As the refugee resettlement “ceiling” will be set in the next few weeks for the Fiscal Year 2020 (starting October 2019), we are asking you to help save a very successful program that has changed many thousands of lives across the country, including more than 300 here in Montana in the last 3 years. Refugee resettlement has stimulated local economies with the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of people who have found haven from harm in their home countries. Schools and neighborhoods resound with the spirit and vitality of our new residents. In Missoula, refugee communities have started a church, opened businesses, and begun to participate in the fabric of our town.

But refugee resettlement is threatened as never before. Admissions could be cut to zero next fiscal year. States and cities could be given the option to refuse resettlement. Other initiatives directed at immigrants in general could begin to have an effect on refugees coming to America. As expressed in last month’s Op-ed in the Missoulian, it’s something we are very concerned about, and that’s why we are asking you to do something important to support refugees across the nation.

Please help us reach out to local and state leaders to join a National effort and ask them sign a letter to President Trump by Sept. 9 requesting that no fewer than 95,000 refugees be admitted in FY 2020.

Please share this letter with elected officials all over Montana and urge them to sign. Let’s let the administration know that Montana is a welcoming state that values and supports the resettlement of refugees.

For more information on why we are so concerned or how you can help, please read this thorough report by Refugee Council USA(RCUSA) and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.