The End of Resettlement in Louisiana

Louisiana’s refugee program is coming to an end.

By October, both of Louisiana’s resettlement agencies–Catholic Charities Baton Rouge and Catholic Charities New Orleans–will stop resettling refugees.

There will be no resettlement agencies in Louisiana.

No new refugee fishers or shrimpers. No new Vietnamese or Laotian refugees building congregations in New Orleans or New Iberia. No Afghan interpreters or prosecutors reuniting with their fellow officers.

Why? The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) “simply cannot sustain the work on our own at current levels or in current form.”

While refugee resettlement agencies must maintain staff, offices, and services regardless of how many refugees arrive, federal funding rises and falls with annual admission numbers—numbers that can be slashed on a president’s whim.

Very simply, refugee resettlement has a bottom line. Refugee admissions—and federal funding—currently do not.

Only The Guaranteed Refugee Admissions Ceiling Enhancement (GRACE) Act can solve this problem. By requiring presidents to admit a minimum number of refugees each year, The GRACE Act could provide resettlement agencies—like USCCB—the fiscal certainty necessary to preserve America’s resettlement infrastructure.

Click here to read the full article on how we can build support for the GRACE Act in the Bayou State.