A refugee admissions goal of 18,000 amounts to a refugee ban, as it would further starve the resettlement infrastructure in the United States, destroy the vital support services that it took decades to build, and have disastrous consequences for the refugee families we have already resettled and await reunification with loved ones overseas.
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service said: “With one final blow, the Trump administration has snuffed out Lady Liberty’s torch and ended our nation’s legacy of compassion and welcome. The darkness of this day will extend for years, if not decades, to come.
“This is nothing short of a refugee ban. Cutting America’s life-saving refugee program to such extreme lows is a terrible mistake that will put the lives of thousands of refugee families–the most desperate cases in the world–at dire risk. It will destroy the lives of former refugees in the United States who have been desperately waiting for their children, their parents, their most precious loved ones to arrive. It will destabilize key allies and destroy what is left of our nation’s moral example. It will annihilate the vital infrastructure and support services that the United States has taken decades to build.”
The administration also issued an executive order that attempts to allow individual states and localities to ban refugees from settling there. This is an unprecedented act to encourage discrimination by states and localities. There is a bipartisan tradition of welcoming refugees in this country, and faith leaders call on states and localities to maintain that welcome even in the face of such ugly nativism from the White House. The message this executive order sends is chilling and will take many voices, raised in unison, to combat the hate spewing from the Executive Branch.
“This announcement is a betrayal of both our American and Jewish values,” said Sheila Katz, NCJW CEO. “As Jews, we are taught va’ahavtem et ha-ger — as we were once strangers, so must we love the stranger. For 125 years, NCJW has worked to welcome refugees from across the globe fleeing violence and persecution. When our nation opens its doors, our families, communities, schools, and congregations thrive. We will not stand idly by while the administration denigrates our values, we will fight to ensure the safety and dignity for all refugees around the world.”
“The Trump administration’s refugee admissions goal is as disappointing as it is unsurprising for this administration and president,” said Giovana Oaxaca, Government Relations Associate, NETWORK Lobby. “We cannot stand idly by while the Trump administration shutters a spot of hope for refugees as an expression of their white Christian nationalism. Refugees and asylum seekers are people above all else.”
Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister & President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) said: “Reducing U.S. resettlement numbers to less than one fifth of our nation’s historic average is a moral travesty and offense to the sacred and repeated calls of our scriptures to welcome the vulnerable. Consequences upon refugee families already approved and awaiting travel are cruel. In this moment, our hearts mourn for families seeking hope, and faith partners which have been a backbone of the bi-partisan, public-private partnerships that have sustained the U.S. refugee program will not stop voicing our belief in the benefits of refugees to our communities and congregations. Today’s slammed door must be reopened, for the sake of our nation’s heritage of hospitality.”
General Secretary Susan Henry-Crowe of The United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society said: “At a time when refugees worldwide are seeking safety and security, the decision to further restrict admissions is outrageous. The Bible tells us ‘show hospitality to strangers’ and people in need (Lev. 19:33-34; Matt. 25:35; Heb. 13:2). This action is antithetical to that command. The United Methodist Church has engaged in acts of welcome and refugee resettlement worldwide and will continue this witness, despite exclusionary policies. As United Methodists, we are called to welcome refugees in our communities and congregations.”
“In order to be ‘the most generous nation in the world when it comes to welcoming those in need of humanitarian protection,’ as the Administration claims, we would need to welcome in well more than the 18,000 they are proposing. The most generous nation in the world doesn’t cut its refugee number by nearly 85% during the highest displacement crisis in global history, ” explained Hannah Graf Evans, FCNL’s Legislative Representative for Immigration and Refugee Policy. “We are capable of much more. The blindness of this administration focused on building strength through isolation will only serve to weaken us. Our security is shared, our collective future tied to how we answer to ‘that of God’ within the refugee child.”
Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, State Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) said: “We are a church who has participated in refugee resettlement for decades. We have urged members and congregations to open their doors to these newcomers. We know that those who are made vulnerable by this world are the ones God chooses to do wondrous things. Mary’s Magnificat reminds us that the Mighty One works through all of us to bring about majestic acts of change and transformation. In the ‘Canticle of the Turning’ we sing, ‘From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone. Let the king beware for your justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne. The hungry poor shall weep no more, … there are tables spread; … for the world is about to turn.’ May we understand that we are called as God’s beloved to seek justice and safety for the orphan, widow, and stranger. The dismantling of the Refugee Resettlement Program is the sum of sin and power. We must seek ways to find justice in the ‘halls of power’ as God works through all of us to transform a broken world.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 53 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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