This is Really Happening
If you've been waiting for the right moment...this is it.
Dear Friends,
For 95 years now, the Nationalities Service Center (NSC) has served as a quiet beacon of welcome for those fleeing economic hardship, war, ethnic conflict, political persecution and/or torture and other drivers that cause people to abandon homes that they cherished and never wanted to leave. This has been a gathering place of welcome and opportunity for tens of thousands of immigrants and refugees over nearly a century. We are not a political organization. We are non-sectarian and serve people in need when global chaos and discord send them to our door. So we typically don't send letters like this. But now things are different.
Earlier today, an executive order was signed by President Trump that establishes a 120 day suspension of the entire U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, a drastic reduction in the refugee admissions ceiling, and an immediate stop to the processing of refugee applications of Syrian nationals who hail from a country in the midst of what the United Nations calls "the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time." For agencies like NSC, this executive order will have an immediate impact on the availability of services for refugees as well as the accompanying funding and will effectively close the door on the 67,000 refugees that were already in the vetting process for resettlement to the United States. In total, this order represents an unconscionable assault on our shared humanity.
This is not who we are as a country and does not honor the foundation of diversity and inclusivity upon which this nation was established. In response to the cruelty and indifference inherent in this executive order, NSC has instituted the Campaign for Resilience to provide us with the resources to respond in real time to the coming shifts in federal funding as related to refugee resettlement. The resources from the Campaign will assist us in our efforts to keep needed program areas afloat and will allow us to continue offering necessary services to refugees who have recently been resettled by NSC while we regroup and redeploy resources based on the changes implemented by the Trump administration.
In a time when a return to empathy and decency is sorely needed in our country, the Campaign for Resilience is a constructive vehicle for concerned citizens to show their support for keeping the Philadelphia region a warm and welcoming community for all. If you've been waiting for the right moment to support NSC, this is it. Please help us to keep NSC strong for the refugees and immigrants we are so privileged to serve.
Thank you so very much for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Margaret M. O'Sullivan
Executive Director
