Press Releases

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 ...

Washington, DC – On September 30, the last day of National African Immigrant Heritage Month, hundreds of people joined a Zoom meeting to learn about the journey many Black Africans make to the U.S. to escape persecution–and the journey some are forced to make back via deportation.  A recording is available here. Sylvie Bello of the ...

Faith Community Outraged by the Administration’s Devastation of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program Diaz: “Trump administration is playing the role of persecutor, not protector” Washington, DC – The Trump administration is proposing another historic low refugee admissions goal of 15,000 for FY 2021, according to the administration’s report to Congress. The administration violated U.S. law by not ...