Washington D.C. – People of faith recognize World Refugee Day today with both joy and grief. While we celebrate the incredible resilience, courage, and contributions of refugees and all displaced persons worldwide, we lament that over 100 million people—the highest number in history—have been forced to flee their homes. We grieve that in the face of this global crisis, the U.S. has greatly diminished its ability to welcome people seeking safety and is all too often an unsafe place for refugees of color due to racial inequities and white supremacy.
Inspired by the tremendous faith and resilience of refugees themselves, faith groups are striving for a better future for all this World Refugee Day. Last week at a virtual event, “Holy Voices for World Refugee Day: Welcome For All!,” directly-impacted leaders, faith leaders, and advocates shared updates about the current state of the U.S. refugee resettlement and asylum systems and opportunities to advocate for more welcoming policies.
Featuring moving stories, reflections, prayers, and live music, the event participants heard from Mahanga Donald “DJ Grin the Peacemaker,” a Congolese refugee artist and youth leader: “Refugees are not curses, but blessings,” he said. “It’s true we are refugees. It’s true we are persecuted. It’s true we are being denied our rights as refugees. But we can make a change that we want to see. What do you want to see? What do I want to see? Let’s make it together.”
As we celebrate World Refugee Day, we recommit to our calling to make the changes we want to see—to restore welcome and create a world where no one is forced to flee for their lives or feel unsafe for being who they are. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition urges Congress to rebuild and strengthen the U.S. Refugee Resettlement program and to restore access to asylum for all.
“This year’s World Refugee Day celebration comes at a time when there are now more than 100 million people worldwide searching for a safe place to call home. Whether they are from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cameroon, Ethiopia or El Salvador these families have had to make the incredibly difficult decision to leave everything they knew behind to protect themselves and their children from violence and persecution,” said Rick Santos, President and CEO of Church World Service. “Today and every day we honor the resilience and strength of refugee families and celebrate the contributions they bring to our communities. We are honored to do the work of helping them rebuild their lives in the United States while also supporting refugee communities displaced around the world. We call on the Biden administration and Congress to celebrate World Refugee Day by committing to strengthening our refugee resettlement program, ensuring access to protection for people seeking asylum and ending unjust and inequitable immigration policies that discriminate against Black and Brown migrants seeking safety.”
“Refugee resettlement is a bright light in this country for the individuals and families who have been resettled, for those who have supported the resettlement process, and for the communities who have been enriched by newcomers,” said Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, director of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Washington, DC and United Nations offices. “As people of faith, we follow a man who started out his life as a refugee. Jesus teaches us to love freely, especially those who are vulnerable and in need of accompaniment and support. May we be mindful of the people seeking this safety and support; and may we celebrate the countless gifts that come as refugees build a new home in our communities.”
“World Refugee Day is an annual reminder to honor the lives and human dignity of every vulnerable family, man, woman, and child on the move and of the gifts, dreams, and hopes they bring which enrich our country,” said Dylan Corbett, Executive Director of the Hope Border Institute. “Our border communities are beautiful places of encounter and hospitality. We stand ready to welcome and it is time for President Biden and Congress to roll back dangerous and deadly policies like Remain in Mexico and Title 42 once and for all and to fully restore asylum at our borders.”
Advocacy Committee, Interfaith Welcome Coalition – San Antonio: “Whoever, Wherever. Whenever. Everyone has the right to seek safety. We endorse the theme of this year’s World Refugee Day as we reflect upon the better part of the past decade serving those seeking refuge in South Texas. While the bulk of the people we have served fall under the category of asylum seeker, we testify to the fact that most of the people we have encountered meet the definition of refugee—a person “who is unable or unwilling to return to, … [their] country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A)).
Formal definitions aside, we who represent faithful citizens from across the spectrum of Abrahamic and Eastern traditions look to the special concern for the most vulnerable as a categorical imperative for all faiths. We remind those elected to lead 21st century America—a pluralistic society that claims Judeo-Christian principles were woven into its founding—that from Abraham to Moses to a family from Nazareth fleeing violence, migration and the need to seek refuge are foundational to our collective story. The migration around the fertile crescent and the flight into Egypt was, is, and will always be part of the human experience. It is incumbent upon those who know this reality as elemental to the human condition to offer genuine welcome and compassionate hospitality because EVERYONE has the right to seek safety—and maybe even a little prosperity.”
“As Christians and Franciscans, we reach out in love to our sisters and brothers forced to leave their homes due to war, political persecution, and other forms of violence,” said Michele Dunne, OFS Executive Director of Franciscan Action Network. “May the United States always be a place of safe refuge, and may we as Americans always welcome refugees and value the precious gifts they bring to our nation.”
“All people, regardless of circumstance or color, deserve respect by virtue of their precious humanity. But only the lucky few are born in wealthy countries that offer the opportunity to pursue dreams. God did not condemn the others; we are all equal in dignity. But many of those born in the United States had the luck of the draw. With that luck, with our freedom, with our wealth, with the acknowledgement that we are all equal in value and all deserve support – it is incumbent on us to offer true welcome to those forced to flee their homelands. Our Catholic faith calls us to welcome and offer safe harbor. The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd calls on Congress and President Biden to expand our welcome,” said Fran Eskin-Royer, Executive Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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