Tell your representatives to reclaim their role in refugee admissions and enshrine America’s commitment to refugees in law.
You can do what the federal government won’t: fund resettlement. Help a local office to keep their doors open and their lights on.
“The United States and Tennessee have always been, since the very founding of our nation, a shining beacon of freedom and opportunity for the persecuted and oppressed.” — Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) The Tennessee Office for Refugees curates the Tennessee Refugee...
Half of Tennessee’s resettlement offices are largely unable to resettle refugees.
Declines in arrivals and federal funding have forced The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Episcopal Migration Ministries to withdraw from the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Together, these two resettlement agencies oversee 78 of the U.S.’s 360 resettlement offices.
Bridge Services Knoxville, Bridge Services Chattanooga, and Catholic Services of Nashville are three of those offices. Bethany Christian Services in Memphis is also largely unable to resettle refugees, though they continue to provide services to refugee minors.
Donating to these offices can help position these agencies to resume resettlement should the federal landscape change.
To change the federal landscape, contact your representatives.
Tennessee deserve a resettlement program it can rely on.
Refugees do too.