LORI at the Table: Carrying Your Voice to Washington

Advocacy is not something that happens to our community. It is something we do — together, and out loud.

Last week we joined over 400 leaders and partners in Washignton DC at the Refugee Collective, and the Refugee Council USA’s Advocacy Days, meeting directly with [members of Congress and their offices] to press the case for the refugee and immigrant families we serve. We put these stories in front of the people who write the rules, because no one understands these policies better than the people who live them.

See recap from our engagement:

Some of the best work we do has nothing to do with policy and everything to do with kids being kids.

Yesterday, we opened our doors to the summer — and to a room full of students from elementary through high school, each arriving with their own language, their own story, their own corner of the world. Our multicultural enrichment camp is built for exactly that mix: a place where learning and culture move together, where a child can strengthen their reading and math one hour and share the music, food, and traditions of home the next.

Across the weeks ahead, our young people will grow as students and as neighbors — building confidence, friendships, and the quiet certainty that no matter where their family began, they belong here. That is the work of a summer done right, and it started yesterday.

Immigration Updates You Should Know

Congress approved $70 billion more for immigration enforcement. On June 9, the House passed a reconciliation package directing roughly $70 billion to ICE and CBP over the next three years. National partners, including the National Partnership for New Americans, are calling for far stronger oversight and accountability over how those funds are used. We share that call. (Source: NPNA; reporting via The New York Times.)

A major shift on green cards. In a May 21–22 policy memo (PM-602-0199), USCIS signaled that adjustment of status — applying for a green card from inside the U.S. — will increasingly be reserved for extraordinary cases, with many applicants directed to consular processing abroad instead. After first describing the change as sweeping, USCIS later said it would be applied case-by-case, and important questions remain unresolved. If you have a pending green card application, or were planning to file or travel, talk to an immigration attorney before you do anything. (Sources: USCIS; American Immigration Council; Washington Post.)

A new annual asylum fee. The government is now charging a $102 annual fee on asylum applications pending more than a year, with no fee waiver available. Notices are supposed to arrive with a 30-day deadline, but some people never receive one — so check directly through your USCIS online account. Missing the deadline can put your case and work permit at risk. (Source: ASAP — asaptogether.org/en/new-fees.)

DACA renewals are taking longer — and some are being held. Renewals that once took weeks now average about 3.5 months, so file early (USCIS recommends 120–150 days before expiration). Renewals for nationals of certain countries — including many African nations, Haiti, Cuba, Syria, Venezuela and others — are being placed on hold for additional review, sometimes without notice. If yours is delayed, document everything and consider asking your member of Congress to inquire. (Source: National Immigration Law Center.)

Protection extended for Lebanon. In a rare protective move, DHS automatically extended Temporary Protected Status for Lebanon through November 27, 2026, and certain work permits (EADs) under that designation are extended through the same date. If this is you, no immediate action is required to keep your status during the extension. (Source: USCIS; Federal Register.)

A lighter note to close — and one that feels a lot like us. For the first time, 48 nations have gathered on the same fields for the FIFA Men’s World Cup: the whole world in one place, playing under one another’s flags and cheering in a hundred languages. If that sounds familiar, it should — it’s the very spirit that fills our room on June 27.

And on that global stage, African excellence is impossible to miss. Uganda’s celebrated Ghetto Kids are set to dance with Shakira at the Final’s halftime show, and Nigeria’s Burna Boy lends his voice to “Dai Dai,” the tournament’s official anthem. From a dance crew that began on the streets of Kampala to the biggest stage in sport — that, too, is what our community carries everywhere it goes.

Come for the food, the culture, the keynote, and the neighbors. Bring your family, bring your friends, bring the people who’ve never come before.

To our many nations: if you’d love to showcase your homeland — its food, its dress, its music, its art — we’d be honored to hold a table for you. There’s no better way to show Baton Rouge the beauty you carry with you- RSVP Here

Organizations: We’d love to have you stand with us. To partner, table, or simply RSVP your team – HERE

Behind every number is a name, a family, a home left behind. Today, 123.2 million people — 1 in every 67 of us — have been forced to flee. We can’t undo all of it. But we can decide what welcome looks like here. That work begins again on June 27

9th Annual World Refugee and Immigrant Day

Saturday, June 27, 2026  ·  12:30–4:30 PM

Catholic Life Center, 1800 South Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge

Free  ·  family-friendly  ·  everyone welcome

Solidarity and Courage. Rooted in Community.