The following is the text of the letter sent to President Trump and all members of Congress on January 25, 2017. Download a copy of the letter here.
Dear President Trump and Members of Congress,
As religious leaders from a variety of backgrounds, we are called by our sacred texts and faith traditions to love our neighbor, accompany the vulnerable, and welcome the sojourner. War, conflict and persecution have forced people to leave their homes, creating more refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people than at any other time in history. More than 65 million people are currently displaced – the largest number in recorded history.
This nation has an urgent moral responsibility to receive refugees and asylum seekers who are in dire need of safety. Today, with more than five million Syrian refugees fleeing violence and persecution and hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, the United States has an ethical obligation as a world leader to reduce this suffering and generously welcome Syrian refugees into our country. We call on the Trump Administration and all members of the U.S. Congress to demonstrate moral leadership and affirm their support for the resettlement of refugees from all over the world to the United States. This nation has a rich history as a leader in refugee resettlement, with significant precedent, including after World War II and after the fall of Saigon, when we resettled hundreds of thousands of refugees.
It is important to recognize that the United States has the most rigorous refugee screening process in the world, involving the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and National Counter Terrorism Center. The process includes biometric checks, medical screenings, forensic testing of documents, DNA testing for family reunification cases, and in-person interviews with highly trained homeland security officials.
The U.S. Refugee Resettlement program has been and should remain open to those of all nationalities and religions who face persecution on account of the reasons enumerated under U.S. law. We oppose any policy change that would prevent refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, or individuals who practice Islam and other faiths from accessing the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Proposals that would have the U.S. State Department disqualify refugees from protection based on their nationality or religion fly in the face of the very principles this nation was built upon, contradict the legacy of leadership our country has historically demonstrated, and dishonor our shared humanity.
As the United States joins the world in seeking ways to meaningfully respond to the global refugee crisis, it is paramount that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program stay true to its mandate to resettle the most vulnerable. Vulnerable individuals from a host of religions, ethnicities and backgrounds have been and should continue to be resettled in the United States.
Together, representing our various faiths, we decry derogatory language that has been used about Middle Eastern refugees and our Muslim friends and neighbors. Inflammatory rhetoric has no place in our response to this humanitarian crisis. We ask our elected officials and candidates for office to recognize that new Americans of all faiths and backgrounds contribute to our economy, our community, and our congregations. Refugees are an asset to this country. They are powerful ambassadors of the American Dream and our nation’s founding principles of equal opportunity, religious freedom, and liberty and justice for all.
As people of faith, our values call us to welcome the stranger, love our neighbor, and stand with the vulnerable, regardless of their religion. We pray that in your discernment, compassion for the plight of refugees will touch your hearts. We urge you to be bold in choosing moral, just policies that provide refuge for vulnerable individuals seeking protection.
Sincerely,
National and International Leaders:
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ
Rev. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches and Chair, National Council of Churches
Bishop Warner H Brown, Jr, President of the Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church and Resident Bishop, The San Francisco Area
The Reverend George Francis Flowers, Executive Director, Global Witness and Ministry, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Dr. Michael D. Castle, President, Alliance of Baptists
Dr. Steve Timmermans, Executive Director, Christian Reformed Church in North America
Stanley J. Noffsinger, General Secretary, Church of the Brethren
Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada
Jonathan Greenblatt, National Director, Anti-Defamation League
William Bernstein, Executive Director, Jewish World Watch
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Senior Vice President, Union for Reform Judaism
Mark Hetfield, President & CEO, HIAS
Nancy K. Kaufman, CEO, National Council of Jewish Women
Debbie Hoffmann, President, National Council of Jewish Women
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, T’ruah: the Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Jim Winkler, President, National Council of Churches
Rev. John L. McCullough, President and CEO, Church World Service
Rev. Dr. Earl D. Trent Jr. Chairman of the Board of Directors Church World Service
Linda Hartke, President and CEO, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Stephan Bauman, President, World Relief
Jim Wallis, President and Founder, Sojourners
William J Blacquiere, President and CEO of Bethany Christian Services
Rev. Peter Morales, President, Unitarian Universalist Association
Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J., President of the U.S. Jesuit Conference
Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director, NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Marcia Allen, CSJ, President, Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Sr. Patricia Chappell, Executive Director, Pax Christi USA
Sister Margaret Magee, OSF, President, Franciscan Action Network
Sister Patricia McDermott, RSM, President, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Bishop Francis E. Krebs, Presiding Bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion
Sr. Ellen Kelly, RGS, Congregational Leader, Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd.
