January 25, 2025
The Honorable Mark Warner
The Honorable Tim Kaine
The Honorable Eugene Vindman
Dear Senators Warner and Kaine and Representative Vindman,
I am a constituent writing to ask you to support the United States’ longstanding commitment to protecting refugees and welcoming immigrants.
The incoming administration has halted refugee resettlement and is trying to gut longstanding asylum protections. These programs save lives and embody the best in our nation’s tradition of principled global leadership. They also tangibly benefit the United States. As the Refugee Council of USA explains, “[s]afe pathways for migration and protection strengthen our national security by promoting peace and geopolitical stability. Furthermore, new Americans buttress our economic prosperity. The U.S. resettlement program drives our nation’s economic growth and revitalizes communities; refugees pay taxes, open businesses, create jobs, buy homes, and utilize their expertise, skills, inventive ideas, and resilience to contribute to American communities. A 2024 Department of Health and Human Services report found a positive net fiscal impact from refugees and asylees of $123.8 billion over a fifteen-year period.”
Please support policies that allow refugees to find safety in the United States and American communities to benefit from the substantial contributions of immigrants. As a constituent, I expect you, and the entire Congress, to address the global challenge of mass migration legally and humanely.
Sincerely,
James Landrith
Woodbridge, VA
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Sent via Human Rights First.
Dear Mr. Landrith,
Thank you for contacting me regarding immigration issues. I appreciate the opportunity to hear your thoughts on this issue.
America has always been a nation built on the ideals of freedom, opportunity, and the pursuit of a better life. As an immigrant and refugee from Soviet Ukraine, I arrived in the United States with my family at the age of 4. My father had $759 in his pocket, and we slept on our luggage our first night in JFK airport. But we came with deep faith in the American Dream – a dream rooted in equal opportunities for all. America has always been a special place for me, not just for its potential but for the values it represents. After all, there are few other places where a refugee from a repressive regime where freedom was a fantasy could one day serve his country as a Member of Congress.
However, despite the promise of America, our immigration system has been broken by years of inaction and a refusal in Congress to take common sense steps to both secure our borders while maintaining the values that make us Americans. For example, during the 118th Congress, a strong bipartisan immigration agreement was reached that would have ensured border security. Despite one of the most conservative Republican Senators leading those negotiations, extreme Republicans demanded that their colleagues oppose this bipartisan bill instead of taking meaningful action that could fix it. The bill would have provided $118 billion to enhance border security – for example, hiring more border patrol agents, expanding detention capacity, and surging resources to underfunded immigration courts to increase the speed at which we can process asylum cases.
As an immigrant and former prosecutor, there is nothing more important to me than ensuring we remain a country that welcomes immigrants, while also protecting our communities and our border. I look forward to working across the aisle to finally get this done.
Thank you again for reaching out. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any further concerns and questions. I look forward to hearing from you in the future!
Sincerely,
Congressman Eugene Vindman
Member of Congress