American religious groups, civic associations, businesses and even neighborhoods are enthusiastically responding to pleas to aid tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in need of rapid resettlement across the nation. Officials who oversee refugee resettlement agencies and the leaders of…
Churches urged to get ready to welcome Afghan refugees
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel across the U.S. are preparing partner networks and local congregations for the expected arrival of Afghan refugees attempting to flee as the withdrawal of American forces continues. “We expect a huge influx all over the…
With refugee and immigrant ministries already on high alert, Supreme Court delivers an unwanted message
While the nation’s agencies serving refugees and immigrants are scrambling to welcome thousands of Afghan refugees, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to their advocacy on another front Aug. 24 by telling the Biden administration it must reinstate the…
On World Humanitarian Day, a call to address climate change and improve the conditions of refugees across Africa
On a continent long reeling from the effects of climate change, the 2021 World Humanitarian Day focused on the human cost of the climate crisis and the need for world leaders to take meaningful action for the world’s most vulnerable…
Uganda opens its doors to welcome 2,000 Afghan refugees
As concerns mount across the world over what to do about the increasing number of people fleeing Afghanistan after the country’s government was toppled by the Taliban, the East African nation of Uganda has offered to accommodate 2,000 refugees. This…
Elevated refugee admission goal for year won’t be met, but the trend is upward
Just as advocates expected, raising the annual refugee cap for 2021 by the Biden administration is proving a challenge to domestic resettlement agencies and overseas candidate screening centers that atrophied from underuse during the Trump presidency. According to newly released…
Here’s one simple reason to support refugee resettlement
When I talk to people about why I — a pastor at my church — believe refugees should be welcomed in our country, my rationale is simple: Jesus was a refugee. One would think that message would resonate with others…
Biden administration rushing to strengthen DACA, official says
The Biden Administration isn’t waiting for Congress to act before working to strengthen DACA, the Obama-era program that provides legal residency to immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, a high-ranking federal immigration official said during a May 17…
Charity versus justice
It’s an old saying but true: If you have to keep rescuing people out of a raging river, eventually you ought to walk upstream to see who’s throwing those people in the river. This is the difference between charity and…