Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders and partners are celebrating executive orders from President Joe Biden as positive and hopeful signs for refugee resettlement in the United States.
The work of the Compassion, Peace and Justice ministries will be among those highlighted during #GivingTuesday, a 12-hour virtual celebration of the collective power of Presbyterian generosity.
Presbyterians and many other people of faith are accompanying asylum seekers from Central America and as far away as African nations through the U.S. immigration court process. Just how successful that coming alongside process will be remains to be seen as President-elect Joe Biden and the 117th Congress reshape U.S. immigration policy and laws beginning in January 2021.
U.S. immigrants are keenly aware that there is a difference between what the United States promises — the American Dream — and what many immigrants experience each day.
In the coming days, Presbyterians have multiple ways to show their support for refugees in the United States and abroad, including attending a virtual town hall on Thursday.
In less than a month, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has granted 208 requests for assistance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic for a total of $1,119,688 in grants.
Whatever your opinion of U.S. immigration policies, many people — such as those attempting to enter through our southern border — are living in precarious, life-threatening situations. In response, people of faith continued to provide life-saving services that uplift the human soul and reaffirm individuals’ dignity.
Rather than tell Thursday’s joint meeting of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board about cultural humility, the Revs. Denise Anderson and Shanea Leonard showed those in attendance by inviting local voices to share their experiences.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the Trump administration plans to set the fiscal year 2020 refugee admissions goal at 18,000, a record low that effectively dismantles the U.S. resettlement program established nearly 40 years ago. Today’s presidential executive order also permits state and local officials to block refugee resettlement in their communities.
