refugees

As government agencies work around the clock and refugee care organizations rapidly retool in order to help Afghan refuees, many American Christians may be asking “What in the world?!” and “How can we help?”

Three former presidents and first ladies have joined with religious leaders, faith-based refugee resettlement agencies and others to support a new national organization with the goal of making it easier to help Afghan evacuees arriving in the United States.

The Nazarene Fund, an organization that seeks to help persecuted Christians, has successfully removed 5,100 Christians and other at-risk people from Afghanistan after the Taliban took over Kabul.

On Wednesday, a Catholic priest managed to flee from the Taliban-run Afghanistan with a group of disabled children and nuns.

Communities in the United Kingdom are coming together to provide aid to arriving refugees from Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country.

On Monday, President Joe Biden authorized an additional $500 million to aid refugees from Afghanistan, pushing through the funds as the White House fends off suggestions it failed a moral test to aid those fleeing the war-torn country.

This week, President Biden raised the U.S. refugee admissions cap.

As followers of Christ, we have a duty not to let our politics blind us to the image of God in our neighbors. We can disagree about policy; we can’t disagree about basic empathy and compassion.

As more and more people are forced to flee religious persecution around the world, the United States will need to admit more refugees. This is especially true of those fleeing persecution in China and Iran, where our ability to resolve crisis points on the ground is limited. This can be done without compromising our commitment to vet the situations and stories of those seeking refuge. Already, refugees are far more strictly vetted than others seeking to enter the United States.

Christian Leaders are speaking out against the Trump Administration's decision to further cut the refugee admissions ceiling.