(CLEVELAND, OH) — A coalition of Middle Eastern Christians are calling on U.S. congressional leaders to send “direct aid” to religious minorities in countries impacted by ISIS.

Officials at In Defense of Christians (IDC), a DC-based advocacy group, say religious minorities in the Middle East are not receiving enough aid from the U.S. government.

According to IDC, USAID partners have reached only 24 percent of displaced populations residing outside of refugee camps.

Toufic Baaklini, founder of IDC, said U.S. foreign policy directly impacts Middle Eastern Christians.

“An advocacy group is most needed in DC and on (Capitol) Hill,” Baaklini said. “The policy (in the Middle East) is not going to make any difference, but in the United States, much more can get done.”

Baaklini, a Lebanese-American activist, said the organization is launching local advocacy groups in U.S. states to gather grassroots support and encourage Middle Eastern Christians in the U.S. to contact their members of Congress.

Baaklini said Middle Eastern Christians should urge their representative to join the ‘Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus.”

“This is one our latest projects to have better access to foreign policymakers,” Baaklini said.

The caucus is an official congressional member organization in the U.S. House of Representatives, which seeks to advocate for “besieged religious minorities” in the Middle East.

Baaklini believes the U.S. government should put sanctions on countries who are allegedly funding groups like ISIS.

“We ask the government to put pressure on Arab countries — people that we call allies — and some who are funding such groups,” he said. “Put sanctions on those countries and stop them from attacking Christians.”

Baaklini said IDC has gained momentum since hosting a nationwide summit in Washington, DC last year. He said the organization is seeking support from Americans at large.

“Our advocacy is with the American people,” he said. “This is a Christian country even though we don’t talk about it this way.”

IDC officials recently spoke to members of Skyline Church in San Diego, an evangelical Christian mega-church with more than 2,500 in attendance per week. Baaklini said they’re seeking more of these opportunities.

He added that Lebanese Christians play a major role in the organization because of Lebanon’s pluralistic culture.

“The rest of the Christians in the Arab world look for the Christians in Lebanon on a lot of these issues,” Baaklini said. “We are an example to many of them.”