Latest news with #InternationalRefugeeDay
Middle East Eye
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
On World Refugee Day, scores of families approved for resettlement in US are stuck in limbo
Friday, 20 June, marks International Refugee Day, but celebrations across the US have been muted since the Trump administration's 20 January refugee ban remains firmly in place. Since the ban was implemented, around 12,000 refugees who had security screenings and were booked for travel to the US had their flights cancelled. Another approximately 108,000 remaining refugees who had been 'conditionally approved' to come to the US remain stranded in precarious situations overseas. Only a very small number of refugees are currently being resettled and allowed to access support services under exceptions to the refugee ban. The Biden administration had announced a target of 125,000 refugees for fiscal year 2025, and according to the United Nations, there were 42.7 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2024. Refugees currently being settled in the US include dozens of white South Africans and approximately 160 refugees protected by an injunction under a lawsuit known as Pacito vs Trump. While multiple lawsuits against the ban have been, and are being filed in courts, the Pacito vs Trump case, filed by International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) in February, is one of the most significant and high-profile challenges to the refugee ban. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The class action lawsuit filed by IRAP represents a group of nine individuals affected by the ban and several refugee resettlement agencies seeking to have the executive order and suspension of refugee-related funding declared illegal and their implementation halted. It also looks to restore vital funding to the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). On 5 May, the Western District Court of Washington issued a compliance order to the government to process and provide resettlement support to refugees who were conditionally approved and had travel scheduled before 20 January 2025. This order covers 160 individuals who had imminent travel plans as of 20 January and will retain protection under the ruling. On 15 May, the district court also affirmed that the government must immediately resume the processing of around 11,840 vulnerable refugees who were conditionally approved for resettlement with confirmed travel plans before the executive order. Laurie Ball Cooper, vice president for US legal programmes at IRAP, affirmed that some more people may be eligible to resume their plans to come to the US. 'In addition, among the remaining - approximately 12,000 people minus the 160 - there are surely people who can meet the standard set by the Ninth Circuit of showing that they have a strong reliance interest in the travel and therefore are still protected by the injunction,' she said. 'The district court has indicated that they will set up a process using a special neutral individual [special master] to adjudicate disputes around who meets that standard and who does not. But that process hasn't started yet,' Ball Cooper said. 'Bittersweet' From the approximate 108,000 refugees who were 'conditionally approved', Ball Cooper remains optimistic that the current litigation would also be able to find them some relief. 'Our underlying litigation continues to challenge the executive order as it applies to all refugees, and so over the long term, I hope that we will prevail on those arguments and see people able to proceed to safety.' USRAP was created in 1980 by the Refugee Act of 1980 to provide a safe and legal pathway for people fleeing persecution, war, or conflict to come to the United States to either join with family or to meet foreign and humanitarian policy priorities of the US government. Despite political rhetoric that often scapegoats refugees as a burden, refugees are a fiscal success for the United States. Based on a study commissioned by the Trump administration during his first term, refugees were shown to contribute $63 billion more in federal, state, and local taxes than they had taken in services and assistance between 2005 and 2014. US grants dozens of white South Africans refugee status Read More » 'Every refugee who enters is someone who is able to pursue the life that they are meant to be able to pursue here: in many cases, to reunite with family members, to join communities that are ready to welcome them. So every single arrival is something worth celebrating, and more should be coming!' Ball Cooper added. Despite the statistical net positive that refugees bring to the US, celebrations on World Refugee Day have been bittersweet. 'I would describe observances of International Refugee Day today as mixed,' Ball Cooper said. She said that everyone in refugee communities or refugee-serving communities was continuing to take time today to celebrate the many ways refugees 'enrich our communities in the US, and the great joy it is for those of us who get to know, work with and live with refugees'. 'At the same time, it is certainly bittersweet, because there are so many tens of thousands of refugees who should be here already, and they're not because of the refugee ban,' she said. 'This is deeply sad, extremely frustrating, heartbreaking and life-threatening for many of the refugees themselves.'
