The United Nations High Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) describes a refugee as “someone outside his or her own country and unable to return as a result of a well-founded fear of persecution on grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a social group.” Refugees are an official, legal designation (internationally accepted) and have been given that status by either the UNHCR or the State Department. Watch the video below to see a brief history of the refugee movement and the work of the UNHCR.

Some have a family or close friend who is a “sponsor” or “tie”, others come with no relational connection. If they have a Tie, they are sent to the Tie’s US city. If not, they can go just about anywhere in the US where a Resentment Agency (nonprofit/NGO) is operating of which World Relief is one of nine. World Relief’s cases fly directly into Sacramento after entering through a port of entry airport (Chicago, LA, etc.). Most are coming from Afghanistan, all with a Special Immigrant Visa given by Congress to Afghanis who served with the US military or government during the War and as a result, been persecuted by radical Islamic groups for standing with the US. These refugees have Permanent Legal Residency and can apply for a green card in one year and citizenship in 5. Roughly 70,000 refugees are resettled into the US every year.

If you would like more information on how you and your church community can get involved, please check out the GNC2 website here and also contact GNC2's Sacramento region facilitator Kirt Lewis at klewis@wr.org

Below are two great Christian sources on the subject:

• The Refugee Highway Partnership helps the church serve forcibly displaces peoples

• The Refugee Highway Partnership of North America has additional resources

Immigration is a huge subject but one the Church in America must wrestle with and as there are a spectrum of views within the church, it is important to become informed. Here are some resources:

• News and resources for Christians interested in understanding the issues of immigration from Welcoming the Stranger, an initiative of World Relief
  

• Reaching the Nations Among Us is a coalition of ministries and individuals who aim to connect American Christians with their neighbors from other countries

• Missio Nexus contains many resources about fulfilling the Great Commission, including our foreign neighbors

• The Evangelical Immigration Table is a broad coalition of evangelical organizations and leaders advocating for immigration reform consistent with biblical values.

• G92 is a culture shaping movement seeking to equip the next generation of Christian leaders for an effective, biblical response to immigration.