The End of Resettlement in Mississippi: Resettlement at Risk
After October this year, Mississippi will no longer be able to resettle refugees. Here's what we can do.
“We all have to-need to-we must learn as a global community, to live together. And that is one of the things that I am so determined to do, is to build a bridge…so that we can have a better understanding of these folks who fought so hard for their own religious, economic and cultural freedom.”
In 2008, Julie Hines Mabus, a former first lady of Mississippi, was interviewed by Mississippi public broadcasting on her experience working with Sudanese refugee communities.
Today, 242,000 South Sudanese refugees are in need of resettlement. Last year, Mississippi resettled two refugees from Sudan. This year, according to available data, they have resettled none.
Resettlement is Ending in Mississippi
By October of this year, Mississippi’s only refugee resettlement office—Catholic Charities of Jackson—will be unable to resettle refugees.
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has forced the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops–which oversees around 60 of U.S.’s 360 resettlement offices–to withdraw from the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program by October. Catholic Charities of Jackson is one of those offices.
Some of Mississippi’s remote placement partners, in addition to Reception and Placement sites (tracked by our map!), will be unable to resettle refugees too.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Mississippians need a Refugee Program they can rely on. Refugees and America do too.
How can we build a reliable Refugee Program?
If you’ve read our newsletter before, you know: by passing the Guaranteed Refugee Admissions Ceiling (GRACE) Act.
The GRACE Act would build a Refugee Program with a bottom line, requiring the President to admit a minimum number of refugee each year.
This foundation would provide resettlement agencies, refugees—and Mississippians, Alaskans, Louisianans, and West Virginians, all states losing their ability to resettle refugees—with certainty. Just like any business, resettlement agencies require some level of certainty to build budgets, hire and fire, and keep their doors open.
We need a Refugee Program that operates predictably—rather than responds to the boom and bust cycle of refugee arrivals that accompanies presidential elections.
What Mississippi Will Lose
In October, without the protections afforded by the GRACE Act, Mississippi will lose its 30+ year tradition of resettlement.
Refugees have made invaluable contributions to the Magnolia State’s economy, religious congregations, schools, and businesses.
Local support enabled the success of Mississippi’s refugee program. For example, in 2023 and 2024 in the small town of Ocean Springs, members of the St. John’s Episcopal Church served as an Episcopal Migration Ministries’ (EMM) remote placement community partner and resettled two refugee families.
The experience was rewarding for both the congregation and the newcomer families; one member shared “It’s been a very positive experience, and I wish more churches or more groups would get involved and do similar things.”
Unfortunately, in Mississippi and beyond, other churches and groups won’t get the chance.
Amidst the Trump Administration’s attacks on resettlement, EMM has decided (along with USCCB—two of our nation’s ten resettlement agencies) to end their participation in the U.S. Refugee Admission Program by October.
While we only include Reception and Placement sites on our map—and not remote placement partners—this is surely a huge loss for Mississippi’s resettlement program.
This is the reality of resettlement without the protections and stability guaranteed by GRACE.
Resettlement has a bottom line; refugee admissions do not. We need the GRACE Act to provide financial certainty to resettlement agencies and build a reliable Refugee Program.
Advocacy in Mississippi
The reality is: political openings to advocate for the GRACE Act are limited in Mississippi. This doesn’t mean advocacy is impossible—rather, we need a targeted approach to reach the right decision makers in the right way.
A Strategic Opportunity: Representative Bennie Thompson
Mississippi's federal delegation may be challenging terrain for refugee advocacy, but House Representative Bennie Thompson (D-MS) represents a unique strategic opportunity. Thompson's leadership on the House Homeland Security Committee positions him not just as Mississippi's representative, but as a national security expert who understands both the importance of robust security and America's humanitarian legacy.
Thompson has long understood that America's strength lies in balancing security with our values. During a 2016 House Homeland Security hearing, he reminded colleagues that "the United States welcomes those seeking safety who pass the country's rigorous tests," emphasizing our history as "a nation of immigrants."
His recent January 20, 2025 statement responding to President Trump's immigration executive orders shows why Thompson is perfectly positioned to champion the GRACE Act. When Thompson criticized the Administration's "barrage of executive orders" for creating "unnecessary chaos" rather than meaningful reform—including blocking "the resettlement of Afghan allies who risked their lives for our military"—he identified exactly the problem that the GRACE Act solves.
The GRACE Act represents the principled approach Thompson called for: working with those who want genuine immigration reform while standing against policies that abandon "our sacred American values."
Despite his leadership for resettled communities, Representative Thompson has never cosponsored the GRACE Act.
This can change.
We can get Representative Thompson on board with the GRACE Act by connecting him with Mississippi’s resettlement champions. Thompson's cosponsorship won't happen automatically—it requires coordinated constituent advocacy. The most effective advocates will be those whose work he's already defended: faith communities, business leaders, and advocacy organizations.
