Call to Action – Support Our Neighbors!
Dear friends, Last week, the incoming administration suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program, through which 100,000 fellow humans found safety in US communities last year. That’s 100,000 people–of over 43.7 million refugees across the globe–who fled their homes due to a well-founded fear of persecution or even death and eventually made it through a stringent US vetting process and into our communities. In Billings, this halt means an end to the welcome that began only last June, and, for three families we know, dashed hopes of reunification with loved ones who were soon to arrive. Then last Friday, the new administration issued a “stop work” order for refugee resettlement agencies nationwide. Nationally, this order will leave tens of thousands of people without the support and welcome they were promised and which the resettlement agencies were contracted to provide. Right here in Billings, the stop work order severely impacts the provision of crucial services for refugees who have recently arrived. As you know, resettlement agencies have been the primary means for welcoming refugees into US communities since 1980. These agencies help refugees find housing and employment, assist in enrolling children in school, and provide cultural orientation and other essential services to promote refugees’ early self-sufficiency. Please will you make your voice heard in support of the critical work of refugee resettlement? While it might feel like there is little we can do, we still have a voice! It is urgent that we speak up now in support of some of the world’s most vulnerable. Friends, Scripture is clear that we are to “welcome the stranger,” treating them as one born among us (Lev. 19:34). And I go back to the Truth that we share with refugees a common, inherent dignity, having all been made in the image of God (Gen 1:26). Your voice can make a difference with our elected officials. Contact your federal, state, and local representatives TODAY. Use these links to submit your input to our Congressmen via a form on their websites. Feel free to use words from the form letter below in your submission.
Sen. Daines: https://www.daines.senate.gov/services/email-steve/
Sen. Sheehy: https://www.sheehy.senate.gov/
Rep. Downing: https://downing.house.gov/contact/email-me
Call if you have the time! The website links have phone numbers for our Congressmen’s offices in Billings and Washington, and you could refer to the verbiage in the form letter below as a script if you like. Share this information with your community. Read up on the issues (some links below) and be prepared to help your friends and family sort through the misinformation. Although our work and the form letter below focus on refugees, you can also use this contact information to make your voice heard on other immigration policy changes that impact our community and the people we care for deeply. The key messages: You SUPPORT refugee resettlement in Montana. You OPPOSE the unfounded rhetoric that is pushing fear through our community. Please do add a story from your own experience with our refugees in Billings, if you are able. It helps a great deal to see a person as a person rather than a category.
For more information:
CBS Article – Trump administration suspends some funding for refugee resettlement groups
AP Article – Trump administration deportation immigration blueprint
KTVQ article – Yellowstone County Commissioners Letter response
Sample Form Letter (which you could personalize):
I am writing to make my voice heard in support of the United States Refugee Admission Program after the recent executive orders by President Trump.
I believe this program improves my community in Billings, MT, and benefits communities in every state, including economically as the best available data show. The freezing of government funds for these programs is a broken promise to families that have already been vetted and welcomed into our communities. This puts vulnerable people at risk and will place a greater burden on our local community and economy.
The Refugee Admission Program already includes processes for the safety and welfare of the United States through rigorous interviews, background checks, and other forms of vetting. The Refugee Admission Program is not a border issue, and has a long history of bipartisan support. I believe this process works to enrich the culture in Billings and in all our communities. I support the refugees in Billings and would be heartbroken to see any programs end that enrich our community. (PERSONAL INPUT – please add your level of work/interaction with N2N or our resettlement office before sending). Locally, there has been a broad base of community support for helping these families become self-sufficient, to integrate into our community, and to find belonging here. I am asking for action from your office to reinstate funding and programs that support the Refugee Admission Program.
I ask you to contact the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of State, who are reviewing these suspended programs, and let them know that your constituents support these programs. Please know that I am not alone in these convictions and will be watching how you consider my very real concerns.