Includes the 2025 Refugee Resettlement Response Guide, Updated Policy Asks and Messaging Guidelines, Advocacy Tools You Can Use, and Invitations to Join the Movement for Refugee and Immigrant Justice

Through interviews with Black immigrants and immigration lawyers, “Behind Closed Doors” by Ohio Immigrant Alliance exposes deliberate imbalances in U.S. immigration courts that deny fair outcomes. - Unfounded fraud narratives - Impossible evidentiary standards - No guaranteed right to counsel We reimagine a more just system.

Our partners at Church World Service have prepared a resource to help us urge national, state, and local elected leaders to: - Urge the Trump administration to abide by recent court orders and restore the refugee resettlement program. - Publicly express your support for refugees and the bipartisan U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE). - Stand up for refugees and newcomers in upcoming congressional funding and legislative deliberations.

Includes information on "What to Do If You or a Loved One is Detained", action links to the Solidarity Pledge and CWS Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Declaration, a Guide for Advocates Assisting People Facing Expanded Expedited Removal, and more!

Every couple months, members of Congress go on “recess,” returning to their home states and districts. Both members of the House of Representatives and the Senate use these periods to engage with voters, hold town halls and public events, conduct in-district legislative meetings, and make themselves available to their constituents.The next Congressional recess is currently scheduled for: March 17-21, 2025. March 17 is also the 45th anniversary of the signing of the bipartisan Refugee Act into law, legislation that formalized and codified the modern U.S. refugee and asylum systems – and which remains the law of the land. The upcoming recess period is a vital moment to take action and ensure your voice is heard.

Seeking to be a source of trusted information/resources for local congregations, Regions, and ministries Justice & Advocacy Ministries offers the following curated list of the articles, explainers, and videos about refugee and immigration ministries: Including Know Your Rights, Videos from Attorney Ocloo, Ways to Stay Informed, Ways to Take Action, and More...

Video Excerpt from the Disciples Justice Ministries Immigration Webinar held on February 25, 2025. Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel Jonelle Ocloo shares "What Your Church Should Know" about the recission of "Sensitive Locations", practical steps for dealing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and differentiating between with an ICE Administrative Warrant and a Judicial Warrant.

Video Excerpt from the Disciples Justice Ministries Immigration Webinar held on February 25, 2025. Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel Jonelle Ocloo shares Know Your Rights resources and information for individuals in the United States.

Video Excerpt from the Disciples Justice Ministries Immigration Webinar held on February 25, 2025. Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel Jonelle Ocloo shares an update on the US Refugee Program and the changes implemented by the Trump Administration Executive Orders and Policy Changes (as of late February 2025).

Sign the Declaration! Every day, families seeking refuge face fear, separation, and uncertainty. Parents are forced to make impossible choices. Children endure journeys no child should have to take. And as our nation reckons with how it will treat the most vulnerable, we are called—as people of faith—to respond. This Ash Wednesday, we remember. We remember our shared humanity. We remember that we, too, were once strangers in a foreign land. And we remember that faith calls us to act.

Disciples Home Missions is one of 176 organizations and 1,051 faith leaders who signed on to a letter to the Trump Administration seeking to resume refugee resettlement, restore humanitarian assistance, and ensure that faith-based communities can continue to serve and welcome refugees and other newcomers.

On the first day of the new Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew a memosetting guidelines that restricted enforcement action in certain locations, including places of worship. While the policy and restrictions on the agency has changed, the rights of the houses of worship have not. Houses of worship have Fourth Amendment rights to protect private spaces in their building from entry by immigration enforcement officers and any other law enforcement.

Seeking to be a source of trusted information/resources for local congregations, Regions, and ministries Justice & Advocacy Ministries offers the following curated list of the articles, explainers, and videos about the executive orders signed by President Trump in the week following his inaguration.

This guide, developed in collaboration between the National Immigrant Law Center (NILC) and the National Employment Law Project (NELP), provides practical advice for addressing immigration-related actions in the workplace. It is available in multiple languages, including Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Thai.

In this video from the “Let’s Talk About…” series, Attorney Jonelle Ocloo (Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel) defines/describes key phrases in the US Immigration system such as “refugee” and “asylee” and “immigrant.”

All people in the United States have certain rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, regardless of immigration status. The curated resources listed below can help you and your community stay informed, prepared, and united in support of immigrant neighbors.Please Note: This information is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer.

In this video from the “Let’s Talk About…” series, Attorney Jonelle Ocloo (Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel) talks about her work as an immigration attorney, the services she offers Disciples, and her own immigration journey.

During the US Presidential Debate on Tuesday September 10, Former President Donald Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating their neighbors’ pets. These false claims echoed similar anti-immigrant comments made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. This kind of rhetoric is unacceptable. It is dangerous, dehumanizing, and puts already vulnerable communities even more at risk of threats and violence.