Activating Congregations
In June 2025, Representative Thompson condemned House Republicans for "targeting charities, religious organizations, and other NGOs for assisting migrants with basic needs"—the very same faith communities that have made resettlement in Mississippi possible.
Mississippi’s faith communities have long championed resettlement. Some congregations have linked welcoming refugees directly to their faith. These communities have shown up for refugees before, like St John’s Episcopal Church in Ocean Springs whose congregants credit resettlement as a “joyful and hopeful” experience. Or, Mississippi Catholic Bishop Joseph Kopacz, who called for a “love that cannot be walled in… [and] a mission that does not let anyone be walled out.”
Faith leaders hold unique power to influence Thompson precisely because he's already demonstrated his commitment to protecting their work. Their stories of successful refugee integration show the human impact of stable resettlement policy, while their values-based advocacy aligns with Thompson's defense of charitable organizations and his commitment to American principles.
Mississippi’s congregants can pursue action inspired by their faith by sharing their experiences welcoming refugees with Representative Thompson. When faith leaders contact Thompson's office advocating for his cosponsorship of the GRACE Act, they should emphasize how the legislation protects religious freedom and community-based welcome from political intimidation—exactly the kind of protection Thompson has called for.
Mobilizing Business Leaders
While faith communities provide moral authority for Thompson's cosponsorship, business leaders offer the economic rationale that complements his security expertise. Together, these voices create the bipartisan case Thompson needs to champion the GRACE Act.
Immigrants, including refugees, have an average annual spending power of over $2 billion dollars and generate over $250 million in business revenue in Mississippi. These aren't just numbers; they represent customers, employees, and entrepreneurs whose contributions depend on stable resettlement policy.
When Catholic Charities of Jackson stops resettling refugees in October, Mississippi loses more than services—the state will lose decades of institutional knowledge, trained personnel, and community partnerships that enable economic integration. Business leaders should tell Thompson that his GRACE Act cosponsorship protects Mississippi’s economic infrastructure while strengthening the security partnerships he oversees on the Homeland Security Committee.
The message is simple: economic stability requires institutional stability, and the GRACE Act provides both.
Business leaders should emphasize to Thompson how his cosponsorship of the GRACE Act would preserve these partnerships while protecting Mississippi's economic interests—a message that aligns perfectly with his role on the Homeland Security Committee.
Connecting with Advocacy Alliances
Individual congregation members and business leaders have important stories to tell, but coordinated advocacy amplifies these voices. Mississippi's immigrant rights organizations provide the strategic expertise to turn individual support into collective political pressure.
Mississippi hosts a robust community of immigrant activists organized and activated by the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA) With 25 years of coalition-organized advocacy, MIRA has proved an adept and agile influencer of Mississippi’s state and federal leaders. MIRA's expertise in navigating Mississippi's political landscape makes them invaluable allies in building the case for Thompson's GRACE Act cosponsorship.
Advocates can learn from, and connect with, MIRA to include resettlement and the GRACE act in advocacy planning and communications. MIRA can help frame the cosponsorship request in terms that resonate with Thompson's security expertise and recent statements about executive overreach (“return the role of refugee admissions to Congress”).
Their established relationships and advocacy sophistication can amplify the message that Thompson's support for the GRACE Act would strengthen rather than weaken America's security infrastructure—while positioning him as a leader who protects vulnerable communities and charitable organizations from political volatility.
Advocacy Nationally: Pledging Welcome & Changing the Federal Landscape
Representative Thompson's potential cosponsorship matters beyond Mississippi.
As a Homeland Security Committee leader who has criticized executive overreach while defending charitable organizations, his support would signal to other security-focused lawmakers that the GRACE Act strengthens—rather than weakens—America.
But this opportunity has a deadline. Catholic Charities' October closure means we have limited time to demonstrate that communities like Mississippi—traditionally challenging terrain for refugee advocacy—can build bipartisan support for stable resettlement policy. Today’s the day to get to work.
In Mississippi and throughout the nation, the reality is we can only accomplish this change if we work together. Whether it's in our religious congregations, at our businesses, or in our broader coalitions, we can work to save resettlement and pass the GRACE Act through, with, and in community.
The ‘We Will Welcome’ Pledge!
In that vein, Save Resettlement is honored to join The Refugee Advocacy Lab, International Refugee Assistance Project, Refugee Congress, Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), Refugees International, and Welcoming America in the We Will Welcome Pledge this World Refugee Day.
Join us by signing the We Will Welcome Pledge and committing to one act of welcome today—like donating to your local resettlement agency, which you can find on our site.
Thanks for reading Save Resettlement.
Next Week, Missouri: The Show Me State.
In the meantime, check out Refugees International’s World Refugee Day town hall and try out the International Rescue Committee’s refugee recipe challenge!
