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iACT for Refugees February 3, 2017

It’s no secret that refugee resettlement in the United States, and particularly in Texas, is facing some very real threats from new executive orders and governmental actions. Here is some information critical for anybody looking to stand up for refugees to know as we move forward.

 

Trump’s refugee ban is a matter of life and death for some, including a 1-year-old with cancer

trump
President Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 27. Trump’s temporary halt to the U.S. refugee program has sparked protests across the country. (Evan Vucci/AP)

From The Washington Post

By Kevin Sieff January 30
DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP, Kenya — They were deemed the most vulnerable cases: refugees suffering from medical conditions so ­severe that normally their journeys to the United States would be expedited.One is a 9-year-old Somali child in Ethiopia with a congenital heart disease that cannot be treated in a refugee camp. Another is a 1-year-old Sudanese boy with cancer. A third is a Somali boy with a severe intestinal disorder living in a camp that doesn’t even have the colostomy bags he needs.

After President Trump’s executive order last week, their resettlement in America was put on hold. Now, the organization responsible for processing refugees in sub-Saharan Africa, Church World Service, says that order could be their death sentence.

The organization compiled an internal list of some of its most desperate cases, and it is urging the U.S. government to lift the suspension. “When you’re talking about a 9-year-old with congenital heart problems, a [delay of a] day is too long,” said Sarah Krause, the senior director of Church World Service’s immigration and refugee program. “It is unnecessary for these individuals to die while waiting for resettlement.”

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Monday that 20,000 people in precarious conditions would be banned from traveling to the United States under the 120-day suspension on refugee admissions that was announced Friday.

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Refugees are already vigorously vetted. I know because I vetted them.

Syrian children walk around the camp grounds during a sandstorm at a temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, Syria, on Nov. 10, 2016. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)
Syrian children walk around the camp grounds during a sandstorm at a temporary refugee camp in the village of Ain Issa, Syria, on Nov. 10, 2016. (Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images)

From The Washington Post

By Natasha Hall February 1

I conducted one of my last interviews as an immigration officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Istanbul with Mahmoud and his 8-year-old son from Aleppo, Syria. His son had lost his legs in the explosion that killed Mahmoud’s wife, sister and other children. It was supposed to be his son’s first day at school in two years. Instead, they were here in my office, reliving the worst experiences of their lives to come to the United States. Mahmoud trembled as he spoke about returning to his home from work one day and digging his family members out of the rubble.

I had never been both so sad and proud that this boy would be able to come to the United States and start school and a new life. Now I imagine them, four years after leaving Syria and three after registering as refugees and being told to go back. Go back where?

This is precisely what President Trump’s executive order issued last Friday did. The order bans entry for citizens of seven countries for 90 days, suspends all refugee admission for 120 days, halves the total number of refugees allowed into the United States this year, and halts refugees from Syria indefinitely. The order demands “a program… to identify individuals seeking to enter the United States on a fraudulent basis with the intent to cause harm, or who are at risk of causing harm.” It calls for “standard screening and procedure,” “questions aimed at identifying fraudulent answers and malicious intent,” “a mechanism to ensure that the applicant is who the applicant claims to be,” and “a mechanism to assess whether the applicant has the intent to commit criminal or terrorist acts.”

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A Vigil of Commitment: Welcome, Hospitality, and Compassion for ALL

All Are Welcome

In light of recent executive orders from the US government, there will be a vigil held on Monday February 6 beginning at 7:00pm at St. James’ Episcopal Church to demonstrate our community’s commitment to welcoming our neighbors and to human rights. We would love to see you there supporting hospitality and compassion, for ALL of our neighbors. If you plan to attend this vigil, please be sure to RSVP.

 

 

Austinites Gather to Support Central Texas Refugees
February 3, 2017
Refugees settling in Austin: ‘We are not dangerous’
February 3, 2017

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