ACTION ALERT: Act to Save Refugee Resettlement
The Trump administration has not announced further drastic cuts to the Refugee Resettlement program for FY 2020 yet, so there is still time to advocate against the cuts and for raising the refugee ceiling. Administration officials have been batting around numbers such as 10,000 or 15,000 a year (half the current 30,000) or even zero. Under the last year of the Obama administration almost 85,000 refugees were admitted; the historical average is 98,000/year. The Trump administration must consult with Congress before finalizing. Your voice is needed now! A few phone calls and letters add up when we act together.
5 ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE & RESOURCES…
1. Call the White House Comment Line (202) 456-1111. 9AM-4PM Weekdays.
2. Call and Write Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham is the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee which will be consulted on the FY 2020 refugee ceiling. Graham sees himself as a Statesman, so appealing to how the US is hurting its international relations by not helping refugees and setting an example is an angle. Call to DC & Local Offices Recommended. Handwritten letters to Local Offices recommended. Emails acceptable. (DC letters may not get processed in time). Including a copy of an article with handwritten letter to a local office is a good idea as well. Basic talking points below under Resources.
Contact Senator Graham: https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/
3. Call and Write Senator Tim Scott. Scott is a dyed in the wool conservative Republican, but as the sole African-American Republican Senator he has also at times been willing to speak out against Trump or his own party’s racism. Explaining that the Trump administration’s radical slashing of refugee resettlement breaks decades of bipartisan agreement on the importance of resettling refugees and how it seems to be motivated by racism is an angle. Follow same recommendations as above for contacting Senator Graham
Contact Senator Scott: https://www.scott.senate.gov/
4. Ask the Presidential Candidates about the Trump administration’s slashing refugee resettlement and if they will #RaisetheCap. As Democratic candidates criss-cross South Carolina, we have a unique opportunity this raise this issue until the February 20 primary.
5. Write a Letter to Editor to your local newspaper (or let us ghostwrite one for you!)
RESOURCES:
1. “Trump Administration Considers a Drastic Cut in Refugees Allowed to Enter U.S.” New York Times. Sept 6, 2019.
2. “Pentagon is Last Holdout as Stephen Miller Tries to Slash Refugee Number of Refugees Allowed in US” NBC News. Sept 20, 2019.
3. LIRS Advocacy with Migrants and Refugee Action Alert
4. Talking Points
- Don’t cut refugee admissions. The Trump administration has already cut refugee resettlement too much.
- If anything, they should #RaisetheCap on refugees
- The US is shirking its duty to do its part amidst the world’s worst refugee crisis since WWII
- Ronald Reagan recognized/knew that welcoming refugees was the right thing to do and spoke of the “responsibility of welcoming and resettling those who flee oppression.”
5. Hashtags #RefugeesWelcome #SaveRefugeeResettlement #RaisetheCap #Welcome95K
SPREAD THE WORD… Share this Action Alert
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Carolina Peace Resource Center 