If you are reading this newsletter, it can only mean that somewhere along the line you have either witnessed or played some critical part in the life-saving work of Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM).

From around the Church, I have heard time and again from folks like you, individuals and parishes who have shared their stories of refugee co-sponsorship and how the transformative experience of welcoming the stranger resulted in lifelong friendships.

Perhaps your parish sponsored the resettlement of a Vietnamese refugee family in the early ‘80’s, or a Bosnian family in the ‘90's. Maybe you accompanied a Sudanese "lost boy" during his first few months in America, helping him regain his sense of family. Or, more recently, you extended a hand in hospitality to a newly-arrived Iraqi family who worked with the U.S. military, and faced threats or reprisals because of it.

This ministry of presence, so essential to the integration of newcomers, has always gone hand-in-hand with the vital federal funding of local community programs that support and promote self-sufficiency, encourage entrepreneurship, ease the suffering of victims of trauma and torture, and so much more.

And right now, refugees need your voice and action more than ever. The vital programs that support refugees in the U.S. are in grave danger of cuts and possibly elimination.

As you’ll read in this newsletter, the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) – the government agency responsible for funding and managing the numerous and essential programs for refugees, asylees, and many other vulnerable migrants – is facing a significant financial shortfall that will leave it tens of millions of dollars short of its budget this year.

We at EMM are actively involved in this conversation, but refugees need you to speak up now and advocate for the services that support them in becoming new Americans.

Over the course of many decades, The Episcopal Church, through Episcopal Migration Ministries, has continually demonstrated its concern and loving support for the vulnerable and uprooted in our midst, most recently through General Convention Resolution 2012-B028, passed last summer in Indianapolis, calling for needed reforms to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

Below you'll find instructions from the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations (OGR) on how to participate in a Day of Action on Wednesday, March 6. EMM and OGR are urging Episcopalians to phone their Congressional representatives, and ask them to provide the critical funding ORR needs to serve all of the populations within its mandate equally and effectively.

I urge you to take this opportunity to share with your elected officials your stories of accompaniment -- your ministry of presence with refugees -- and to help us to ensure that current and future refugee newcomers to America have the same opportunities for success as those who came before them.

With deep appreciation,

Deborah Stein
EMM Director

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program provides persecuted refugees with safe haven and a chance at a new life. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provides services to refugees to ease their transition to self-sufficiency in their new communities, while also serving asylees, victims of human trafficking and torture, Cuban-Haitian entrants, Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders, and unaccompanied alien children.

Over the past two years, record numbers of unaccompanied alien children have fled violence in Central America and arrived in the U.S. Due to this unanticipated increase, ORR urgently needs additional funding for the current fiscal year to provide services to all of the vulnerable migrants under its care. If ORR is not able to secure more funds in a Continuing Resolution, the road to self-sufficiency and integration could be hampered for thousands of refugees and other populations within our communities. In addition, the ORR funding that states, counties, and cities rely on to serve refugees would also be at risk.

Please join EMM and the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations, in partnership with Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), for a National Day of Action on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Supporters of refugee resettlement will be calling in from across the country, urging Congress to respond to the funding crisis currently facing America’s most vulnerable newcomers.

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Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) is excited to share a web offering to help promote and disseminate the concerns of refugees, while building needed support for the life-changing resettlement work taking place around the country through EMM’s network of local partners.

Accessible from our page at episcopalchurch.org, it offers users an opportunity to learn more about EMM’s programs and the refugees we serve through media-rich platforms, including interactive graphics, videos, blogs and other enhanced story-telling channels.

Please check frequently, and share it with your friends as EMM continues to expand and develop this versatile resource!

EMM’s partners at the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia Refugee Resettlement Office are seeing positive results from  an exciting new program, as the agency’s microenterprise initiative expands its reach.

The agency’s Refugee Childcare Microenterprise Program facilitated the creation of 36 new home-based childcare businesses in its first year in 2012. The program provides trainings and loans to help refugees and asylees start home-based childcare businesses, providing opportunities for new Americans to earn income and generate leadership and entrepreneurial capacity within their communities.

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Etongo Ekyoci is an 18-year-old from Tanzania who came to Tucson, Arizona, as a refugee. In a feature for Arizona Public Radio, Etongo recently interviewed his caseworker -- who is also a former refugee -- and the two spoke about the ups and downs of resettling in the U.S. Tucson is home to our affiliate partners at Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.

U.S. Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota re-introduced legislation in Congress in February to modernize and reform the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. The legislation has been endorsed by EMM and The Episcopal Church.

Farha Mohamed, a refugee from Eritrea shared her story with Channel 8 News in New Haven, Connecticut. Farha was assisted by our partners at Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. IRIS Executive Director Chris George appeared with Farha as well.

WBEZ Radio in Chicago recently shared a fascinating analysis of the changing refugee population in Illinois over the course of several decades. The piece was prompted by interest in the refugee communities on Chicago's north side who have been assisted by our partners at RefugeeOne.

Winter 2013

Refugee Arrivals Summary

Between the start of a new fiscal year on October 1, 2012, and January 31, 2013, EMM welcomed 1,593 refugees from 20 countries with the help of affiliate partners, churches, dioceses and other community supporters.

Those individuals came from the following regions:

Europe and Central Asia: 15 Refugees

Africa: 330 Refugees

Near East: 525 Refugees

South Asia: 258 Refugees

East Asia: 395 Refugees

Latin America: 70 Refugees

Acknowledgments

EMM's work is supported by grants from the U.S. Dept. of State, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, and by contributions from The Episcopal Church, parishes and community groups around the country.