This Op-Ed first appeared in the Omaha World-Herald. Read here.

When Rep. Don Bacon was elected in 2016, it was common for Republican members to support immigration protections for those who need them.

Today, that moral clarity within the party has largely been lost. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people fleeing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary and temporary conditions is, like refugee and asylum protections, conflated with unlawful immigration.

July polling confirms that, while the vast majority of Americans support legal immigration pathways, Republican support has dipped 14 percentage points in the past year.

Rep. Bacon is among the few to remain consistent in his belief that Americans benefit from legal immigration and that the refugee program has created opportunities for newcomers and Americans alike.

The dip in Republican support leaves those of us who care about forcibly displaced people in a difficult place. In a nation fiercely divided by partisanship, we need bipartisanship.

I lead Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, an international Catholic nonprofit founded in 1980, originally to assist those fleeing Southeast Asia in the wake of the Vietnam War.

JRS had the privilege this summer of leading a Capitol Hill event commemorating the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Refugee Convention, cohosted by Rep. Bacon and five of his colleagues.

When I think about Nebraska’s history with refugees — something I have written about in these pages before — it doesn’t surprise me that a member of Congress from Nebraska was the lone Republican in the mix. For years, Nebraska has resettled the highest number of refugees per capita in the U.S.

Our program on the Hill centered on refugee leaders whose contributions to this country are part of what the UN Convention’s drafters intended to make possible.

In his remarks, Rep. Bacon described welcoming refugees as an expression of who we are as a nation: united by constitutional ideals rather than common ancestry; many of us driven by religious faith to help those in need; and stronger because of newcomers eager to work, contribute, and pursue the American Dream.

Rep. Bacon shared his own family’s part in a successful integration outcome. His father took in a Vietnamese refugee in the 1970s. The young former soldier came to the U.S. barely speaking English. But he used his skills to teach French, learned English, and become a successful businessman who gave back generously to his community.

Critically, Rep. Bacon also pointed to our own economic future. With a birth rate of 1.61 per couple, the United States an aging nation. We are not maintaining the population needed to make longstanding, necessary programs like Social Security work, nor are native-born Americans entering fields necessary to sustain our communities.

Today, the healthcare aide who takes care of your elderly mother is likely an immigrant. Without immigrant priests, the closest Sunday Mass would be hundreds of miles away from even more Catholics than it already is; one in four priests is foreign born. In 2023, the last year for which we have data, more than one-third of new businesses in the U.S. were started by immigrants.

Sadly, as of January, Congress will no longer have Rep. Bacon. GOP Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas is also retiring; he has been a major supporter of special immigrant visas for those from Afghanistan, aid officials, and those who served alongside our military.

I am often asked what we can do in this strident time to embrace our identity as a nation of immigrants and lend a helping hand. I believe the answer is we need to be advocates.

While nearly two-thirds of Americans say they support asylum for those displaced by war, political instability, or persecution, these issues are not typically the main drivers of their voting behavior. That doesn’t mean we can’t still insist our elected officials do better.

Advocacy can mean many things: Contacting elected officials and urging them to help those who need our support. Educating your community about the crises facing the 117 million forcibly displaced persons in the world. Supporting organizations that help displaced people abroad, especially since the United States has slashed foreign assistance since January 2025. These cuts left displaced people at risk of disease, hunger, lack of education, and premature death.

Supporting refugees and other humanitarian entrants like TPS holders is not and has not historically been left or right, blue or red, Democrat or Republican. Using our voices, we can show it is instead a distinctly American – and Nebraskan – act of faith, responsibility, and character.