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Advocacy Alert: Show Your Support for Refugee Resettlement

Overview

UPDATE: President Trump signed the executive order on January 27. Learn how you can counter this action and continue supporting refugees.


With national news reporting that President Trump will sign an executive order this week to temporarily halt the U.S. refugee resettlement program, among other measures, KRM calls on you to stand alongside refugees in our state and across the world.

A public draft of the executive order includes the following:

  • Pausing the resettlement program for 120 days
  • Reducing refugee admissions from 110,000 individuals to 50,000 individuals for this year
  • Halting resettlement of Syrian refugees indefinitely

You can take the following action steps to voice your support of the refugee resettlement program. Thank you to Refugee Council USA for sharing these action steps.


ONLINE ACTION STEPS:

1) SIGN THIS NATIONAL PETITION.

2) TWEET AT PRESIDENT TRUMP – @realDonaldTrump & @POTUS

Here are some samples of what you can tweet

  • .@realDonaldTrump & @POTUS Don’t stop welcoming refugees. Resettlement demonstrates the best of our values #RefugeesWelcome
  • .@realDonaldTrump & @POTUS Keep America welcoming. Refugee resettlement is a proud American legacy with bipartisan support #RefugeesWelcome
  • .@realDonaldTrump & @POTUS People of faith OPPOSE a religious litmus test for refugees www.hias.org/1500rabbis ht.ly/9K60308lNo2
  • .@realDonaldTrump & @POTUS Denying Muslim refugees safety is an affront to religious liberty www.hias.org/1500rabbis ht.ly/9K60308lNo2
  • .@realDonaldTrump & @POTUS 800+ faith leaders support Muslim refugees seeking safety: ht.ly/9K60308lNo2 #RefugeesWelcome

3) SEND THE WHITE HOUSE A FACEBOOK MESSAGE at Facebook.com/WhiteHouse. UPDATE 1/26/2017: We have been informed that the Facebook messaging option is no longer available on the White House Facebook page.

4) SUBMIT AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE TO THE WHITE HOUSE at whitehouse.gov/contact

Here’s a sample of what you can submit for steps 3 & 4:

President Trump, We are hearing that you will stop refugee resettlement based on someone’s nationality or religion. I am strongly opposed to any policy change that would deny access to refugees based on their religion or nationality. Please reject such ideas, as a religious litmus test for safety is an affront to religious liberty. I urge you to welcome refugees and support the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Resettlement is a core American legacy that extends hospitality and offers a chance for refugees to rebuild their lives in safety and dignity. My community welcomes refugees and I urge you to reflect the best of our nation by supporting refugee resettlement in the United States.

CALL THE WHITE HOUSE AND CONGRESS:

President Trump: (866) 961-4293

Your Senators and Representatives: (202) 224-3121 >>> Please call this line 3 times to be connected with your 1 Representative and 2 Senators.

You can use the sample script above. Please also share a personal story about why refugee resettlement is important to you, your community, etc. Let them know the specific ways that refugees contribute and are welcomed into your community.

Act locally: SIGN THE Kentucky PETITION

Sign this petition organized as part of the local Refugee & Immigrant Day at the Capitol event.

 

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inspiration from community letters

As part of a national advocacy campaign, KRM gathered letters from refugee clients and community supporters. Together with our national affiliate agency, Church World Service, and other resettlement partners, we shared these letters with the new administration. You can read some below.

I support refugees as an American citizen because I support humanity. Refugees make our communities more vibrant. Refugees make us look critically at our own lives — for better or worse. Refugees are human. People. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. We must not lose the fact that not only do these lives matter, but they deeply matter to the betterment of the United States. – Heather M.

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I support refugees because, as a mother, I know that there is nothing I wouldn’t do to ensure the safety of my children. If the United States does not offer safe haven to people escaping unimaginable violence, then what do we stand for? Please consider what you would do if you lived in Syria right now. Please support refugees. – Jennifer H.

 

Only recently have I had the opportunity to become friends with refugee families from Iraq and Syria and Malaysia. These wonderful families have become valued friends and my wife and I view them as our family. All of them have endured a great deal of loss and heartache to finally make their way to our country. Each of them has expressed to me their love of our Constitution, country, and peoples and they are so grateful for the freedoms they are provided here. – Robert B.

 

Moving into America is like a dream that came true to me and to many innocent people who were forcibly displaced from their homelands due to insecurity, government instabilities, and persecutions. Since I was born I was raised in pain and agony, and was always living in tears and fears of death. Due to the insecurity that led to killing of many people we had to flee to a neighboring country . . . I applied for settlement in USA through UNHCR. I got the chance to be settled and am happy living in America. America restores my happiness and I feel secured living in a peaceful country. I love America so much. – Salad M.