UCC GMP endorses CWS statement condemning efforts to abandon U.S. Refugee Program

Church World Service (CWS) has issued a statement following reports the Trump Administration plans to significantly reduce the number of persons admitted to the United States Refugee Admissions Program to about 7,500, and accept mostly white South Africans – a historic low as the administration continues unprecedented immigration raids as part of its mass deportation agenda. The United Church of Christ is a covenant member organization of CWS and General Minister and President/CEO Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson has signed onto the statement in support.

The reduced number of refugees would be a big departure from the higher figures that are usually granted admission into the U.S. – just last year the Biden administration set a target of 125,000 refugee admissions. Advocates in both the UCC, CWS and other spaces warn that this move would essentially bump those who’ve been vetted and waiting approvals from the line. 

“Today we stand together again, appalled and ashamed, as our government turns its back on families in desperate need by seeking to dismantle the U.S. refugee program,” the statement reads. “Such a recasting of the refugee program would represent a stark and deeply cynical betrayal of its original spirit and long history of offering protection to those most in need.”

Newcomer Welcome and Support

The UCC’s Global H.O.P.E. (Humanitarian, Opportunities, Partnerships, Empowerment) team handles refugee and migration services, which serves to support refugee work through its various partner organizations, including local UCC congregations. Andrew Long-Higgins, Minister and Team Lead for the Global H.O.P.E. team said the UCC has long had a historic commitment to newcomer welcome and support, and despite the actions of the Trump administration, their work will continue. 

“The needs and rights of refugees cannot be negated by a piece of policy, and we will continue to meet the humanitarian imperative of the moment,” Long-Higgins said. 

‘A Gross Total Disfigurement’

Megan Bergert, the newly appointed Minister for Refugee and Migration Services believes it’s time to pause and name what’s happening for what it is – “a gross total disfigurement, and intentional exclusionary” practices being enforced by the current administration. 

“This is not just a policy choice that reflects a different interpretation of the refugee program, but a policy choice that is intentionally exclusionary, limiting, and it completely disfigures and ravages what the refugee program is,” Bergert said. She continued, “This also presents a unique opportunity to reflect and educate people on the true picture of global displacement.”

“That’s because so little of it involves the United States,” Bergert said of the idea of global displacement. “There are over 123 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, with 36 million of them refugees, but most do not have status as refugees, they’re not under the protection of that label, and many of them will not be resettled to another country.” 

Bergert said many of those refugees end up in refugee camps, and the number displaced remain across the entire globe. 

Left in Limbo

Both advocates and lawmakers in Congress have expressed grave concerns about the eradication of the program and have pressed the Trump administration for the official notification, which was required by law by the Sept. 30 deadline. 

The Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, UCC General Minister and President/CEO, said there are many dangers to this action, including many refugees who will not have a safe place to go. 

“There are concerns for individuals who are now stranded in countries where they were processed, some unable to return to countries of origin, with no current alternative for a place to live,” Thompson said. 

Thompson’s concern that those waiting will face persecution abroad is echoed by many lawmakers, including Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, among other top officials. 

In a letter to the House and Judiciary Committees, lawmakers said thousands are being left to languish in refugee while Trump is “carving out exceptions for white South African farmers, allowing Afrikaners to skip the line.”

Thompson said the UCC will continue to support CWS through these challenges, and hold space for conversations to continue strategizing next steps forward. 

“We will provide financial support, programmatic collaboration, and joint advocacy and witness. The UCC will continue to be present as a conversation partner to provide response to the emerging needs of refugees in the U.S. and those who are no longer being admitted,” Thompson said. 

You can read the full CWS statement HERE. You can also learn more about how to support the Global H.O.P.E. team in its refugee efforts by clicking HERE. 

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