Faith Leaders & Organizations Urge Biden to Protect Asylum
235 religious leaders and 143 national, state, and local faith-based organizations sent a letter to the White House urging the administration to reject the extreme, anti-immigrant proposals being considered as part of a supplemental aid package.
Over 200 Faith Leaders Tell Biden to Reunite Families this Holiday Season
As part of Value Our Families’ Hearts@Home campaign, 200+ faith leaders sent a letter urging President Biden to reunite immigrant families who remain stuck in visa backlogs.
Faith Orgs Demand Biden Admin Reverse Course on Family Detention Plans
130 faith-based organizations delivered a letter to the White House today urging the administration to halt its inhumane plans to reinstate family detention at the US-Mexico border.
Faith Leaders to Biden Administration: End All Asylum Bans
165 faith-based organizations denounced the Biden administration’s plans to create a new asylum ban through the federal rulemaking process, and demanded restored access to asylum.
322 religious leaders and 100 faith-based organizations across traditions sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging him to reverse the recent expansion of Title 42.
Support and Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act
111 religious leaders and 59 faith-based organizations across traditions delivered a letter urging Congress to support and pass the Afghan Adjustment Act (S.4787 / H.R.8685) as part of the FY 2023 Continuing Resolution.
208 religious leaders and 108 national, state, and local faith-based organizations delivered a letter to the White House urging President Biden to set the Fiscal Year 2023 Presidential Determination at 200,000 by October 1st, and hold meaningful consultations with Congress in support of rebuilding the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
Over 450 Faith Leaders & Organizations Urge Congress to Right the Wrongs of Family Separation
Nearly 340 faith leaders and people of faith, and 114 faith organizations—including 12 member organizations of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition—delivered a letter to Congress urging them to do more to reverse the harms caused by family separation.
Over 300 Faith Organizations & Faith Leaders to Congress: You Must Reject Anti-Asylum Legislation
103 faith-based organizations and 215 faith leaders sent a letter to Congress urging them to uphold U.S. asylum laws and strongly reject any anti-asylum measures, including the Public Health and Border Security Act of 2022, which would block asylum by keeping Title 42 in place.
Over 560 faith leaders and nearly 140 faith organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration urging a robust humanitarian response to the needs of displaced and at-risk populations as the conflict in Ukraine continues.
One year into the Biden administration, nine hundred spiritual leaders and multiple faith-based and immigrant rights groups delivered a letter to the White House urging the Biden administration to immediately halt all efforts to expand immigrant detention.
Faith Organizations and Leaders Urge Biden Administration to Halt Deportations to Haiti
Nearly 180 faith organizations and 1,950 faith leaders and people of faith from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Haiti sent a letter to the Biden Administration urging them to stop deportation flights to Haiti, hold CBP officers accountable for their abuses, end Title 42 expulsions, and provide humanitarian protections for Haitians.
Faith Leaders Urge Support for Refugee Resettlement for Afghan People
Out of a deep concern for the people of Afghanistan, 219 faith leaders and 88 faith organizations signed a letter to the president urging him to provide a robust humanitarian response to the crisis in Afghanistan and to expand opportunities for Afghans to seek refuge in the United States.
AZ, MT, WV Faith Leaders on Path to Citizenship
With great urgency, faith leaders ask their U.S. Senators to create a path to citizenship for immigrants this summer.
Five hundred faith leaders and faith-based organizations sent a letter to the President urging an end to expulsions of asylum-seekers. This followed a related letter from sixty-five heads of faith offices and high-level religious leaders across traditions.
Path to Citizenship Through Reconciliation
Over 800 faith leaders and nearly 150 faith-based organizations call on Congress to include a path to citizenship for essential immigrant workers, farm workers, and people with TPS, DED, and DACA–and their families–in a reconciliation package.
IIC Calls for Path to Citizenship in Upcoming Recovery Legislation
The Biden administration must work with Congress to ensure that essential immigrant workers and their families, Dreamers, people with TPS, and others have a path to citizenship. Inclusive relief, which recognizes the dignity of all, should be prioritized, and any proposal should not exclude our immigrant neighbors based on interactions with our nation’s racist criminal justice system.
