The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), through their Justice for Immigrants initiative, urges Catholics to contact their Congressional members to protect the persecuted. They cite the opening lines of the Refugee Act of 1980 which created the statutory authority for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP): “It is the historic policy of the U.S. to respond to the urgent needs of persons subject to persecution in their homelands.” Carrying out the Gospel’s mandate to care for “the least of these,” the Church has served refugees since well before the USRAP’s creation. Today, no refugees are being resettled. This ban impacts thousands of refugees who had already been fully processed, undergone extensive security checks, and approved for refugee status by the federal government while outside the U.S. This includes many persecuted Christians, as well as Afghans who had been approved for special immigrant visas because of assistance they provided to the U.S. mission and to service members in Afghanistan. Bishop Mark Seitz, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, states, “Indefinitely halting refugee resettlement is unmerited, as it is already proven to be one of the most secure legal pathways to the United States.” The USCCB urges Catholics to ask their members of Congress to “lift up their voice in support of upholding our nation’s bipartisan legacy of refugee resettlement.” Use this link: https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/W9aRVLLVQDh8H5MOBOT14w.