Churches and religious nonprofit organizations are preparing to help the Ukrainian refugees resettle.
Many ministries are preparing for an influx of Ukrainian immigrants, particularly after White House officials announced that the United States would accept up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine as part of its effort to help.
While megachurches have played a significant role in helping to fund disaster relief in Ukraine, several churches and religious organizations aim to help refugees settle in the U.S.
TRUMP ASKS PUTIN TO PROVIDE DIRT ON HUNTER BIDEN AS WAR IN UKRAINE RAGES
Executives at the Baptist organization Send Relief told the Washington Examiner that they were surprised to see a second immigration event as significant as the “once-in-a-lifetime” refugee crisis in Afghanistan within a year of the August evacuation. The mission’s organization has sent $4.5 million to Ukrainian refugees since the start of the war, according to a spokesperson from the organization.
But that will not stop churches from “embracing and supporting” those who come to the U.S., according to Josh Benton, Send Relief’s vice president of North American ministry. Several churches have already reached out to Send Relief to see how they can help with resettlement, the executive said.
Send Relief expects a turnout of 4,000 or so congregations that either went through Send Relief training or offered to provide support to resettled families during the Afghanistan refugee crisis, Benton told the Washington Examiner.
World Relief is also no stranger to Ukrainian refugees, according to Matthew Soerens, its U.S. director of church mobilization. The Evangelical humanitarian organization has already helped resettle more than 7,300 Ukrainians in the last 10 years, according to a March 25 press release. Many of these individuals came from religious minorities and were authorized through the Lautenberg Amendment, a law passed in 1989 that provided refugee status to members of religious minorities from parts of the former Soviet Union, Soerens told the Washington Examiner.
While World Relief does operate as a resettlement agency, it also provides training and fosters partnerships with churches. Soerens was unable to give the number of churches with which the organization has established partnerships since the start of the invasion.
There are also questions about which legal paths may be available to Ukrainian refugees.
RUSSIAN FORCES ATTACKING GRAIN STORAGE FACILITIES IN UKRAINE, THREATENING WORLD FOOD SUPPLY: REPORT
“We are considering the full range of legal pathways to the United States, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, humanitarian parole, and visas,” a State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. “In particular, we are working to expand current, and develop new, programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the United States.” The spokesperson could not provide an estimated timeline or details about where the refugees may resettle.
What differentiates the Ukrainian refugee crisis from the Afghanistan refugee crisis is primarily the availability of countries. For many Ukrainians, there are options to resettle temporarily or permanently in neighboring countries in Europe, such as the United Kingdom, Italy, and France.
However, many Ukrainians may have other reasons to relocate to the U.S.
“Many Ukrainian refugees will likely attempt to reunite with their families in the United States,” Soerens told the Washington Examiner.
There are also concerns regarding the application of humanitarian parole to Ukrainian refugees. When Afghan refugees arrived in the U.S. after the fall of Kabul, they were given special permissions through the status of humanitarian parole, which expedites entry into the country. The shortcoming of parole is that it offers few options for refugees to other immigration options, such as green cards or visas, Soerens told the Washington Examiner. This lack of options is why Afghanistan veterans and allies have asked Congress to pass legislation establishing a more straightforward path to citizenship for Afghan refugees.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
These legal concerns have not stopped churches across the U.S. from preeminently stepping up to help. Parishioners from Assumption Ukrainian Catholic Church in Omaha, Nebraska, partnered with the local government to prepare housing and supplies for the anticipated arrivals.
“We just want to make sure that we’ve made the preliminary preparations to help them get here,” Douglas County Commissioner Jim Cavanaugh told KETV on March 25. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday that its staff is “prepared and willing to assist with any immigration efforts that come forward.”
