In a press release emailed to ChurchLeaders, World Relief called for “the swift reversal [of this shift] and reinstatement of full protections for thoroughly vetted refugees.”
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“Not only does this move undermine the trust placed in the U.S. government by refugees who fled the worst crises imaginable,” said World Relief, “but it creates extrajudicial authority in the hands of staff officials who could be poorly equipped or bent on pursuing political ends and strips refugees of a fair opportunity to make their case.”
World Relief noted, “There are existing mechanisms in place to investigate any legitimate threats that might surface after a refugee is resettled, but those processes are rightly intended only for when there is a credible reason for specific concerns.”
“These measures already ensure the fair treatment of the refugee in question and the safety of U.S. citizens more broadly,” said World Relief. “In contrast, blanket reinterviews, introducing the option for someone other than an immigration judge to make determinations and initiating removal proceedings all create avenues that can be leveraged for political ends.”
“The character of a nation is revealed in how it honors its commitments and how it treats the most vulnerable. Today, we have failed on both counts,” said Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. Greene argued that “irrevocably breaking [the trust of refugees] by withdrawing the safety promised to them and placing them in physical custody displays a very low value of human life.”
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“To the great shame of our nation, we have made images bearers of God—who, in many cases, suffered for the sake of His Name—into pawns of petty political ends,” Greene added.
