US Catholic Bishops launch campaign to pressure
Trump to admit large number of refugees, by Ann Corcoran, 8/19/18.
“The USCCB, along with a national network of Catholic partners, has resettled nearly one-third of all refugees to the U.S. since 1980.”
U.S. Catholic Bishops Urge to Welcome More Refugees in 2019
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is advocating for an increase in the number of refugees to be resettled in the country during the fiscal year 2019.
This
is one more in a stream of news stories about how the federally-funded refugee
resettlement contractors are fighting for their lives as their budgets shrink
under this President.
It
is no surprise that the US
Conference of Catholic Bishops—the largest resettlement agency
of the nine NGOs hired by the US State Department
to place refugees in your towns and cities, is launching this campaign directed
at Donald Trump.
For
years, I have searched in vain to discover the numbers of refugees each of the
nine resettles, but this article at least (thanks to reader Joanne for sending
it) tells us that the Bishops must be number one!
As usual, no where in this appeal to parishioners do they mention that
they are PAID BY THE HEAD FOR EACH REFUGEE THEY PLACE!
The bishops are inviting Catholics who are U.S. citizens to sign a petition to the President asking that “at least 75,000
refugees” be resettled during the next fiscal year. They also suggest
organizing meetings with their local elected officials to move the issue
forward.
The
advocacy campaign precedes the Presidential Determination expected by 30
September, which will set the target number of refugees allowed into the
country between October 2018 and September 2019. During the last fiscal year,
this number was a record low of 45,000, with the actual number of resettled
refugees falling short of the target by about half, the lowest figure since the
implementation of the Refugee Act in 1980.
“Standing
up for refugees is more crucial than ever,” says Tony Cube, national manager
of Justice for
Immigrants, a coalition
of Catholic organizations convened by the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee
Services (USCCB/MRS) to mobilize institutions and individuals in support of
immigrants and refugees.
In
addition to the petition, Justice for Immigrants has developed an advocacy
toolkit with suggestions for a letter [See the letter
below—-ed] to the U.S. President and instructions on how to set up a
meeting with local lawmakers. The advocacy toolkit also suggests requesting
robust funding of overseas assistance to displaced populations.
The USCCB, along with a national network of Catholic partners, has
resettled nearly one-third of all refugees to the U.S. since 1980.
Here
is the letter to the President that the Bishops are asking Catholics to sign:
Dear Mr. President:
As Catholics and Americans, we write today to express our
strong support for resettling refugees in our states and communities and urge
you to resettle at least 75,000 refugees in Fiscal Year 2019. We hope that you
will take into consideration the voices of state and local communities as we
join together in support of this life-saving program and express their desire
to help protect refugees in need.
Every day, 44,000 people are displaced from their homes
because of violence, persecution, or war. The United Nations Refugee Agency
reports that over 68.5 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, 25.4
million of whom are registered as refugees. More than half of those registered
are children. Despite this ongoing crisis, last year the United States set its
lowest ever resettlement goal of 45,000 refugees, and to date, has only
resettled 18,214 refugees this fiscal year. This is one of the lowest numbers
of refugees the U.S. has resettled in the history of the program, at the time
of the greatest need. We can do so much more.
The United States of America is a nation founded and built
by immigrants and refugees. It is that history that makes our collective states
and communities strong; it is our deep respect for hard work, our shared
commitment to the country we call home, and our belief that America is a beacon
of hope, that unites us.
We have heard our constituents express their support for
resettling refugees in our communities. Like us, they know that refugees are
not people to be feared – they are simply men, women, and children who were
forced to flee in order to save their lives.
Refugees bring immense value to our communities. Refugees
have reinvigorated our economies, brought innovation to our towns, and made our
communities stronger through their contributions to our public life and
cultural institutions. They are students, business owners, dedicated employees,
customers, elected officials, and community leaders.
The significant decline in refugee arrivals this year has
had a negative impact on communities, especially on employers, that have
traditionally welcomed refugees. Many key U.S. industries - including
manufacturing, lumber, hospitality, and food production - have become
increasingly reliant on refugee workers to fill in gaps left by labor
shortages. Refugees, and their descendants, bring so much to our communities.
We are better and stronger because of them. We encourage you to visit our
communities and hear directly from our constituents, including refugees
themselves, about what this life-saving program has brought to our country.
It is our deep respect for hard work, our shared commitment
to the country we call home, and our belief that America is a beacon of hope,
that unites us. We thank you for listening to the voices of communities across
the country and hope that you will take into account our strong desire to
welcome refugees as you make your determination on the number of refugees our
country will help in the coming year.
What can you
do? As
I have been saying for weeks, you must contact the White House (link in upper
right hand column here at RRW) and tell the President what you think. I am not
supplying a script (as they do) because you are smart enough to
write (in polite words!) what you think should be done about refugees in FY19.
If
you are a Catholic you should consider telling your church leaders what you
think as well!
These (below) are the nine federal resettlement contractors/advocates
which are largely paid for their ‘humanitarian’ work by you, the US taxpayer.
As
the numbers of incoming refugees decline so too does their income (as I said,
they are paid by the refugee head!). A continued reduction in the number
of incoming refugees could cause one or more of these supposed non-profits to
go under due to poor budgetary management—they never planned for a rainy day
when federal bucks might dry up!
Another
low year, perhaps lower than this year’s 20,000 plus year, could completely
blow to smithereens the budget of one or more of these federal contractors
which are demanding a cap of 75,000. (LOL! The nine have colluded so they
all are asking for 75,000!)
The
number in parenthesis is the percentage of their income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the
refugees into your towns and cities and get them signed up for their services (aka welfare)!
From
my most recent accounting, here. However, please see that Nayla Rush at the Center for
Immigration Studies has done an update of their income!
Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular)(93%)
International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular) (66.5%)
US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular) (98%)
Comments
43% of Catholics voted
for Trump in 2016. 48% voted for Clinton and 9% voted for others. I expect more
Catholics in the US will migrate to the GOP and ignore the Bishops on this
issue.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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