WELCOMING REFUGEES

Amnesty International

Sacramento Local Group

Henry Gordon

Our refugee population - Sacramento•Sacramento County welcomed more than 20,000

refugees during the last 15 years, largely from Afghanistan, Iraq and the former Soviet Union. Many of them arrived with "SIV (Special Immigration status)" based on their assistance to the US military.

•In 2017 there were nearly 2000 new refugees but in 2018 the number dropped drastically.

AIUSA Campaign in 2016 – “I Welcome”

We worked for 6 months on a campaign to pass Welcoming Refugees Resolutions in Sacramento City and County.

1) Meeting with Refugee Resettlement agencies and finding out what they needed.

2) Drafting the Resolutions3) Getting to know each city council member and

county supervisor and developing informational materials to give them.

4) Following up over and over and over!