From Church World Service (http://www.churchworldservice.org):
Right now, the administration is considering how many refugees to welcome in 2020. Two weeks ago, reports surfaced that some administration officials have proposed resettling zero refugees in 2020 – all during the worst refugee crisis in world history. Zeroing out refugee resettlement would amount to a full refugee ban, with grave long-term implications, devastating thousands of refugees who are in dangerous situations and who we have promised to protect. As people who care about refugees, we must demand that Members of Congress publicly denounce this proposal and weigh in with the administration directly, urging them to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees (the historic average) next year.
To learn how to take action, check out our brand new Rise for Refuge Toolkit: http://bit.ly/RiseforRefugeToolkit. For more resources, please visit: www.weareallusa.org/riseforrefuge. Here are the top 5 ways to take action:
(1) Join August 3rd National Day of Action and Host Public Witness Event: Join us on Saturday, August 3rd for a National Day of Action to stand in solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers. For more details, please visit: http://bit.ly/RiseforRefugeToolkit. Throughout August, we also invite partners to organize and join interfaith vigils, press conferences, actions, and foot washing ceremonies – which all make a difference. Even small events, multiplied across the country, will send a powerful message to the Trump administration and Congress that welcoming refugees is a moral issue that is important to the broader public, people of faith and community partners. Click here for more information about how to organize a public witness event.
(2) Plan an In-District Visit with Your Members of Congress in August: Members of Congress are home and in-district for the annual August recess period. Take advantage of this time by setting up a meeting with them in person! Senators will be home from August 3rd – September 8th. U.S. Representatives will be home July 30th – September 3rd. For RCUSA’s Local Congressional Visit Toolkit for 2019, please visit http://bit.ly/RCUSAAdvocacyToolkit to request meetings and put together a team.
(3) Call Congress: Click here to be connected to your 2 Senators and 1 Representative. Here’s an example of what to say: “I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and I urge you to do everything in your power to protect the refugee resettlement program from being decimated by the administration. The administration is considering setting the refugee admissions goal for next year at ZERO. Congress must hold the administration accountable. By law, the administration must consult with Congress prior to setting the refugee admissions goal, which means you are uniquely poised to ensure that the administration fulfills its obligation to consult with Congress ahead of deciding how many refugees to welcome in FY20. Please do everything in your power to see that the administration stops commits to resettling 95,000 refugees in 2020. My community welcomes refugees, and I urge you to reflect the best of our nation by supporting refugee resettlement.”
(4) Amplify on Social Media: Don’t forget to tweet at your Members of Congress (find PA Twitter handles below). Here are some sample posts, and click for social media graphics:
- 📢America stands for welcome. Banning refugees is not who we are or what we stand for. #NORefugeeBans #SaveRefugeeResettlement #STOPTrump
- Shutting down the refugee resettlement program is an assault on our values. ⛔#NORefugeeBans #SaveRefugeeResettlement #STOPTrump
- 🚨🚨🚨Refugee families will die if the administration shuts down the resettlement program.We will not back down. #NORefugeeBans #SaveRefugeeResettlement #STOPTrump
(5) Write Opinion Editorials & Letters to the Editor for Local Media Outlet: One of the best ways to make your voice heard is by writing an opinion article or letter to the editor of your local paper. Local outlets are especially useful for making your voice heard to officials at the federal, state, and local levels. See below for samples that you can use to get started. Click here for template op-eds and LTEs.
But wait! There’s more:
State & Local Elected Leaders: Last year, 270 local and state elected officials from 42 states expressed their support for resettling refugees in their communities. This year, we want to hear the voices from all 50 states! Urge your state and local elected leaders to sign on to support refugees in your community and urge the administration to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in 2020! The deadline to sign on is August 30, 2019. Click to read the letter and to sign: http://welcomingrefugees2020.org/.
Faith Leaders: Sign on to this letter by COB Monday, August 12th, urging the administration to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in FY 2020.
Faith Organizations: Sign on to this letter by COB Monday, August 12th, urging the administration to commit to resettling 95,000 refugees in FY 2020. (Please note it’s the same letter as for faith leaders, but this link is specifically for faith-based organizations.)
Candidate Education: The U.S. presidential, congressional, state, and local elections on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 present an important opportunity to elect leaders who represent our values. Right now is a critical time to conduct candidate education and directly contact candidates, both new candidates and incumbents, who are running for office in your area, to talk to them about your support for refugees, and to ask them to support refugees publicly. To learn more about how to educate national, state, and local candidates, please check out RCUSA’s Candidate Education & Platform Recommendations and Candidate Education Toolkit: http://bit.ly/RCUSACandidateToolkit. For the Value Our Families candidate education toolkit and more resources on family reunification, please check out our August Recess Two-Pager: http://bit.ly/VOFAugust2019.
PA Twitter Handles
- Bob Casey: @SenBobCasey
- Pat Toomey: @SenToomey
- Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1): @RepBrianFitz
- Brendan Boyle (PA-2): @CongBoyle
- Dwight Evans (PA-3): @RepDwightEvans
- Madeleine Dean (PA-4): @RepDean
- Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5): @RepMGS
- Chrissy Houlahan (PA-6): @RepHoulahan
- Susan Wild (PA-7): @RepSusanWild
- Matt Cartwright (PA-8): @RepCartwright
- Dan Meuser (PA-9): @RepMeuser
- Scott Perry (PA-10): @RepScottPerry
- Lloyd Smucker (PA-11): @RepSmucker
- Fred Keller (PA-12): @RepFredKeller
- John Joyce (PA-13): @RepJohnJoyce
- Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14): @GReschenthaler
- Glenn Thompson (PA-15): @CongressmanGT
- Mike Kelly (PA-16): @MikeKellyPA
- Conor Lamb (PA-17): @RepConorLamb
- Mike Doyle (PA-18): @USRepMikeDoyle
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