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Ask Your Members of Congress to Support the Afghan Adjustment Act
Update: In July 2023, a large bipartisan group of legislators reintroduced the Afghan Adjustment Act. In November 2023, Mormon Women for Ethical Government launched another call to action to let legislators know the AAA is still important to citizens and to encourage them to sign it into law by the end of the year in order to maintain national security, honor the sacrifices of our veterans, and fully welcome our new neighbors to our communities. Our new Afghan neighbors are in limbo Following the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, more than 130,000 Afghans were evacuated. Almost half of those evacuees were children. After significant vetting in third…
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The Afghan Adjustment Act: Frequently Asked Questions
As Mormon Women for Ethical Government, one of our Principles of Ethical Government states that “people have moral responsibilities to provide succor and relief to [our] fellow human beings fleeing war, violence, persecution, and natural disasters, regardless of their race, nationality, or religion (see Leviticus 19:33-34, Matthew 25:31-40, and Alma 27:21-24).” We invite our legislators to join our compassionate army of Americans, veterans, nonprofits, and businesses who are choosing to acknowledge the debt we owe to our Afghan allies by working tirelessly to welcome them with open arms. We call for a clear pathway to legal permanent residency and a right to work for our new neighbors with the Afghan…
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Official Statement from Mormon Women for Ethical Government on Our Ongoing Obligation to Afghan Allies
America’s longest war officially came to its conclusion on August 31, 2021. In the weeks leading up to our departure from Afghanistan, the U.S. and its allies staged a significant effort to remove our citizens and friends, including Afghan nationals who had either assisted our armed forces or were actively building a peaceful state grounded in human rights and modeled on the principles of liberal democracy. Having embraced this cause, their lives are now at grave risk. At Mormon Women for Ethical Government, we believe that ending the war in Afghanistan must not end our commitment to our Afghan allies. Our responsibility to these brave individuals is just beginning, and…
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The Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions — and What We Can Do to Help
As quoted in Matthew 5:35, Jesus said, “I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” Our faith and our love for all humankind demand that we do our part to take in the stranger (see Exodus 23:9). The United Nations estimates that at this moment in history, more than 80 million people have been forced from their homes by threats to their lives. We must do our part to provide refuge for these families around the world (see Responsibilities). To appreciate the gravity of the current situation and have the strongest impact on the process, we must understand the background of refugee resettlement in our country. Each fall, the…
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An Open Letter to Montana Senators on Federal Refugee Funding from the Montana Chapter of MWEG
Dear Senators, On behalf of the Montana Chapter of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, we strongly encourage you to reinstate the federal pass-through funding for the refugee resettlement program in HB2. Federal pass-through funding for the refugee resettlement program is beneficial to the state. This funding does not incur costs for the state of Montana. It contributes to healthy communities through job creation and funding in the areas of health and human services, education, and housing. When refugee communities benefit, the state benefits as well. Montana has a history of welcoming displaced people since the ’70s, when the state welcomed Hmong families who had helped the United States during the…
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Release Detainees Now
COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work, and learn in the United States, in the all-important effort to slow the spread of this virus. Difficult as these changes have been, most of us are fortunate to be able to socially distance and practice proper hygiene. Inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, however, conditions remain dangerously unsanitary. As COVID-19 continues to present new and pressing needs, consider the ethical obligations in these common scenarios: A young man with asthma fled gang violence in Honduras. He is in ICE custody after presenting himself at the border to declare his desire to obtain asylum. An elderly woman is detained in…