Gerry G. Lee, Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Rev. Ron Stief, Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Diane Randall, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation
Anwar A. Khan, CEO, Islamic Relief USA
Salam Al-Marayati, President, Muslim Public Affairs Council
Sayeed Siddiqui, President, Muslim Youth of North America
Catherine Orsborn, Director, Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign
Atiya Aftab, Esq., Co-founder and Chair, Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom
Scott Wright, Director, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, U.S. Region, Missionary Society of St. Columban
Rev. Fr. Antonio Ponce OMI, Director – Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate-Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation
Rev. Susan Taylor, National Public Affairs Director, Church of Scientology National Affairs Office
Rev. John Guttermann, Lead, Conversations With Friends
Rev. Dr. William Schulz, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Vice President of Community Engagement, HIAS
Rabbi Rachel Grant Meyer, Educator, Community Engagement, HIAS
Nathan Hosler, Director, Office of Public Witness, Church of the Brethren
Sandra Sorensen, Director, Washington Office, United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Colin Watson, Director of Ministries and Administration, Christian Reformed Church in North America
Sister Patricia McDermott, RSM, President, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Rob Rutland-Brown, Executive Director, National Justice for Our Neighbors
Carol Barton, Executive for Community Action, United Methodist Women, National Office
Carol Bremer-Bennett, World Renew, US Director
Mary E. Hunt, PhD, Co-founder and Co-director, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)
Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Executive Director, Women of Reform Judaism
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism
Rev. Dr. Elder Nancy L Wilson, Moderator, Metropolitan Community Churches
Rev. Leah C. M. Lonsbury, Clergy Care Specialist, The Alliance of Baptists
Rev. Paula Clayton Dempsey, Director of Partnership Relations, Alliance of Baptists
Rev. Ronald J. Degges, President, Disciples Home Missions
Rev. Ken Brooker-Langston, Director, Disciples Center for Public Witness
Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Refugee & Immigration Ministries, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Dr. Peter Makari, Executive, Middle East and Europe, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ
Rev. Dr. James Moos, Co-Executive, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ
Rev. Julia Brown Karimu, Co-Executive, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ
Carol Blythe, Past President, Alliance of Baptists
Rev. Aundreia Alexander, Esq, Associate General Secretary for Action and Advocacy for Justice and Peace, National Council of Churches
Rev, Barbara L. Carter, Interfaith and Ecumenical Officer, Community of Christ
Marie Dennis, Co-President, Pax Christi International
Mr. Armando Borja, Regional Director, Jesuit Refugee Service North America
Sr. Jeanine Retzer, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother United States/Caribbean Province
Rev. Michael-Ray Mathews, Director of Clergy Organizing, PICO National Network
Bishop Mary Ann Swenson, Ecumenical Officer, Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church, Vice Moderator, World Council of Churches
Charlotte Haberaecker, President & CEO, Lutheran Services in America
Carol Bremer-Bennett, U.S. Director of World Renew
Dalit Baum, The American Friends Service Committee
Sr. Rose Therese Nolta, Servarum Spiritus Sancti, Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters – Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation, USA
Marjorie White, President, Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis
Rev. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, Executive Director, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Bautistas por la Paz
Rev. Michael Neuroth, Policy Advocate for International Issues
Sister Donna Preston, OSF, Coordinator of Justice & Peace Team, School Sisters of St. Francis, U.S. Province
