On September 29, President Biden set the refugee admissions ceiling at 125,000 for the coming fiscal year. Forced displacement from war, persecution, and violence continues to trend upward across the world. Millions of Afghans, Ukrainians, and Venezuelans remain displaced from instability in their home countries. The crisis in Sudan and other sources of fragility, conflict, […]
Author: USCRI
Policy Brief: Her Dreams to Achieve: Ensuring Protection and Education for Refugee Girls
In August and September 2023, USCRI Policy Analyst Victoria Walker travelled to Kenya to visit both Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps with an aim to better understand the experiences of refugee children in the camps and to examine access to education and child protection services within the camps. This week’s Policy and Advocacy report presents […]
TPS Afghanistan Decision Expands Critical Temporary Protections for Afghans
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) welcomes today’s decision by the Biden administration to extend and redesignate Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The extension will continue protections for at least 3,100 Afghan beneficiaries of the current TPS designation in the United States. The redesignation will offer the protections of TPS— including protection […]
Policy Brief: Searching for Hope in the Mediterranean Dashed by EU’s Shirking Responsibility
In this week’s Policy and Advocacy Report, in anticipation of an upcoming field visit to better understand the plight of asylum seekers along the Eastern Mediterranean route and their integration in Greece, Policy Analyst Aaron Nodjomian-Escajeda provides background information on migration in the region as well as its associated policies and challenges. Click here to read […]
After Our Allies Were Welcomed: Chronicling the Afghan Resettlement Response Since 2021
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) released its comprehensive report following the two-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The report titled “After Our Allies Were Welcomed: Chronicling the Afghan Resettlement Response Since 2021” analyzes the successes and challenges of Afghan resettlement and integration in the two years since the beginning of […]
Refugee Program Must Strengthen Protections for Climate-Displaced Persons, USCRI and Others Urge
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is joining other refugee resettlement and policy organizations to call for stronger protection pathways for climate-displaced persons, including through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. In a September 7 letter to President Biden, refugee resettlement and policy leaders urged the use of existing mechanisms to extend protections to […]
Take Action: Support the Afghan Adjustment Act
The Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) is a bipartisan bill that would provide a pathway to permanent residency to Afghans who were evacuated to the United States following the fall of Kabul in August 2021. It would also strengthen our commitment to Afghans left behind in Afghanistan and those remaining in third countries. The AAA was […]
Country Conditions in Afghanistan Warrant TPS Redesignation, Extension
Two years ago this week, the U.S. government began Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) to resettle tens of thousands of Afghans across the United States. It also ended the non-combatant evacuation operation to airlift at-risk Afghans from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Country conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated in the intervening two years of […]
Never Again and Never Forget the Rohingya Genocide
Today marks Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. Six years ago, violence and persecution related to the so-called “clearance operation” by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. During this time, numerous human rights abuses were committed against the Rohingya population. The events of 2017 follow decades of persecution […]
Welcome New USCRI Erie Staff
A hallmark of the resettlement services at USCRI Erie is that staff members can offer cultural and language supports that reflect the current refugee populations. New staff members include: Abdullah Ahmadzai arrived in Erie in July 2022 with his wife, infant daughter, and mother after being evacuated from Afghanistan, and spending eight months in a […]