Refugee Industry Holds Three Day Lobbying Campaign, Wants 95,000 Refugees for FY2021

The Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) just completed a three-day grassroots lobbying campaign to pressure members of Congress into supporting a refugee admissions ceiling of 95,000 refugees*** who would begin arriving in the US in a few short weeks—the 2021 fiscal year begins October 1.

Of course it isn’t Congress that makes that decision it is the Executive branch as stated by law in the Refugee Act of 1980.  Their campaign, that ran from Tuesday through Thursday this week, was designed for several reasons.

They want Senators and members of Congress to pressure the administration, they want the media to pay attention to an issue that has almost completely disappeared from the news, and they want to give their groupies and grassroots around the country something to do on an issue that they think makes the President look bad before November.

You can see their “toolkit” (they love toolkits) complete with talking points and contact information for representatives in Washington.

Here is their sample script because I guess they assume their people aren’t smart enough to figure out what to say:

Sample Script: “I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and I urge you to hold the administration accountable to resettling refugees. The administration is required by law to consult with Congress by September 30th before deciding the refugee admissions goal for Fiscal Year 2021. In the last three years, the administration has cut refugee resettlement by more than 80%, from the historic average goal of 95,000 to just 18,000 – an all-time low. Our country can – and should – safely resettle more refugees and reunite more families. Refugees have contributed greatly to America in ordinary times, and have continued to show up for their new communities during the COVID-19 crisis, with many on the frontlines, including 176,000 serving as healthcare workers and 175,000 working in the food supply chain. Please do everything in your power to see that the administration meaningfully consults with Congress and builds back refugee admissions to the historic norm of 95,000. My community welcomes refugees, and I urge you to reflect the best of our nation by supporting refugee resettlement.”

In addition to contacting one’s own rep, they want their folks to contact the following members and Senators:

Sen. Graham (R-SC), Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee: 202-224-5972 / @LindseyGrahamSC
Sen. Cornyn (R-TX), Chair, Senate Immigration Subcommittee: 202-224-2934 / @JohnCornyn
Sen. Feinstein (D-CA), Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee: 202-224-3841 / @SenFeinstein
Senator Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member, Senate Immigration Subcommittee: 202-224-2152 / @SenatorDurbin
Rep. Nadler (NY-10), Chair, House Judiciary Committee: 202-225-5635 / @RepJerryNadler
Rep. Lofgren (CA-19), Chair, House Immigration Subcommittee: 202-225-3072 / @RepZoeLofgren
Rep. Jordan (OH-04), Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee: (202) 225-2676 / @Jim_Jordan
Rep. Buck (CO-04), Ranking Member, House Immigration Subcommittee: 202-225-4676 / @RepKenBuck

Read it all here.

And, see my extensive file on the Refugee Council USA, the Washington DC lobbying arm of the refugee industry.  Hmmmm! At one point Islamic Relief USA had been removed from their membership roster, but I see it is back.

Don’t miss my post from Wednesday about the campaign to get local elected officials on board to support huge numbers of refugees for your towns and cities.

***Joe Biden says he is going to go big and change whatever Trump proposes to 125,000 for FY2021 if he is elected President. Truth be told, there isn’t enough capacity within the contractor industry to support that number, heck they can’t adequately resettle 95,000 now either.

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