The Rev. Roger R. Gustafson, Bishop, Central States Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Sister Eileen Brynda, Sinsinawa Dominican Leadership Team
Sister Patricia A. Lowery, MMS, MD, Coordinator , Medical Mission Sisters
Sister Catherine Waldron, SNDdeN, United States East-West Province of the Sisters of Notre Dame Leadership Team
Rev. Mary E. Jacobs, Co-Moderator, Disciples Peace Fellowship, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Denise Turner, International Disciples Women’s Ministries Executive Council Member
Rev. Kathy McDowell, Editor of Just Women Magazine, published by Disciples Women
Rev. Dr. Olivia Bryan Updegrove
Sister Brenda Cousins, C.S.C., General Secretary, Sisters of the Holy Cross
Sister Kathleen Bryant RSC, Religious Sisters of Charity
Sister Mary Christopher Moore, Felician Sisters, Our Lady of Hope Province
Kate Hendel, BVM, Vice-President, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mira Mosle, BVM, Vice-president, Sisters of Charity, BVM
Sr. Rose Marie Jasinski, CBS Leader, Sisters of Bon Secours, USA
Teri Hadro, BVM, President, Sisters of Charity, BVM
Rev. Dr. Kenneth J Meyers, Knollwood Baptist Church
Rabbi Amy Eilberg, College of Saint Benedict and St. John’s Univeristy
Sister Joan O’Sullivan, Provincial Leader of Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, US Unit
Rev. Leah Grundset Davis, Alliance of Baptists
Sister Margaret Bulmer,Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston Office of Social Concerns
Kathlyn Mulcahy, OP, Dominican Sisters of Springfield
Sister Marjorie White, President, Sisters of St. Joseph, TOSF
Bishop F. Herbert Skeete, Rtd. United Methodist Church
Sr. Ann Oestreich, IHM, U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking
Andrew G. Lang, Executive Director, Open and Affirming Coalition, United Church of Christ
Imam Daayiee Abdullah, President and CEO, MECCA Institute
Rev. Rodney McKenzie, Jr., Director of the Academy for Leadership and Action, National LGBTQ Task Force
Sister Danielle Bonetti for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
Sr. Rose Therese Nolta, SSpS, Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters – JPIC, USA
Sr. Teri Hadro, BVM, President, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Rev’d Margaret R Rose, Deputy for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, The Episcopal Church
Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala, United Methodist Church, Mozambique Episcopal Area
Rev. Shannon Jammal-Hollemans, Christian Reformed Church
Bishop Heinrich Bolleter, The United Methodist Church, Central and Southern Europe
Rev. Kephas Otieno Oloo, Vice-Chair GBCS, The United Methodist Church, Africa Central Conference
Bishop Elias Galvan, Retired, United Methodist Church and Executive Director, MARCHA (Methodist Associated Representing the Cause of Hispanic Americans)
Rev. Diane Y.Mettam, Director of Prayer Ministry, United Methodist DisAbility Task Force
Mr. Chett Pritchett, Executive Director, Methodist Federation for Social Action
Bishop S.Clifton Ives, The United Methodist Church, retired
Bishop Forrest C. Stith, Retired
Clay F. Lee, Bishop retired, The United Methodist Church
Bishop William W. Hutchinson, The United Methodist Church, Retired
Bishop Charlene Kammerer, Bishop, The United Methodist Church, Retired
Ray W. Chamberlain, Jr, Ret. Bishop, United Methodist Church
Bishop Peter D.Weaver, The United Methodist Church
Bishop Ernest S. Lyght, Retired, The United Methodist Church
Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, retired, The United Methodist Church
Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel, retired The United Methodist Church
Bishop Al Gwinn, The United Methodist Church, Retired
Rev. Dr . Thomas Hudspeth, Pastor of the Deaf, the United Methodist Church
Bishop Alfred Johnson, retired Bishop, The United Methodist Church
Bishop Susan W. Hassinger, The United Methodist Church, Retired
President of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, Stevens Point, WI
Local and Regional Leaders: For the complete list go to: http://www.interfaithimmigration.org/religiousleaderletter/
