World Relief, churches resettle over 9,700 refugees in the U.S.

Jardine Malado Monday, October 24, 2016

Syrian refugee children play as they wait with their families to register their information at the U.S. processing centre for Syrian refugees, during a media tour held by the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, in Amman, Jordan, April 6, 2016. | REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

A record number of 9,759 refugees have been resettled in the U.S. this year by charity organization World Relief with the help of 1,180 churches. It is reported to be the largest number of refugees assisted by the organization since 1999.

"The task set before us last month was nothing short of monumental," World Relief president Scott Arbeiter told Christianity Today. "But the work our dedicated staff and volunteers have accomplished has been equally impressive," he added.

In September alone, World Relief resettled 1,400 refugees through its local offices and church networks.

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center has revealed that 84,995 refugees have been resettled by the end of the 2016 fiscal year on Sept. 30.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced plans to admit 110,000 refugees in the fiscal year of 2017. The charity organization and other religious groups are supportive of the government's proposal.

The Church World Service (CSW), which represents 37 Christian groups, has urged the U.S. government to increase the number to 200,000.

However, World Relief vice president for advocacy and policy Jenny Yang said that the U.S. Congress and some states are resisting the idea of resettling more refugees.

Since the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, there had been concerns that some terrorists might be posing as refugees. Some are also worried that refugees might be carrying communicable disesases such as tubercolosis and HIV.

"Texas recently decided to pull out of the refugee resettlement programs, as did Kansas and Idaho," Yang told Christianity Today. "The House of Representatives also recently had language in one of their bills to limit funding to only 70,000 refugees," she added.

Popular Christian author Ed Stetzer suggested that Christians should participate in debates over the refugee crisis as well as other issues. In January, he collaborated with other evangelicals to assemble the GC2 (Great Commission and the Great Commandment) summit, a conference that focused on helping refugees.

"It's a counter-cultural moment for the Church. How could we sit out the greatest refugee crisis in history and still say that we love our neighbor?" Stetzer told Christianity Today.