Across US, faith groups mobilize to aid Ukrainian refugees

By DEEPA BHARATH and LUIS ANDRES HENAO
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. faith communities are leading the charge to welcome refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine. In Southern California, pastors and lay individuals are stationing themselves at the Mexico border waving Ukrainian flags and offering food, water and prayer. Around the country, other groups are preparing to provide longer-term support on housing, work, health care and schooling. The U.S. has agreed to accept up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, and resettlement agencies can use all the help they can get. Deep cuts during the Trump administration led them to slash staffing and programming, and they’re already helping tens of thousands of refugees from Afghanistan following last year’s Taliban takeover.