From the President’s Desk
For those of us engaged in the ministry of service and justice to refugees and immigrants, these have been unsettled times. So much in our work has been thrown into uncertainty since last September, and every month has brought new and troubling questions. With the discouraging certitude we now have that refugee arrivals cannot reach the ceiling of 70,000 for this year, a looming question for LIRS and our resettlement partners in communities across the country is whether this lifesaving rescue program will be fully restored in 2003. Will we fully overcome the barriers that have emerged since September 11, slowing arrivals to a trickle? And if not, what are the implications for our own future, since our institutional infrastructure and that of many of our partners are closely tied to this program? We also wonder what the creation of the new cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security will mean for the clients we serve, for the immigration legal system we are called on to explain and help people navigate, and for the rights we defend. Events are moving so quickly that we cannot be clear how the complex needs of the most vulnerable immigrants and refugees will be addressed by the new melded bureaucracy and how we will need to structure our services to be able to help. These questions about the work we carry out, and the shape of our future in this ministry, have been echoed by others closer to home. Our president, Ralston Deffenbaugh, has left on a well-deserved six-month sabbatical leave, and a number of other staff changes have taken place at the national headquarters of LIRS. We must strive to assure that our work will continue without a hitch as new staff find their footing in new roles. We do not know if the uncertainty we have experienced will come to an end soon or that we will have answers to all our questions. I would provide that reassurance if I could. What I can tell you is that there has never been a time when the unified voice and presence of LIRS and its partners have been more badly needed. We are the ones who need to work toward the restoration of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. We are the ones who need to ensure that the needs and rights of the most vulnerable immigrants—children, survivors of torture, victims of trafficking, asylum seekers and detainees—are addressed as new policies and programs are created. We are the ones who must advocate on behalf of the foreign-born in our communities, who must speak up for those who are afraid. We can and must move ahead despite the uncertainty. Our work—welcoming the stranger—was
set before us long ago. I am more than confident that LIRS and its
networks of partners across the country will continue to carry out
our mission of bringing new hope and new life for many years to
come. Yes, we face some challenges. But it is at times like these—when
faced with challenges, or when undergoing transitions in staffing—that
it is most important to turn again to the mission that informs our
work, to ground ourselves again in our fundamental priorities, and
to look for the opportunities for action and advocacy that this
moment presents.
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