Advocacy Update
October 2005

LIRS’s Refugee Mission: A New Fiscal Year and Renewed Commitment
By Bernadette Passade Cissé, LIRS Vice President for Policy and Advocacy

In fiscal year 2005 LIRS helped over 8,700 refugees from around the world rebuild their lives in communities throughout the United States. This mission of welcoming the stranger requires a close collaboration among staff who provide services and conduct advocacy, our Lutheran and non-Lutheran partners, policy-makers and the refugees themselves.

Every year at least one report reflects the successes and challenges we face in carrying out our mission on behalf of refugees. In August the Department of State (DOS) released Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2006: Report to the Congress. This report recommends policies for meeting the needs of refugees and is part of DOS’s annual consultation with Congress before the United States commits to its annual refugee program. The proposed refugee admissions ceiling for 2006 is 70,000. This number remains unchanged from 2005, but actual admissions for the fiscal year are estimated at 54,000 refugees.

The report reflects a number of advocacy successes for LIRS. It mentions the U.S. government’s June trip with LIRS and other partners to Tanzania and Kenya, during which LIRS advocated for meaningful solutions, including resettlement, for certain Burundian refugees and separated refugee children. Following that trip, the United States has proposed processing 15,000 Burundian refugees in Tanzania for resettlement. As a result of the advocacy of LIRS and others, the report proposes resettling 9,000 Burmese refugees from Thailand whom LIRS and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops visited in February.

The report also announces structural changes in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that address concerns about the resources and systems in place to identify the needs of refugees. DHS has established a Refugee Corps of 40 refugee officers to work only on resettlement cases. This represents a significant increase in resources to ensure a program that protects more refugees in need of resettlement, including the Bhutanese in Nepal who for years have needed the chance to rebuild their lives in dignity.

While there are aspects of the report we can celebrate, the report also reminds LIRS that continued advocacy is necessary. For instance, the U.S. government would welcome UNHCR referral of Haitian refugees to be considered for U.S. resettlement, but UNHCR resources are limited, and Haitians continue to suffer from politically motivated violence with no meaningful refugee protection in the Caribbean. The report identifies the challenge the government will face in applying a law which supposedly protects us from terrorists, but instead hurts refugees. LIRS is committed to working with our government so that victims of extortion by terrorist groups are not denied protection. Finally, the report is silent on the special needs of refugee children. The U.S. government is a leader in providing protection to refugee children and LIRS will continue to contribute our expertise in the service of these children and their families.

Keep reading FYI for updates on how you can contribute to the mission of helping refugees rebuild their lives and contribute their gifts to our communities.


Read more about...
...the June Africa trip in FYI, August/September 2005
...Burmese refugees in Thailand in FYI, April/May 2005
...victims of terrorist extortion in Advocacy Update, September 2005

Read past Advocacy/Washington Updates.