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TOMORROW: REP LIEU, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, REFUGEES, AND FAITH LEADERS SPEAK ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY

June 19, 2018

WASHINGTON, DC - In commemoration of World Refugee Day, Rep. Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) will join Members of Congress, Minnesota State Rep. Ilhan Omar, refugees and faith leaders to talk about Congress's bipartisan commitment to welcome and protect refugees. According to the UN, there are 25.4 million refugees globally but the U.S. has only admitted 14,331 as of May 31, 2018. Reps. Lieu and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) have introduced a resolution to commemorate World Refugee Day and acknowledge the courage, strength, and determination of women, men and children who flee their homes due to conflict, violence and persecution.

Who: Rep. Lieu, Members of Congress, Refugees, faith leaders

Speakers:

Diane Randall, Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)

Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA-33)

Congressman Randy Hultren (R-IL14) (invited)

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) (invited)

State Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN)

Uyen Nguyen, Refugee from Vietnam

Deborah Jane, Refugee from Uganda

Imam Talib Sharif, Masjid Muhammad, The Nation's Mosque

Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation

Where & When: House Triangle, 11 AM EST on Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

About the refugees speaking at the press conference:

Deborah Jane is a former Ugandan refugee who was resettled in Columbus, Ohio. After surviving an acid attack for her work to counter domestic violence in 2014, Deborah left everything behind, including her children and bakery, and fled to Kenya. She was approved for resettlement in 2016, and today she works as a cake decorator and home caregiver for disabled clients.

Uyen Nguyen came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam when she was 11 years old. Today, she is a Founding Board Chair for Emerge Washington, an organization that recruit and train women to run for public office; a Board member for PIVOT, a progressive Vietnamese American organization; and WACAP, an organization that finds family for every child. She is a Sister for the Planet Ambassador for Oxfam and also owns Nue, a restaurant specializing in international street food, in Seattle.