To the Journal editor:

Imagine that this is your life…You’re an electrician, your wife is a nurse working at the local hospital. You have three kids that you support, a home, a business. You’ve heard that there are Russian troops amassing at a border nearby and you are concerned. They’ve attacked your nation before. Before you’ve prepared, they attack.

You throw everything that you can into your car and head north, away from the battle, leaving behind everything, destroyed, in flames, ashes. You thank the Lord that you’re alive. You continue to drive, find a small place to stay. You hear that the U.S. has a program called United for Ukraine, that allows you and your family to flee the chaos and immigrate to their country if you can find a sponsor.

You go online for months posting your situation, family pictures, hoping to get the attention of a sponsor in the U.S. One day it happens. A group from Marquette agrees to open their arms to your family, providing transportation, housing, food, help with school for your children, help learning the English language, opportunity to start your life over. From scratch. You travel to Krakow, sell your car, get on a plane, fly non-stop to Chicago and emerge on U.S. soil as humanitarian parolees.

You have legal status to begin work, enroll your children in school, apply for healthcare benefits, start your life over. It seems like a dream but it’s true. Your new country is generous, welcoming. You find work, housing, kids enroll in school, you learn the language. All is well and you’re very thankful.

Then the rumblings begin. Your host country has changed its mind, policy changes. It no longer wants you to build your new life on its soil, some have become cold and unwelcoming. You must return to the devastation that you left a year ago. Live in fear of attack, bombing, no school for the children, sleepless nights.

Why, you ask? We’re not a threat to you, we’re working open jobs, paying taxes, we’re part of your community, enriching those we meet, sharing our stories, praying for the next generation to live full, free lives.

How can we rewrite this story? What can you do? We call on our supporters, faith leaders, and community partners to stand with us and ensure that refugees continue to find safety and belonging in this country and in Marquette.

You can tell your senators and representatives that you’d like them to reinstate the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program which began with bipartisan efforts in 1980, but suspended by the new administration on its first day in office.

Tell your senators and representatives that you’d like them to maintain United4Ukraine humanitarian parole status to the 240,000 who have legally entered the U.S. so that they can continue to live here without fear of deportation.

Tell your senators and representatives to support Illinois Sen. Durbin’s legislation that offers Ukranians temporary guest status, allowing them to stay in the U.S. while conditions in Ukraine remain dangerous. We ask you to uphold the proud bipartisan American tradition that has worked for decades, built on partnership between government, local communities, and faith-based organizations to ensure refugee families have the support they need to succeed.

I ask you to apply the Golden Rule, “Treat others as you would want to be treated.”