Good morning & welcome to the Lab Brief.
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The Lab has been actively encouraging state and local officials to join the Welcoming Refugees campaign, celebrating World Refugee Day, and supporting our partners on the ground as they champion inclusive policies that will make communities across the country more welcoming.
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Let’s take a closer look.
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Every September, the President determines the number of refugees the United States will welcome in the upcoming fiscal year. Ahead of this year’s presidential determination, we are asking state and local elected leaders across the country to sign a public letter calling on President Biden to invest further in the resettlement program and ensure that it is ready to withstand external pressures, refugee emergencies, and political transitions for years to come.
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We are asking YOU to take action and reach out to your mayor, city council members, state legislators, and governors to show the President that our communities support welcoming refugees. Partner organizations, a helpful toolkit to do your own outreach is here!
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Adam Sadda, a Refugee Congress Delegate for North Carolina and a Refugee Storytellers Collective member, writes in the Greenville Daily Reflector on the importance of the U.S. refugee resettlement program and the need to protect refuge on World Refugee Day:
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“My story is not unique. Every year this country resettles thousands of refugees from all over the world. But my story, I think, does show the importance of the program staying robust.”
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In May, the Refugee Storytellers Collective hosted its inaugural Storytellers Summit. Twenty-one Collective members from across the United States gathered in Washington, D.C. to build community, identify shared visions and goals, discuss issues that directly impact refugee and newcomer communities, and learn how to advocate for change with their stories.
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WORLD REFUGEE DAY DIGITAL WEEK OF ACTION
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There have been 150 pro-refugee bills introduced so far this session in states across the country, including several in Lab states. For a complete review of state legislative activity, you can view the IRC’s 2024 State Legislative Tracker.
The Lab’s state partners have been hard at work hosting advocacy days, celebrating World Refugee Day, and supporting inclusive policies across the country. Learn more about the work our State Leads are championing on the ground:
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The Lab and the Center for Victims of Torture are encouraged by the Governor’s Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission Report emphasis on ensuring that the state’s licensing practices “recognize the need for service providers at all levels that demonstrate cultural competence and have the ability to speak multiple languages” – an ask of our partners on the ground. To meet this need, the Commission recommends that the state create “a pathway for foreign-trained practitioners to gain licensure in Georgia.” We look forward to continuing to support efforts to do just that.
The Georgia Coalition of Refugee Service Agencies also hosted its annual World Refugee Day in Clarkston on June 22 celebrating unity and cultural diversity with amazing performances, fashion, speeches, and food worldwide.
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The Lab is supporting two bills in Michigan (HB 5612 and HB 5613) which would advance opportunities for international medical school graduates (IMGs). We are also engaging with partners on the ground to push back against a series of bad bills that target Michigan’s immigrant communities.
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With the IMG bill tabled until next year, Lab partners at the Center for Victims of Torture are focusing on local efforts in the Twin Cities to explore workforce training opportunities for asylum seekers. CVT will also be participating in the upcoming North American Refugee Health Conference happening in Minneapolis this summer.
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The Lab’s local partners World Relief and Church World Service hosted a North Carolina Advocacy Day on June 25th, bringing together dozens of refugee leaders, community members, advocates and allies to meet with elected representatives and call on them to support a bill that would allow internationally-trained teachers to receive teaching licenses and also increase
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language access at the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). We will continue to support this bill as it moves through the state legislature.
To honor World Refugee Day, the Governor of North Carolina issued a Refugees Welcome Week proclamation to celebrate the numerous contributions of refugee communities and the state’s proud history of welcoming people seeking safety. Additionally, the community came together to recognize the contributions of refugees who resettle in North Carolina at Durham Refugee Day.
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In Ohio, Guadalupe Velasquez, Lab State Lead and President of Vibrant Ohio, joined the Franklin County Board of Commissioners for a “Refugee Week Lunch and Learn” celebrating World Refugee Day and Immigrant Heritage Month.
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The Lab’s Senior Policy Advisor Balqees Mihirig testified on tuition equity for students seeking asylum during Oregon’s House Interim Committee On Higher Education. If given the chance, these students can enrich our classrooms, invigorate our economies, and make our communities stronger. We look forward to supporting this legislation in the new state legislative session next year.
Our state partner, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, also took part in a couple of World Refugee Day events, in Beaverton and Portland.
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A bill that would create the Office of New Pennsylvanians passed out of the House State Government Committee in early June. The Lab, Church World Service, and grassroots partners on the ground will continue to support this bill as it moves through the legislative process.
In celebration of World Refugee Day, the Governor of Pennsylvania issued a proclamation designating June 2024 as Immigrant Heritage Month and June 20, 2024, as World Refugee Day in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Governor encourages all Pennsylvanians “to reiterate our Commonwealth’s commitment of being a welcoming place to all.”
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In Virginia, the city of Harrisonburg passed a permanent resolution for World Refugee Day, which will now be celebrated every year on June 20th. The city also hosted its annual festival as a "Celebration of New Americans” where around 800 community members came together “to honor the resilience and contributions of refugees, and also to reaffirm our commitment to build a compassionate and inclusive community,” said Virginia State Lead and CWS Senior Community Organizer Rodrigue Makelele.
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Thanks for reading!
Are you interested in state advocacy or Lab resources? Reach out.
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The Refugee Advocacy Lab partners with varying groups on different activities, and as such, partnership with the Lab does not necessarily imply a partner’s support for any specific activity or policy. Similarly, the Lab does not necessarily support or endorse specific activities or positions of partner organizations.
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© 2024 Refugee Advocacy Lab, All rights reserved.
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