Press Releases

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 ...

IIC Priorities for Biden-Harris Administration Washington, DC – The Torah, the Christian Bible, the Qur’an, and the Hindu Taitiriya Upanishad are all clear: welcoming the “wayfarer” and recognizing every individuals’ God-given humanity are values to defend and extend.  The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) released “The Interfaith Framework for Welcoming and Supporting Migrants, Immigrants, Asylum Seekers, and Refugees,” ...

But COVID Outbreak Adds New Threat to #SafetyForThe28 Washington, DC – On Thanksgiving eve, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a temporary stay of removal for the 28 children and their parents facing imminent deportation from the South Texas Family Residential Center and Berks County Residential Detention Center in Pennsylvania. “This stay ...

Dilley, TX and Leesport, PA – “¿Puedo decir algo más? / Can I say something else?” That’s the voice of “Antonio,” an eight year-old boy, detained with his family in the South Texas Family Residential Center for more than 456 days. He spoke to reporters about his hopes and fears, from the detention center. Antonio ...

Washington, DC – Following is a statement from Elissa Diaz, Policy Associate for Church World Service and Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition. Today we celebrate the opportunity to turn a page, as a country, and move toward healing. When it comes to federal immigration policy, the past four years have been dark, driven by xenophobia. The ...

A statement and call to action from Interfaith Immigration Coalition Washington, DC – The failure of U.S. immigration judges to give Black asylum-seekers a fair hearing compels us to write this statement. The U.S. Border Patrol’s refusal to even listen to Haitian asylum-seekers’ fears when they arrive at the border compels us to write this statement. The U.S. ...

Diaz: FY 21 Refugee Goal “Historic low for U.S. and Trump administration” Washington, DC – When it comes to deciding how many refugees can start their lives anew in the United States this fiscal year, the Trump administration is a month late and 80,000 short of the historic average goal of 95,000 people. The administration is ...

New Backgrounder on Deportations of Refugees to Cameroon WASHINGTON – Despite the global pandemic which has slowed most international travel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is accelerating the deportation of Black migrants to countries they fled, retaliating against those who speak out about abuses in detention. On October 13, a group of nearly 60 Cameroonian and ...

Washington, DC – The Trump administration is finding more ways to deport immigrants from the United States without access to lawyers, courts, or due process. “The administration is using every cheap trick in the book to put people in danger. By empowering ICE to summarily deport members of our communities, the president is pandering to his ...