Evangelical Leaders Urge White House To Raise Refugee Admissions For 2019

LOADING ERROR LOADING Seven evangelical Christian organizations have jointly criticized the Trump administration for allowing refugee resettlement to hit a historic low at a time when the global refugee crisis is intensifying. In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and religious freedom ambassador Sam Brownback, the leaders of the Evangelical Immigration Table told the administration its drastic cuts to refugee admissions could be undermining its pledge to protect religious freedom worldwide. The group, a coalition of seven evangelical organizations united around immigration issues, called for the administration to bring refugee resettlement back to “a level consistent with historical norms.” It recommended resettling at least 75,000 refugees in fiscal year 2019. “So long as such persecution continues to exist, however, we believe the U.S. should continue to welcome some of the most vulnerable refugees who have been persecuted for their faith.” Signatories include Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and others. “One key measure of our country’s commitment to religious freedom abroad is how we treat the refugee fleeing persecution,” Travis Wussow, a leader with the Southern Baptist Convention, said in a statement.