Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

Distributed Grants for Refugee and Immigrant Advocacy

In April, PDA announced its annual grant opportunity for refugee- or immigrant-led organizations that focus on immigrant and refugee rights. Established in 2021, these awards go to support their public policy advocacy to connect their local and personal experiences with national dialogue and campaigns. For 2022, grants were awarded to these five organizations:   Led… Read more »

Mothers Are Living Embodiments of God’s Love

In anticipation of Mother’s Day, we hold up strong women from the Bible who trusted that God would deliver their children, even as they embarked on journeys not always of their own choosing. We remember Jochebed, who defied Pharoah’s edict to kill all newborn Hebrew boys by doing the only thing she could think of… Read more »

All War Victims Need Our Support (guest post)

By Jaff Bamenjo Coordinator of RELUFA, PDA partner in Cameroon On the 24th of February 2022, the Russian military invaded Ukraine generating international outcry and concern for the atrocities and sufferings inflicted on the civilian population. Thousands of people have been leaving Ukrainian towns and cities to neighboring countries in Europe such as Poland, Hungary,… Read more »

Hoping for Jerusalem

PDA joins dozens of organizations and thousands of individuals to express our despair and frustration about the U.S. Government’s decision this week to reinstate and even expand the Migrant Protection Protocols, otherwise known as the “Remain in Mexico Policy”. The most basic responsibility of a government toward those seeking asylum is not to turn them… Read more »

A Prayer for the Senda de Vida Shelter in Reynosa, Mexico

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance joins in protesting the decision by local authorities in Reynosa, Mexico to close and/or demolish the Senda de Vida shelter. For more information, read the statement from Angry Tías and Abuelas As the Psalmists of Old, in this time of despair for the families who are finding safety and respite in the… Read more »

Raising Our Voices to Advocate for The Stranger

Wanderers, travelers, Weary and worried, God grant us strength and Courage to dare. Risking our safety, Freedom, and status, Your children need us, Dare us to care. (From God of the Traveler, hymn text by William McConnell, 2018) World Refugee Day may have passed but it is not too late for you to honor refugees… Read more »

A faithful response to the border, refugees, and immigration matters

Every day there is something else in the news about refugees, immigrants, or the border—it is difficult to keep up with it all. And, try as we might, it is too much to really understand after one class or webinar. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it on your own because, whether you are interested… Read more »

Leaps of Faith and a Commitment to Welcome

Calvary Presbyterian Church (San Francisco, CA) has a long history of community engagement, living a life of faith and action. Because they continually search for ways to broaden their engagement with asylum seekers and refugees within the congregation and the San Francisco area, in January they invited PDA to lead an Adult Education series. In… Read more »

PDA Announces New Refugee & Immigrant Advocacy Grant Opportunities

People from Cameroon, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo held in immigration detention centers because they put their trust in the U.S. as a place of safety only to be denied due process and ordered deported. Asylum seekers from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and dozens of other countries who were turned back at the… Read more »

International Rally to #SaveAsylum: Seeing Christ in Asylum Seekers’ Faces

Changes in the United States’ asylum policies over the past three years have created one barrier after another for bona fide refugees to seek legal protection from persecution here. In June, the Department of Homeland Security posted 161 pages of proposed regulations which many advocates and attorneys say drastically changes established rules and effectively guts asylum… Read more »