impact immigrant and first-time voters.
Join us in calling on Congress to keep its promises to people fleeing persecution by passing an anomaly that supports people fleeing violence and strengthens welcoming communities. Here are two ways to take action:
1. CALL AND EMAIL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:
On the right-hand side, you can send an email and make a call to your Members of Congress.
Sample email script: “My name is [insert name], and as your constituent from [City/Town] and a [person of faith/refugee/member of my community], I urge you to prevent dramatic cuts to essential services for displaced people whom our nation has promised to protect by passing needed funding and authorization language. Specifically, in an anomaly to an upcoming Continuing Resolution (CR) I urge you to:
- Support additional funding for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) account, which funds the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). ORR strengthens communities around the country by funding core services for certain forcibly displaced newcomers. Both the FY 2025 Presidential Budget Request and the FY 2025 Senate LHHS report language note the need for $2.9 billion in emergency funding for ORR. At minimum, Congress should support the $1.004 billion included in the administration’s September 4 anomaly request. Without additional resources, vital programs for populations including refugees, Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and unaccompanied children will face dire cuts.
- Restore and extend access to certain resettlement services for arriving Afghans and Ukrainians. Support the administration’s anomaly request to extend benefits authorization for Ukrainians arriving via the Uniting 4 Ukraine program for the duration of any Continuing Resolution. Congress should further include language that would extend eligibility for ORR and mainstream benefits to Ukrainian and Afghan humanitarian parolees through September 30, 2025.
- Reject efforts to establish unnecessary barriers for newly eligible voters, such as the SAVE Act (H.R. 8281), which erects new barriers to voting that would disproportionately impact immigrant and first-time voters. I urge you to focus instead on funding the government and providing resources for needed programs and services that strengthen our communities.
Again, I urge you to invest in our communities’ capacity to welcome newcomers and support those whom our nation has promised to protect. An anomaly to the CR must provide crucial funding for the Office of Refugee Resettlement and include language to ensure arriving Afghans and Ukrainians are not cut off from benefits. Thank you.”
Sample call script: “My name is [insert name], and as your constituent from [City/Town] and a [person of faith/refugee/member of my community], I urge you to prevent dramatic cuts to essential programs and services for displaced people whom our nation has promised to protect, and to reject attempts to silence immigrant voters. I specifically urge you to include three important measures in an anomaly to an upcoming Continuing Resolution:
- Support additional funding for the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account, which funds the Office of Refugee Resettlement, allowing communities around the country to provide core services to certain forcibly displaced newcomers. Though 2.9 billion dollars is necessary to sufficiently fund these programs, at minimum, Congress should support the 1 billion dollars included in the administration’s anomaly request.
- Support the administration’s anomaly request to temporarily extend benefits for arriving Ukrainians, and push for the restoration and extension of benefits for Ukrainian and Afghan parolees through September 30, 2025.
- Reject efforts to establish unnecessary barriers for newly eligible voters, such as the SAVE Act, which erects new barriers to voting that would disproportionately impact immigrant and first-time voters. I urge you to focus instead on funding the government and providing resources for needed programs and services that strengthen our communities.
Again, in an anomaly to the Continuing Resolution, I urge you to invest in our communities’ capacity to welcome newcomers and keep our promises to those whom our nation has promised to protect. Thank you”
2. Post on Social Media:
See sample posts below
- @legislator: Investing in welcome strengthens our communities. Congress must robustly fund the programs and services that help refugees and other newcomers integrate and thrive.
- @legislator: it’s Congress’s job to fund the government, not to disenfranchise immigrant voters. Reject the SAVE Act.
- @legislator: The foundation of our nation’s welcoming infrastructure is at risk of dire cuts that would jeopardize newcomers’ access to vital services. Congress must provide additional funding to the Refugee & Entrant Assistance account so our communities can thrive.
- @legislator: Many Afghans arriving in the U.S. remain cut off from crucial benefits, and Ukrainians are at risk of being cut off too. Congress must restore benefits eligibility for Afghans whom our nation promised to protect.
Additional Resources:
SAVE Act:
The Office of Refugee Resettlement:
- RCUSA fiscal Year 2024 Refugee Funding Priorities in Negotiations for Full-Year, Supplemental, and Other Legislation (January 2024)
- Administration for Children and Families Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees
- New HHS Study Finds Nearly $124 Billion Positive Fiscal Impact of Refugees and Asylees on the American Economy in a 15-Year Period
- Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services: The Refugee School Impact Grant: Facilitating the Integration of Refugee Children into American Schools
Benefits Eligiblity for Humanitarian Parolees
Support for at-risk Afghans: