Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 1,051 faith leaderss and 176 organizations in writing to the Trump Administration asking for the resumption of refugee resettlement, restoration of humanitarian assistance, and assurance that the faith community can take care of newcomers according to their traditions. Read the letter as a PDF.
February 13, 2025
Dear President Donald Trump, Secretary Marco Rubio, Secretary Kristi Noem, and members of Congress,
As 1,051 faith leaders and 176 organizations, we are called to love our neighbor, welcome the sojourner, and care for the vulnerable. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, UNHCR, over 120 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide in 2024 due to war, conflict, and persecution, including more than 37 million refugees. The administration’s decision to fully suspend refugee resettlement has left numerous refugees stranded overseas while ongoing uncertainty following the foreign aid freeze has further impacted core services to refugees who have already arrived in the United States.
With concern, we call upon the Trump Administration to (a) resume refugee resettlement; (b) restore all humanitarian assistance, particularly vital assistance for refugees and Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) beneficiaries who have already arrived; and (c) ensure that the faith-based community can continue to serve and welcome refugees and other newcomers according to their faith traditions. Under (b) this includes restoring Reception and Placement services under the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). As people of faith, we urge members of Congress, President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to ensure that all refugees approved for resettlement have safe harbor from persecution and harm.
The “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program” executive order from Jan. 20, 2025, abruptly suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), pending review every 90 days. Soon after, on Jan. 24, the State Department issued a notice responding to the “Executive Order on Review of Foreign Assistance” which ordered an immediate pause on new foreign aid spending, as well as a stop-work order for existing grants and contracts. The Jan. 24 humanitarian aid pause and stop-work orders cut off thousands of refugees and SIVs who have recently arrived from Reception and Placement services under the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), despite their statutory eligibility for services. The executive order and notice have had an immediate impact on refugees and the network of affiliates prepared to welcome them. Flights have been cancelled and overseas case processing has ground to a halt. Various faith-based organizations have been instructed to cease providing recently arrived refugees with basic support in housing, food, clothing, furnishings, employment and educational attainment, and other necessities crucial for their integration and economic self-sufficiency made possible through the Reception and Placement program.
During and after World War II, faith communities in the U.S. came together to welcome religious minorities fleeing oppression, establishing a precedent and practice that would later become a flourishing and bipartisan public-private partnership: The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Last year, more than 100,000 refugees were resettled to the United States, the highest level since the mid-1990s. Yet, we know that fewer than 1% of refugees are ever actually resettled–making resettlement a crucial, albeit, limited solution in the face of protracted conflicts and violence around the world. We commend Secretary Rubio’s resolve to promote peace abroad and to address the endless human rights abuses causing God’s children to suffer, which he emphasized begins with creating prosperity and then sharing that prosperity: “And how can America help end the suffering of God’s children across the world if it is not first prosperous here at home?” To uphold peace and human rights, the U.S. must assume a recommitment to, not dismantling, of USRAP. USRAP saves thousands of lives annually and bolsters U.S. interests in fragile countries, acting as a bulwark against instability when combined with the full spectrum of U.S. diplomacy, assistance, and engagement.
Refugee screening involves 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, and in-person interviews with highly trained officials. The Heritage Foundation called it “a fact that refugees undergo more vetting than any other immigrants to the U.S.” When refugees, including those admitted under the private-resettlement program Welcome Corps, arrive to our communities, they have waited many years and undergone extensive vetting and screening procedures.
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 across religions, ethnicities and backgrounds have been and should continue to be resettled in the United States.
Refugees contribute positively to our economy, communities, and places of worship. Between 2005-2019, refugees and asylees contributed a net $124 billion to the U.S. economy. The USRAP is one the nation’s most treasured programs, upholding the nation's founding principles of equal opportunity, religious freedom, and liberty and justice for all.
As people of faith, we are obligated to care for neighbors and strangers alike, and welcome and provide for those in need. We pray that over the coming days you will assess the merits of the refugee admissions program and arrive at the same conclusion: that USRAP indeed advances U.S. interests. Moreover, it represents a sincere expression of faith in action.
Sincerely,
For the full list of signatories, click here.
Photo of demonstration outside of the White House on February 4, 2025, in defense of refugees by Thomas Gould.