The latest issue of The Christian Century had an article about how the Trump Administration is making some of the work of the Christian Church easier. Not that anybody asked. In fact, in this instance, Trump policies are decimating a significant ministry and taking jobs, not creating them.
Since the church does most of the work of refugee resettlement, the agencies responsible can't do much if there aren't any refugees to resettle. Six of the nine organizations that help settle refugees are religiously affiliated. They include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Church World Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. The latter, through Lutheran Social Services in Sioux Falls, is the primary agency for resettlement in South Dakota.
All of these organizations are cutting back staff, offices and/or services. World Relief, another of the six, is laying off more than 140 employees. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society is closing two offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. Catholic Charities, the outreach arm of USCCB, expects to close one fifth of their 75 sites across the country. The San Antonio office of Catholic Charities laid off thirty percent of their staff.

2018 will not be much better for refugee resettlement as the Trump Administration has slashed the number of refugees to be admitted to less than half. Only a few more than 6,000 had come into the country in the first three months. It's unlikely we will admit the 45,000 allowed by the end of the year at that rate.


The Multicultural Center sponsors cultural enrichment celebrations. They have an office on human trafficking and provide education and organizing events to stop it. They help prepare immigrants for citizenship and offer a summer youth program. One of my students will begin volunteering there in their English as a second language program. All of this takes place because they believe in the idea so prominent in Scripture of "welcoming the stranger."
At the same time the Trump Administration demonizes and limits refugees, church people are stepping up in greater numbers to support refugee programs with donations and volunteers. The volunteer base of Church World Service has quadrupled. Donations to World Relief have nearly doubled in the last two years. Several agencies have rented apartments for resettlement that now stand empty waiting for occupants. Generous donations of furniture and clothing remain in storage.

Rev. Carl Kline
No comments:
Post a Comment