Take Action: Call on Congress to Eliminate Liberian Green Card Filing Deadline
Background:
Script:
Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I'm calling in support of eliminating the application deadline for the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) program. I'm [personal background; can be "student" or "volunteer"] from[CITY, ZIP CODE], and I am urging [Senator/Representative NAME] to prioritize eliminating the application deadline before it is too late. I know [Senator/Representative NAME] has been a strong champion for Liberians and LRIF in the past and we now need them to show up for Liberians once again.
[optional: INSERT A FEW SENTENCES ABOUT WHY YOU CARE ABOUT THIS ISSUE]
The LRIF program allows Liberians living in the U.S. since 2014 to apply for green cards. In many cases, they can also naturalize as U.S. citizens immediately after being approved for the program. But sadly, the LRIF program has been sabotaged from the the Trump Administration’s poor rollout of the program, followed by the chaos of the global COVID-19 pandemic, followed by slow change from the Biden Administration.
USCIS is facing a historic backlog of millions of applications, and is still recovering from four years of turmoil under the last president. USCIS has also been clarifying policy guidance for its officers and for applicants as recently as November 2021. Liberians in the U.S., as well as USCIS itself, need more time to submit applications and process them fairly. The December 20, 2021 deadline adds unnecessary pressure to a program that has changed lives for the better. The eligible population will not change. As a Member of Congress, you can ease the pressure and ensure this program is a success.
With that in mind, I have two questions.
Will the Senator/Representative commit to working with other Members of Congress to eliminate the LRIF deadline before it’s too late?
[If necessary/if “no” to eliminating the deadline] Will the Senator/Representative commit to working with other Members of Congress to at least extend the LRIF deadline for another year?
Thank you for listening, and for the Senator/Representative’s service to Liberian Americans!
Call the LRIF champions to thank them for past support and encourage them to lead on eliminating the filing deadline.- Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) - 202-224-4642
- Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) - 202-224-5461
- Representative Anthony Brown (D-MD) - 202-225-8699
- Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) - 202-225-4911
- Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) - 202-225-4131
- Representative Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) - 202-224-3244
- Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) - 202-225-3072
- Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) - 202-225-4755
- Representative Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) - 202-225-3436
- Representative Dean Phillips (D-MN) - 202-225-2871
- Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) - 202-225-2011
