Dear Friends,
In late November, two National Guardsmen were shot in D.C. The shooter was an Afghan man who, by all accounts, had been exhibiting signs of deep mental distress and breakdown for a while.
What followed this sad tragedy was a rapid response from U.S. government officials, indicating that they are halting the intake of new Afghan refugees and are going to review the paperwork for not only Afghans, but all refugees who were approved to enter the U.S. since 2021. A number of other legal immigration pathways have been paused indefinitely.
While we never condone violence, we also know that one man’s actions should not condemn an entire people group who have shown thousands of actions of friendship and support to American troops and people over two decades. It is a form of collective punishment that is wrong.
The New Americans we walk alongside are grieving–and we are, too.
Immigration and refugee policies are rapidly changing every day–if you are interested in knowing more details about these changes and how they impact our New American neighbors (whatever their immigration status), I encourage you to sign up for a daily policy update from Church World Service, one of the national resettlement agencies who has a dedicated team committed to documenting the changes on a daily basis.
Thank you for your support and join us in asking God to give each one of us the wisdom and courage we need for each day. ❤️
Kendra Jeffreys
Executive Director