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
February 20, 2025
Mr. James Landrith
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
Dear Mr. Landrith:
Thank you for contacting me about refugees. I appreciate hearing from you.
Around the world, violent conflict and persecution have forced millions of people to flee their homes. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are more than 37.9 million refugees and 122.6 million forcibly-displaced people globally. The number of people displaced by conflict is at its highest point ever, even surpassing levels seen immediately after World War II.
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order, titled Realigning the United States Refugee Admission Program (USRAP), indefinitely suspending refugee resettlement in the United States effective January 27, 2025. This suspension includes private sponsorships through the Welcome Corps. Reporting indicates that flights for refugees with approved applications and scheduled travel between the January 20 order and the January 27 program suspension were canceled, even though the USRAP suspension was not technically in effect. President Trump’s executive order also outlines possible exceptions and conditions for the resumption of the program, and orders a report from the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security within 90 days regarding whether the resumption of USRAP would be in “the interest of the United States.” I strongly oppose the Trump Administration’s suspension of the United States Refugee Admissions Program.
I strongly support efforts that advance the security, health, and well-being of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). In letters to the Senate Appropriations Committee, I have urged robust funding for the Migration and Refugee Assistance programs in annual State Department funding legislation. I am proud to have cosponsored resolutions commemorating World Refugee Day since 2015, reaffirming the bipartisan commitment to support refugees and displaced persons – who flee war, persecution, and torture – and calling on the U.S. government to continue to lead in responding to the needs of vulnerable populations. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the bipartisan Afghan Allies Protection Act, legislation to expand and streamline the Afghan SIV program, much of which was included in a security spending package passed in July 2021. I am deeply committed to ensuring that the U.S. continues to bring vulnerable displaced people to safety.
As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I have led and joined various congressional delegations to countries confronting significant challenges to providing basic necessities for refugees and IDPs, including Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. I have met with government officials, non-governmental organizations, and victims seeking refuge to better understand the situation on the ground in these places and to discuss ways to improve U.S. and international engagement. In February 2017, I met with His Holiness Pope Francis in Vatican City and discussed the Holy See’s work to address the global refugee and migrant crisis and the moral imperative to protect those who are fleeing dangerous or inhumane situations. These experiences have reinforced my commitment to addressing the needs of refugees and IDPs.
On March 14, 2024, I joined a bipartisan group of Senate colleagues in a letter to Senate leadership requesting that the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriation for State and Foreign Operations include 20,000 additional SIVs to ensure that there continue to be visas available for eligible Afghan allies. Also in March, I was proud to vote to support the passage of the bipartisan FY24 funding package. The package includes approximately $3.5 billion for migration and refugee assistance programs and 12,000 additional SIVs. On March 24, 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed this bill into law. On April 23, 2024, I was proud to vote to support the passage of the bipartisan National Security Supplemental, which allocates approximately $500 million for the Department of Health and Human Services to provide assistance for newly arrived refugees. On April 24, 2024, then-President Biden signed this bill into law.
Thank you again for contacting me about this important issue.
Sincerely,
Tim Kaine