USCCB: Urge your representative to join refugee caucus

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April 2003

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USCCB: Urge your representative to join refugee caucus

USCCB: Urge your representative to join refugee caucus
On April 9, the Bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus will be officially launched by co-chairs Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18th/FL), Christopher Smith (R-4th/NJ), John Conyers, Jr. (D-14th/MI) and Zoe Lofgren (D-16th/CA). In a March 13 "Dear Colleague" letter to their fellow representatives, the co-chairs state that the Caucus "will be dedicated to affirming the United States' leadership and commitment to the protection, humanitarian needs, and compassionate treatment of refugees and persons in refugee-like situations throughout the world."

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Office of Migration and Refugee Services, the Refugee Caucus will work to ensure that the federal government fulfills its commitments to refugees by facilitating Congressional hearings on management of the U.S. refugee program, monitoring global refugee trends, providing information to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees as they work with the Executive Branch on the annual Presidential Determination on refugee admissions, and assisting with the drafting of any legislation that might be needed to reform the refugee program.

The formation of the Refugee Caucus comes at a critical time for the U.S. refugee program, according to the Migration office. President Bush authorized the admission into the United States of 70,000 refugees in each of Fiscal Years (FY) 2002 and 2003. However, as of February 28 only 6,763 refugees had been admitted so far this fiscal year. During FY 2002, only 27,075 refugees were admitted.

As a result of these delays, thousands of deserving refugees in urgent need of the protection afforded by resettlement in the United States continue to languish in often dangerous conditions. Among these are Iraqis fleeing the regime of Saddam Hussein and the victims of conflicts in Liberia and Sudan.

Action requested by the USCCB Office of Migration and Refugee Services:
Urge your congressional representative to become a founding member of the Bipartisan Congressional Refugee Caucus.

For more information:
See a sample letter

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