Advocacy Matters: September Recap

“You have to understand, no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” — Warsan Shire, British-Somali Poet

In late September, NOVA Friends of Refugees and RESULTS Advocacy held three advocacy trainings to help those interested in refugee and immigrant issues gain powerful skills to advocate on behalf of refugees and immigrants.

By the end of the two-hour training, participants had been fully briefed on current refugee and immigrant legislation, received tools for making a thoughtful pitch to elected officials, and placed calls to their congressperson and senators in support of a clean DREAM Act.

Key take-aways from the NOVA Friends of Refugees and RESULTS Advocacy Workshop:

• Resettlement is a life saving option.
• The United States is abdicating leadership in this space. Our refugee and immigrant polities are directly related to economic and national security issues.
• A strong advocate is well-informed and prepared. Your message should be crisp and laser-focused. If you have a personal connection (daughter of an immigrant, best friend of a DREAMer) be sure to mention it. Stay on topic. Use your time to debunk myths with facts.

Priority actions you can take today:

Call your members of Congress and ask them to pass a clean Dream Act and protect DREAMer’s families.

Resources:

• NOVA Friends of Refugees
• interfaithimmigration.org/issues/dream-act
• NoMuslimBanEver.org
• rcusa.org
• refugeesarewelcome.org
• #HereToStay #Faith4Dream (October 29-Nov 4)