Washington, DC – Today, members of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC), made up of more than fifty national faith-based organizations with a shared interest in just immigration policies, released immigration priorities for the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations cycle. The priorities urge Congress to robustly fund programs that support safety and dignity for asylum seekers, establish more humane immigration enforcement practices, support refugee resettlement, and provide international assistance to address the principal drivers of migration in the Western Hemisphere, such as inequality, violence, and environmental disaster. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is rooted in faith teachings and values that call its members to ensure that our laws promote and protect the God-given dignity of each individual.
IIC members call on Congress to prioritize refugee protection and resettlement programs and to invest in an asylum system that is humane and orderly. At the end of 2023 the number of people forcibly displaced from their homes or stateless was at an all-time high and is projected to increase to 130 million in 2024, including internally displaced persons, according to the UNHCR.
The full list of funding recommendations is available at bit.ly/fy25interfaithimm.
“To uphold the United States’ legal and moral responsibilities to forcibly displaced people, we call upon Congress to robustly fund humane immigration pathways,” said Rick Santos, President and CEO of Church World Service. “As climate change, conflict, hunger and desperation drive families from their homes in search of a safe and stable life, the U.S. must provide adequate resources for newcomers to thrive. Newcomers unequivocally strengthen and benefit their communities, as they seek to join the workforce, start businesses, join faith communities, pursue education, and contribute to the colorful tapestry of American society. We hold Congress responsible for funding a resilient and robust welcoming network.”
“The solution isn’t shutting down the border or intensifying border enforcement, but implementing humane policies and allocating resources effectively,” said Dylan Corbett, Executive Director of the Hope Border Institute. “Congress should prioritize genuine solutions over ineffective deterrence tactics, providing border communities with the resources necessary to safely and efficiently manage migration and enabling communities across the country to integrate newcomers as valuable contributors to our nation.”
“The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (NAC) calls on Congress to increase appropriations funding for the processing and care of asylum seekers, to increase refugee protections and to enhance our international disaster assistance,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, Executive Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. “We must address the deteriorating worldwide situation through multiple avenues ensuring the safety and dignity of asylum seekers and refugees. It starts with humanitarian assistance overseas to address root causes and enable people to stay in their home countries. It includes speeding up the review process and hiring more asylum officers. And it ends with addressing the backlog of employment authorization and care for the vulnerable to get these men, women and families on their feet working toward their American dreams. NAC calls on Congress and President Biden to expand our welcome and fund a more humane reception system.”
“Our faith exhorts us over and over to provide a welcome to the sojourner, inviting each of us to open our hearts and our communities by loving our neighbor. We hope Congress can move away from criminalizing immigrants seeking safety in the U.S., and prioritize funding for programs that help provide for their basic needs,” said Rev. Michael Neuroth, Director of the Office of Public Policy and Advocacy for the United Church of Christ.
Sister Marie Lucey, Associate Director of Franciscan Action Network said, “Migrants and refugees need safety and protection in this country. The United States needs asylum seekers and refugees not only as workers, but to enrich and vitalize our communities. Our faith and Franciscan values compel us to welcome migrants who desire to enter this country legally. Rather than criminalize people seeking safety, we want Congress to provide funding for an effective, orderly, and humane immigration process and for programs that will assist migrants and refugees to resettle in this country.”
“Too often, the conversation about asylum seekers, refugees, and the larger immigrant community is wrongly thrust into a debate about border security. Instead, U.S. legislators must embrace our nation’s greatest calling: welcoming individuals escaping peril and persecution and providing humanitarian assistance to address the causes of forced migration,” said Anika Forrest, Legislative Director of Domestic Policy at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “The United States must invest in infrastructure to meet the needs of modern migration rather than get mired in an endless debate fueled by partisan talking points. Only by doing this can we establish humane and effective migration practices and live out the divine commitment to love thy neighbor — no exceptions.”
“A moral budget must work for people who have been forcibly displaced,” said Susan Krehbiel, Associate for Migration Accompaniment Ministries at Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. “It must support teenagers who do not want to be forced to join gangs, parents who long to reunite with their children, and students who fear that they will be detained for speaking up for democracy and basic rights. Years of border militarization have not stopped these families and young people from coming to the U.S., while needlessly subjecting them to physical danger and death. Instead of greeting mothers and babies with barbed wire and detention, the U.S. should invest in refugee protections and a just and welcoming asylum system.”
“As a denomination with a long standing history of welcoming the stranger, we urge Congress to adequately provide funding for our asylum system in the Fiscal Year 2025, support shelter programs and those who tirelessly put their efforts into upholding human dignity of people fleeing violence and persecution at the border,” said Rev. Nathan Hosler, PhD, Director of the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy at the Church of the Brethren. “May we join in the “search of that city yet to come, with foundations of love and justice whose architect and builder is God.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 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
###