Dear Friend,

As Election Day nears, never have the stakes been higher for refugees including those who helped the United States military.  For decades, the importance of refugee resettlement was an issue that drew bipartisan support.  And even at a moment when American society seems to be divided by profound polarization, most would agree that we should provide refuge to the allies who risked their lives assisting our troops.  This is an issue that should transcend politics, an issue in which we can all find common ground. Yet, the US refugee program has been dismantled by the current administration and only 161 out of 4,000 refugee slots that were allocated for US-affiliated Iraqis in fiscal year 2020 were filled.

Unfortunately, our case was not among the very few that resulted in resettlement in FY2020.   Mohammed and his family remain in Iraq and in danger because of their sacrifice to our nation.  Last week, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), the organization that represents our case, released a report exposing the current administration’s efforts in blocking thousands of resettlements, including large numbers of women, children, and Iraqis who helped the US military.  The report can be found linked below.

As difficult as it has been for Mohammed’s family and the thousands of US-affiliated families like his, there is hope.  Mohammed’s two interpreter sons and his daughter are now American citizens and will all cast a vote in a US presidential election for the first time.  Please join them and make your voice heard.  Thank you for staying in the fight with us and keeping our hope alive that someday this family will be reunited in the country that they gave up so much for. 

Pete