Toolkit for reaching out to your state and local elected leaders
The need for resettlement has never been greater. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has reported that a record-breaking 100 million people are now forcibly displaced worldwide. Among them, 2 million people need urgent access to resettlement this year. While the United States showed leadership last year by promising to welcome 125,000 refugees, the reality tells a different story. As of June, only a fraction of this number have been resettled. We are asking the President to do more.
As he considers the refugee admissions goal for the coming fiscal year, we are asking the President to deepen his commitment by ensuring that the resettlement program is sufficiently resourced and responsive to emergent humanitarian needs.
Now is the time for state and local elected leaders to take a stand and urge the President to rebuild a robust and well-funded refugee resettlement program in the coming fiscal year. Reach out to your mayor, city council members, state legislators, and governors to ensure that the voices of state and local communities are heard!
Click here to find your state and local elected representatives’ contact information
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Sample Email:
Dear [Title and Name],
As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to consider supporting and signing on to this state and local elected leader letter, which calls on the President to rebuild and resource a robust refugee resettlement system in the coming fiscal year. As my elected representative, your voice matters, and the President needs to know: our community welcomes refugees and wants a system that will support their resettlement.
We are facing the worst forced displacement crisis in history, with 100 million displaced people around the world, including 26 million refugees, half of whom are children. Two million refugees need to be urgently resettled to safety. While we appreciate President Biden’s action to increase the refugee admissions goal to 125,000 for FY 2022, we are disappointingly on pace to reach less than 20 percent of that number. We need the administration to double down on the investment of resources necessary to rebuild the resettlement program to welcome more refugees this upcoming fiscal year.
Our community can do more to help. By signing on to this letter, you are demonstrating to the President, and the world, that our [CITY or STATE] stands with refugees.
To learn more about the letter or sign-on, please visit https://www.welcomingrefugees2023.org. Thank you for considering this request.
Call Script:
Make sure you call your elected representatives to encourage them to sign on. After identifying yourself as a constituent, tell the staffer that you would like to leave a brief message:
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- I am calling to ask [Title/Name] to support refugees by signing onto a letter open to all state and local elected leaders across the country.
- The letter urges the President to fulfill his pledge to rebuild and resource the U.S. refugee resettlement system in fiscal year 2023.
- Our community stands with refugees and has benefited from their contributions. We want to do more to help at a time of historic need, and we need [Title/NAME] to express this to the President.
- I am happy to send an email with the link – which is welcomingrefugees2023.org – who can I send that to?
Social Media:
Help us spread the word on social media using the hashtag:
#RefugeesWelcome2023
And tag your elected representative – you can look up their social media accounts here!
Sample tweets:
(1) With 100M people around the world forcibly displaced from their homes, the U.S. must rebuild its resettlement system.
Refugees are essential to our communities & revitalize economies. State and local leaders can show their support 👇
#RefugeesWelcome2023
welcomingrefugees2023.org
(2) The U.S. has historically been a global leader in the protection of refugees.
@[YOUR REPRESENTATIVE], will you join hundreds of other local and state elected officials in asking @POTUS to restore this legacy of welcoming refugees?
#RefugeesWelcome2023
welcomingrefugees2023.org
(3) President Biden committed to resettling 125,000 refugees this year, but we aren’t close to that goal.
@[YOUR REPRESENTATIVE], will you take action & urge the administration to fulfill its pledge to welcome refugees next year? Sign this letter 👇
#RefugeesWelcome2023
welcomingrefugees2023.org
(4) Our community #WelcomesRefugees.
I am calling on @[YOUR REPRESENTATIVE] to sign this letter to tell @POTUS that [YOUR CITY/STATE] is ready to do our part to welcome refugees next year.
#RefugeesWelcome2023
Welcomingrefugees2023.org
(5) As the US gov’t prepares to set a goal for refugee resettlement next year, we need our mayors, city council members, state legislators, governors & YOU to get loud so that the President knows your community #WelcomesRefugees. Take action now! 👇
https://amnesty.quorum.us/campaign/40893/
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