Urgent Action: Tell Hal Rogers To Increase Refugee Funds

Urgent Action needed:

The Fiscal Year 2017 State and Foreign Operations Bill (#FY17SFOPS) was just released, and will be debated by the Committee on Appropriations in the U.S. House of Representatives soon.

Despite the record-breaking refugee crisis and the majority of Americans agreeing we should do more for refugees, and despite the White House's committment to increase efforts to aid Syrian refugees, the proposed budget decreases the budget for refugee resettlement in fiscal year 2017. We must urge our representatives to welcome refugees by increasing, not decreasing the resources to ensure the aid we provide to refugees is as meaningful as possible.

From the Interfaith Immigration Coalition:

As we face the largest recorded displacement crisis in history, resettlement remains one of the key ways that the U.S. can demonstrate leadership and encourage other countries to help refugees. President Obama committed to resettling 100,000 refugees in Fiscal Year 2017, an increase from 85,000 in FY 2016. It is critical that even this relatively small increase in refugee admissions is met with increased funds to ensure local communities have the resources they need to help refugees integrate and thrive. 

The chair of the House Appropriations Committee is Hal Rogers, who recently voted in favor of HR 4038, a bill the ACLU said "creates a bureaucratic-review process that likely would effectively shut down resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq ... would prolong unnecessary suffering for both the refugees seeking protection and those family members waiting in the U.S. ... and, more broadly, scapegoat all refugees - fanning the flames of discriminatory exclusion here and abroad."

You can call the office of Hal Rogers at (202) 225-4601, or send a public post on Twitter or Facebook. Example messages:

• @RepHalRogers, #ShowUp4Refugees by supporting increased funds to resettle #refugees! #RefugeesWelcome #FY17SFOPS
• @RepHalRogers, I support #RefugeesWelcome and urge you to fight for more funds, not less in 2017! #ShowUp4Refugees #FY17SFOPS
• @RepHalRogers, #AmericaWelcomes & must lead the way, not turn our backs on historic #RefugeeCrisis. #ShowUp4Refugees #FY17SFOPS

Read the bill at the official House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations website, and learn more about how to contact your representative.