wfn.org | Lutherans Launch 'Remember the Forgotten Refugees' Campaign

[news@ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 2, 2000

LUTHERANS LAUNCH 'REMEMBER THE FORGOTTEN REFUGEES' CAMPAIGN
00-260-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
(LIRS) is coordinating a national effort in November to stop "the
unnecessary and prolonged imprisonment of asylum seekers and former
refugees suffering unjust deportation and indefinite detention" and
"'expedited removal' -- a process that strips arriving refugees of
the right to a fair hearing of their asylum claim."
     The "Forgotten Refugees Campaign" engages more than 20
community-based groups that serve asylum-seekers in the United
States.  The Baltimore-based LIRS relates to the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and
The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
     The campaign calls for "increased use of parole and other
alternatives that are more humane and cost-effective than detention"
and "greater fairness in asylum proceedings, including an end to the
arbitrary one-year deadline on applying for asylum and improved
timeliness in making asylum decisions."
     "Laws passed by Congress in 1996 have subjected refugees to
summary removal at the border, lengthy detention, and strict
limitations on the opportunity to apply for asylum," said an Oct. 20
LIRS news release.  "Genuine refugees are being turned away at the
airport with no chance to present their claim, and others are simply
being forgotten, locked away in jails far from legal assistance."
     "Protecting people fleeing persecution abroad has been a
historic source of pride for this country," said Matt Wilch, LIRS
director for detention and asylum concerns.  "We are launching the
Forgotten Refugees Campaign this November to call for a more just and
humane asylum system that upholds this commitment."
     The campaign involves praying for asylum-seekers in homes,
prayer groups and other places of worship Nov. 10-12; a letter-
writing campaign urging members of Congress "to pass legislation to
improve the treatment of refugees;" and A Vigil for Justice on Nov.
21.
     The vigil is meant to coincide with the U.S. celebration of
Thanksgiving "to call attention to the imprisonment of refugees
seeking asylum at a time when we remember the welcome the Pilgrims
received from the Native Americans."  Vigils will be conducted
outside U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service shelters and
county jails where asylum-seekers are detained throughout the
country.
-- -- --
     The LIRS Web site <http://www.lirs.org/> includes a complete
list of the agencies participating in the campaign.

EDITORS: Local media contacts are listed at
<http://www.lirs.org/refcontact.htm> by state.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html