Press Releases

Washington, D.C.—Church World Service expresses its horror and grief in response to the shooting and killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal immigration enforcement officers on Saturday morning in Minneapolis. Pretti was an American citizen and Minnesotan who worked as a registered nurse in the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. Pretti was shot and killed just 17 days after the killing of fellow …

Karen Manczko, Luis Guardia, and Susannah Cunningham Join the CWS Board   New York City—Church World Service today announced that it has welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors, Karen Manczko, Director of Institutional Relationships at Wespath Institutional Investments and Wespath Benefits and Investments; Luis Guardia, Chief Financial Officer for the National Association of Counties and founder of Guardia Investors; …

Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today expressed its deep concern over the Trump administration’s detaining of resettled refugees as part of a wider effort to review and potentially revoke their legal status. On January 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the launch of Operation “Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening” or “PARRIS,” targeting resettled refugees who have fled violence and …

Washington, D.C.—This International Migrants Day, Church World Service celebrates the reintroduction of the Guaranteed Refugee Admission Ceiling Enhancement (GRACE) Act, landmark legislation that would establish a minimum annual refugee admissions floor of 125,000. The legislation—introduced by Sen. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Lofgren (D-CA-18)—would prevent future administrations from slashing refugee admissions and would affirm the U.S. historic role as a beacon of hope for those most in need of protection …

Washington, D.C.—Church World Service strongly opposes the Trump administration’s latest travel ban, which more than doubles the number of countries whose citizens are partially or fully blocked from the United States. This dramatic expansion of its previous travel ban now impacts nationals from 39 countries, barring individuals from 19 countries (plus those holding Palestinian Authority-issued documents) and partially excluding individuals from 20 additional countries. As …