600+ Leaders and Organizations Urge Biden to Act on Refugee Presidential Determination ASAP More than 600 religious leaders and faith-based organizations across traditions are asking this question of President Biden to sign the revised Presidential Determination for Fiscal Year 2021 without further delay. Calling for a New FY 2021 Presidential Determination on Refugees Forty-two high level faith leaders urge President Biden to immediately sign a new, revised FY21 Presidential Determination for refugees and restore regional allocations based on vulnerability and need. Stop Deporting Haitians Ninety-nine organizations and 708 faith leaders called on the Biden administration to halt deportation flights and stop expelling Haitians and other migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. DED/TPS for Cameroon One hundred thirty-five faith-based organizations and leaders asked the President to use his executive authority to extend Deferred Enforced Departure or Temporary Protected Status to nationals of Cameroon. Faith4DACA Petition to the Senate on Protections for Dreamers More than 4,500 people of faith, from all 50 states plus DC, sent a letter to the Senate and House in support of the American Dream and Promise Act. End Anti-Immigrant “COVID” Policies This open letter to policymakers and federal, state, and local officials was signed by 339 organizations and 1,356 people from all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia. Faith Leaders: Include Immigrants in COVID-19 Relief Two hundred twenty-four faith-based organizations and 1,025 faith leaders, from 46 states plus DC, send a letter to federal and state governments telling them that “immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers must be included in our emergency response [to COVID-19] if we are to assist everyone who is in need.” A Refugee Agenda for Congress and COVID-19 Relief Over 150 refugee resettlement, faith, and other humanitarian and human rights organizations send a letter to Congress about the refugee-related requests to include in future COVID-19-related legislation. “This global pandemic has brought into sharp focus the intersection of U.S. immigration and public health policy, as well as the unique challenges that refugees and immigrants face in the United States today,” the letter begins. Religious Leaders Reject Federal Rule Allowing Discrimination Based on “Religious Freedom” One hundred ten religious leaders and 17 faith-based organizations send a letter to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in opposition to the proposed rule Implementing Legal Requirements Regarding the Equal Opportunity Clause’s Religious Exemption (RIN 1250-AA09). Interfaith Immigration Coalition FY21 Requests Federal funding should support a compassionate, just, and humane immigration and refugee resettlement system that upholds our nation’s values. A moral and faithful budget recognizes the gifts, contributions, and struggles of immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied children, and other vulnerable families and individuals. As faith communities across traditions, we seek to lift up the sacred dignity of every person and ensure justice and protection for all. Members of Congress, Advocacy and Faith Organizations Urge Support for Immigrants, Refugees, and American MuslimsTwenty national faith, immigration, and community organizations urge Congress to focus on the importance of immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities in the fabric of American society. Interfaith Immigration Coalition Policy RecommendationThe Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) calls on the Obama Administration to seize the moment to champion legislative reform of our broken immigration system, and to promote immigrant integration and reduce harmful enforcement practices through administrative actions. Interfaith Platform on Humane Immigration Reform with 575 Organizational and Clergy SignatoriesAs our diverse faith traditions teach us to welcome our brothers and sisters with love and compassion—regardless of their place of birth—we call on the Administration and Congress to enact humane and equitable immigration reform. Support Letter for Deferred Action for Childhood ArrivalsOn behalf of the undersigned faith-based organizations committed to welcoming the stranger and humane reform of our immigration system, we write to you today to express our dismay at the exclusion of individuals receiving relief through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). People of Faith: Pledge for Family Unity, Restoring Trust CampaignAs people of faith, we believe first and foremost that immigrants have inherent dignity in which their civil and human rights should always be respected. Religious leaders from a variety of traditions have publicly called for humane treatment of immigrants and have condemned the separation of immigrant families and the devastating impact immigration enforcement tactics have had on wives, husbands and children alike. Faith Sign-On Letter on Prosecutorial DiscretionWe, the undersigned faith-based organizations, are deeply concerned by the broken immigration system’s impact on families, communities, and the U.S. economy. When immigration enforcement actions tear apart families, our churches, synagogues, mosques, and other local organizations are on the front lines to provide housing, food, counseling, and other forms of support and ministry. We therefore welcome the Administration’s process to review all pending cases before U.S. Immigration Courts and administratively close low priority cases, such as individuals who are close family members of U.S. citizens, have lived in the United States since a young age, or are military service members. However, we write to express the following concerns about the implementation of this new policy as a nationwide expansion begins to take place. Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash