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The Budget Reconciliation Harms All of Us
Congress is attempting to pass a budget reconciliation bill – a legislative process that allows bills changing spending, revenues, or the debt limit to pass by a simple majority in the Senate, thereby bypassing the filibuster. It's a process commonly used by both parties.
However, the reconciliation bill includes significant policy changes that would harm our neighbors and communities, such as:
- Cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- Ending Medicaid and SNAP for refugees, asylees, and other immigrants with lawful status.
- Undermining protections for unaccompanied immigrant children, by prolonging their release from government custody and implementing a $5,000 minimum sponsorship fee for children to be united with a parent or family member.
- Increasing fees for humanitarian immigration applications, including asylum, parole, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This includes a new $1,000 initial asylum application fee and an annual fee for pending asylum applications.
- Limiting access to work permits for people with parole or TPS, or who are seeking asylum.
Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area joined Refugee Council USA and more than one hundred organizations in calling for the rejection of provisions that would harm refugees and other forcibly displaced people.
Take Action: Contact your Senators today!
Use Refugee Council USA’s click-to-call link to contact your Senators:
Support the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
On January 20, President Trump signed a sweeping series of executive orders that undermine our nation's legacy of welcome, going further than his administration did during its first term. As a result, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) was largely suspended.
Impacted individuals and resettlement agencies filed a lawsuit (Pacito v. Trump) challenging this executive order. Currently, the government has begun processing 160 refugees whose travel arrangements were booked in late January and early February. However, thousands of refugees approved for travel at the time of the executive order now must undergo a case-by-case review.
As this case proceeds in the courts, it is critical that members of Congress publicly support refugees and USRAP.
Call your Members of Congress, TODAY
Instructions:
• Call the Congressional Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
• Ask to be connected to your senator's or representative's office.
• Use the Call Script below.
• Call two more times to ensure you reach both senators and House representative.
Call Script:
"Hello, my name is [insert name] from [City/Town]. As a constituent, I urge you to speak out against the administration's actions that ban refugee resettlement and end essential programs that support refugees in our communities. I encourage you to support solutions that uphold decades of precedence for welcoming newcomers. A growing majority of Americans support welcoming refugees, which has been supported on a bipartisan basis for decades. Refugees are legal immigrants, bringing enormous economic and sociocultural benefits to the communities where they resettle; they are small business owners, tax contributors, and job creators.
[OPTIONAL: Include a personal note explaining why this is important.]
Thank you for your time."
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