Int'l Business Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Pope Leo's First US Bishop Calls on Priests to Escort Asylum Seekers to Court: 'People of Faith Stand with Immigrants'
Rev. Michael Pham, the first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV, has called on priests, deacons and ministry leaders across the Diocese of San Diego to accompany asylum seekers to court on International Refugee Day, June 20. In a joint letter with Reverends Ramón Bejarano and Felipe Pulido, Rev. Pham announced that a group of clergy and faith leaders will stand in solidarity with migrants at San Diego's federal courthouse from 7 to 10 a.m. The letter described the migrants' situation as a "difficult predicament," noting they are being summoned to court only to face swift expulsion from the country. While acknowledging their presence is unlikely to change the outcome, they emphasized that migrants are treated with greater dignity simply by virtue of their being there. "Following the court appearances, the faith leaders will have a press conference so that the clear message that people of faith stand with immigrants and refugees can be delivered to the broader public," the letter stated. Rev. Pham is himself a former refugee. He fled Vietnam in 1980 at the age of 13 with his older sister and younger brother. The siblings spent time in a refugee camp in Malaysia before they were sponsored by an American family in Minnesota in 1981. His family was reunited in 1983, and they eventually settled in San Diego two years later. Pope Leo appointed Rev. Pham to be the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego last month, and his installation Mass will be held on July 17. Rev. Pham will be the first Vietnamese American to lead an American diocese. "I am deeply thankful to Pope Leo XIV who entrusted me with this portion of the Lord's vineyard. It brings an added sense of awe as I am a son to this diocese," Bishop Pham shared in a statement. "It is an honor to serve 'my home,' where I received my call and vocation to the priesthood more than 31 years ago. My priestly ministry has been greatly nurtured and enriched all these years." Originally published on Latin Times
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pope Leo's First U.S. Bishop Is Mobilizing Priests To Help Immigrants In Court
The first U.S. pope is a citizen of Peru, and the first U.S. bishop he appointed is a refugee from Vietnam. And next week, that bishop is urging his fellow priests to stand in solidarity with migrants by showing up to immigration court proceedings. There may be a pattern here. Pope Leo XIV appointed Rev. Michael Pham as bishop of San Diego, California, in May. On Wednesday, Pham, along with auxiliary bishops Revs. Ramon Bejarano and Felipe Pulido, sent a letter to faith leaders in the Diocese of San Diego suggesting they visit federal court buildings next week 'to stand in solidarity' with immigrants making court appearances. 'We know that migrants and refugees find themselves in the difficult predicament of being called to appear, which is what the government asks of them, and then being given orders for expedited removal from our country,' the group wrote in the letter. 'This group of priests and faith leaders will simply be present during this process as it has been experienced that the presence of faith leaders makes a difference in how migrants are treated. Unfortunately, it will most likely not change the outcome.' The day of action, June 20th, is also International Refugee Day. The church leaders plan to hold a press conference afterward to send the message 'that people of faith stand with immigrants and refugees.' Pham has a remarkable story of immigration himself, having fled the North Vietnamese Army in 1975 when he was just eight years old, surviving for several days at sea on an empty rice cargo barge with no food or water. 'I thought they were sleeping,' he later recalled of the bodies he saw on the floor of the barge, 'but I came to realize that they were dead.' Pham and his family ended up in another part of Vietnam, but then he and two siblings fled to Malaysia in 1980, again via a harrowing boat journey. They lived in a refugee camp for seven months before they were sponsored by an American family in Minnesota. The New Pope Doesn't Seem To Be A Fan Of JD Vance 'Popemobile' Turns Into Health Clinic For Gaza's Children, As Pope Francis Wished Pope Leo XIV Delivers Stirring Plea To Safeguard Press And Free Speech Pope Leo XIV Calls For Israel To Allow 'Dignified' Aid Into Gaza As Crisis Worsens
Miami Herald
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Pope Leo's First US Bishop Takes Action Against Trump Migrant Crackdown
The first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV has called for priests, deacons and parish leaders to join them in accompanying migrants to court. Rev. Michael Pham, who was named bishop of San Diego, California, by Pope Leo in May, wrote a letter about the action on Wednesday, along with Rev. Ramón Bejarano and Rev. Ramón Bejarano, both appointed by Pope Francis. "On the morning of June 20th, which is International Refugee Day, a group of priests and faith leaders are planning to visit the federal court building to stand in solidarity with migrants who are making their court appearances," they wrote. "We know that migrants and refugees find themselves in the difficult predicament of being called to appear, which is what the government asks of them, and then being given orders for expedited removal from our country," they continuned. They went on to add that "the presence of faith leaders makes a difference in how the migrants are treated." "The people of faith stand with immigrants and refugees," they said. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow. Related Articles Pope Leo Sells Out US Event Clashing With Parade on Trump's BirthdayPope Leo Faces First Major Test Over 'Morally Corrupt' BishopPope Has 'Open Invite' To Throw First Pitch at White Sox GamePope Leo's New Appointee's Views on Sex, Life Under Scrutiny 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Pope Leo's First US Bishop Takes Action Against Trump Migrant Crackdown
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV has called for priests, deacons and parish leaders to join them in accompanying migrants to court. Rev. Michael Pham, who was named bishop of San Diego, California, by Pope Leo in May, wrote a letter about the action on Wednesday, along with Rev. Ramón Bejarano and Rev. Ramón Bejarano, both appointed by Pope Francis. NEW: The first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV—a refugee himself—is mobilizing priests to accompany migrants at immigration court on June 20. This is the kind of leadership Leo's picking. — Christopher Hale (@chrisjollyhale) June 13, 2025 "On the morning of June 20th, which is International Refugee Day, a group of priests and faith leaders are planning to visit the federal court building to stand in solidarity with migrants who are making their court appearances," they wrote. "We know that migrants and refugees find themselves in the difficult predicament of being called to appear, which is what the government asks of them, and then being given orders for expedited removal from our country," they continuned. They went on to add that "the presence of faith leaders makes a difference in how the migrants are treated." "The people of faith stand with immigrants and refugees," they said. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
