JFI Partners and Supporters,
As of September 2018, appropriation bills funding almost 70% of
federal government operations have been signed into law for fiscal
year (FY) 2019, (including operations of Labor, Health and Human
Services, which includes the Office of Refugee Resettlement).
Operations related to three bills: the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of State
(DOS), are currently operating on a continuing resolution that
authorizes funding at FY 2018 levels until Friday, December 21, 2018.
Congress must pass the outstanding bills or extend current funding
levels by December 21st to avoid a partial government shutdown.
As negotiations unfold this week, it is critical that Catholics and
other people of faith urge Members of Congress to avoid a shutdown -
recognizing that Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS), Department of
Homeland (DHS) and State, Foreign Operations (SFOPs) fund important
refugee and immigration-related programs - while also rejecting funding
increases for inhumane enforcement measures.
Please ask your advocacy networks to send and sign our current action alert and urge Congress to
deny unchecked funding increases for inhumane immigration enforcement
efforts and to work together to find a bipartisan solution to
avoiding a government shutdown.
Below is the message in our JFI action alert:
Dear
Representative/Senators:
I write as a
constituent and concerned Catholic regarding the ongoing FY 2019
appropriations process. As you continue negotiations around this
matter, I ask that you avoid a partial government shutdown but also
ensure that funding is not appropriated to inhumane and unchecked
immigration enforcement initiatives.
Specifically, I urge
you to:
* Work in a
bipartisan manner to move forward the funding for the outstanding
appropriations accounts and return to regular order to the extent
possible;
* Reject the $5.5
billion requested by the President for new border wall construction
or, at the very least, not appropriate more than the $1.6 billion
agreed to in the Senate's FY 2019 DHS bill; and
* Support increases
in funding for alternatives to detention and reject requests to
increase funding for immigrant detention beds above the FY 2018
enacted immigrant detention level.
Thank you for
considering these recommendations and your ongoing work on this
issue.
In Solidarity,
Tony Cube
