Ask Congress to Address the Root Causes of Forced Migration

In our world today, push factors such as violent conflict, climate change, corruption, economic and humanitarian crises, and natural disasters forcibly displace millions of people. These root causes are responsible for the displacement and forced migration of 65.6 million people, of whom 22.5 million are refugees.

At a time when unauthorized border crossings are at their lowest level in 45 years, the White House’s FY 2019 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security asks for 2,750 additional Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. The same budget requests $2.5 billion to detain up to 47,000 immigrants on a daily basis.

As Christians, we value family unity. We feed and clothe and welcome the stranger in the name of Christ. We can advocate for parents and children who face forced and extended separation. We work to see shalom on earth, for a more just and peaceful world. We can ask Congress to prioritize funding humanitarian, poverty-focused, peacebuilding foreign assistance—efforts that address the root causes of forced migration and reduce the conditions that compel people to leave their homes--and to ensure that immigration enforcement is carried out humanely and responsibly.

Ask Congress to address the root causes of forced migration.

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Image credit: Flickr user EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

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Subject:

Please address the root causes of forced migration

Dear Official,

As a Christian, I ask you as my member of Congress to address the root causes of forced migration and to support greater investment in our communities, stronger refugee resettlement, and increased international peacebuilding, poverty-focused, humanitarian assistance. As Congress decides how to appropriate money in the FY19 budget, I ask you to prioritize funding programs that address the root causes of forced migration and to ensure that immigration enforcement funding is spent in a humane, fiscally responsible, and accountable manner.

We are living in the midst of the world’s greatest refugee crisis. More than 65 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes, among them 22.5 million refugees; entire generations have been affected by war and conflict. And yet, the U.S. has resettled fewer than 11,000 refugees this fiscal year.

The U.S. is also experiencing the lowest level of unauthorized border crossings in 45 years. I find it wasteful and unnecessary to build a border wall and increase border militarization in the face of such a statistic. Congress is funding immigrant detention at the level of more than $2 billion a year. Considering the numerous reports of abuse that occurs at these detention centers, I am even more concerned about the fact that the U.S. detains an average of 41,000 people every day.

Rather than spending billions of dollars on abusive immigration detention, forcible separation of families, and deportation of individuals back to dangerous conditions—in many cases to the same situation that compelled them to leave their home—combating global issues like hunger and poverty, climate change and natural disasters, conflict, and persecution is a much better way to approach the issue of immigration. By reducing the push factors that force people from their homes, we reduce the need for people to leave their homes to seek safety and better lives. We need to stop treating the symptoms and start addressing the root causes of forced migration.

Please ensure that my tax dollars are being spent in a compassionate, just, and fiscally responsible manner—prioritize funding programs and efforts that address the root causes of forced migration and ensure that immigration enforcement is humane and recognizes the God-given dignity in each person.

Regards, Your Name

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