Press Releases

Washington, DC – After ten years of family separation, Melaku Gebretsadik was on his way to pick up his wife and three kids at the Denver airport when he learned their trip to the United States had been cancelled, their reunion once again postponed. “My heart was broken,” he said. Refugees from Eritrea, the Gebretsadik ...

Washington, DC – Nearly 100 faith-based organizations and over 700 faith leaders are calling on the Biden administration to halt deportation flights and stop expelling Haitians and other migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. Re-designating the country for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is another urgent need. Said Bishop Philius H. Nicolas with Evangelical Crusade of Fishers ...

Washington, DC – Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) Co-Chairs, Peniel Ibe and Elissa Diaz, comment on introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA), among other members of the House and Senate. Peniel Ibe, policy engagement coordinator at the American Friends Service Committee and IIC Co-Chair: We are ...

Our Faiths Call Us to Welcome Refugees and Immigrants Washington, DC – Ahead of Ash Wednesday, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) is releasing a booklet of nine Lenten reflections to guide individuals and congregations seeking to review how our faith-based values require us to demand a just and humane immigration system. Also during this time, IIC ...

Washington, DC – Leaders of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition respond to President Biden’s executive order restoring our nation’s commitment to refugee protection. Elissa Diaz is Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) and Policy/Advocacy Manager at Church World Service, one of the non-profit organizations working with the U.S. Government to resettle and help refugees build new ...

Washington, DC – Haitian families, some with babies as young as one. Cameroonian and Angolan asylum-seekers who say they would rather die than be sent back. Honduran families forced to reside in Dilley immigration jail for 18 months-plus without a fair asylum hearing. A grandfather of 8 U.S. citizens who lived in the U.S. for ...

Washington, DC – To move forward after years of non-stop, xenophobic rhetoric and inhumane immigration policies, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition says the U.S. government must repeal and strengthen; heal and transform. Elissa Diaz, Policy and Advocacy Manager at Church World Service and Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC), said: “The Biden Administration must repeal Trump ...

Summaries, statements, analysis, and other resources on the Biden-Harris Administration immigration policies, and congressional legislation that creates a path to citizenship for aspiring Americans.  Multi-Issue Resources on Executive Orders Legislative Resources Issue-Specific Resources on Executive Orders Asylum Border Wall Census DACA Detention and Deportation DED/TPS Family Separation Muslim and African Ban Public Charge Racial Justice Refugees Organizational Statements ___________________________________________________________________________ Multi-Issue Resources on Executive Orders Analysis and Response from Immigrant-Led Organizations Interfaith Immigration Coalition Webinar ...

Washington, DC – The Biden-Harris Administration took bold action on Day 1 on numerous immigration issues, including rescinding the discriminatory Muslim, Refugee, and African Ban and halting construction on the former President’s border wall. Reaction from faith leaders to Day 1 policy announcements is available here.  The Interfaith Immigration Coalition’s blueprint for policy change includes three ...

Washington, DC – As organizations and individuals who believe in the dignity of all people, the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) welcomes the sea-change on immigration policy that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are ushering in.  “Much love to all the immigrants, organizers, grassroots advocates, and lawyers who stood up to the callous and ...