FCNL in the News

The United States has a long history of welcoming those seeking a safer life. In turn, newcomers have helped make America great.

Hassan El-Tayyab, lead lobbyist on Middle East policy for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a progressive lobby organization, says, ​“The root cause of the current hostilities stems from the ongoing slaughter of civilians in Gaza.”

There is broad public support for continuing bipartisan investments in the environment and green energy.

Congress recently passed a continuing resolution to keep the government open. The legislation includes several anomalies, or funding adjustments, beyond the standard temporary funding extension typical of a continuing resolution — among them a dangerous decision to reduce nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

As Christians mark Lent, Muslims mark Ramadan and Jews mark Passover, leaders from numerous faith traditions are gathering each week in front of the Capitol. They are calling on Congress to show moral courage and act in the face of growing authoritarianism and devastating attacks on our democracy.

Deporting immigrants will not make our country great. But it is destroying hard-working families and stoking fear and division in our communities.

FCNL’s Program Associate for Middle East Policy Odeliya Matter joined Middle East in Focus to discuss the latest on the temporary ceasefire and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

As we simultaneously remembered Martin Luther King Jr. and witnessed the second inauguration of President Donald Trump this week, the challenges of economic and racial inequality could not be starker or more urgent. It is up to all of us to keep building the beloved community King envisioned.

Jan Miyasaki takes a deep dive with Vanessa Schoning from the Migration and Policy Team at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) into Trump’s long list of edicts relating to asylum, resettlement, deportation, and refugee status of migrants in the U.S. In effect, his orders have banned asylum, ended humanitarian parole programs of sponsored immigration, reinstated his “remain in Mexico” protocol, and shut down refugee admission and applications.

“The frustrating part about watching that hearing was the lack of concern for how the United States military could really impact billions of people on this planet,” said Hassan El-Tayyab of the Quaker advocacy group Friends Committee on National Legislation. “There were so many pressing issues and existential issues to the United States, our allies, and the planet at large that were not addressed.”