Our legal team at the U.S.-Mexican border (USMBP) fights to protect the rights of migrants every day. Oftentimes, the USMBP is the only legal actor offering specialized representation, making us an essential presence on the frontier. For example, take a recent client from Iraq, who shall remain anonymous. This individual accidentally entered Mexican territory through […]
Category: USCRI Blog
VENEZUELAN YOUTH REAP THE REWARDS OF YEARS OF DEDICATED STUDY SINCE ARRIVING IN MEXICO
Here at USCRI, nothing motivates us more than seeing our Habesha Project students achieve their dreams. Two of our students from Venezuela – Robert and Annuris – have recently given us some big reasons to be inspired. Robert, who studies at la Universidad de las Artes in Aguascalientes, successfully defended his thesis, titled “The Migrant […]
THE EMPRENDE PRO MUJER PROGRAM LAUNCHES IN HONDURAS
After years of planning and hard work, USCRI Honduras has launched the Emprende Pro Mujer program in collaboration with Pro Mujer and the Mennonite Social Action Commission (CASM). As of now, this innovative program will have 120 beneficiaries – all of whom are women returnees from the coast of Honduras with microenterprises that they are […]
Queering Welcome: Brazil’s Approach to LGBTQ+ Rights and Refugees
Brazil has some of the world’s strongest legal protections for queer and trans people. Since 2013, same-sex couples have had equal rights to marriage and adoption as heterosexual couples. Trans citizens can change their government identity card to reflect their lived gender identity, and do not have to vote under their dead name. These protections […]
Building Community, Sharing Culture: USCRI Offices Celebrate World Refugee Day
World Refugee Day, observed annually on June 20, is a day dedicated to honoring the strength, courage, and resilience of refugees worldwide. It’s a time to raise awareness about the challenges refugees face and to celebrate their contributions to their new communities. USCRI field offices across the country held celebrations in their communities, raising awareness […]
USCRI Joins RCUSA for 2025 Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill
This week, alongside our partners at Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), USCRI spent two impactful days on Capitol Hill meeting with members of Congress and their staff to advocate for the rights and protections of refugees and immigrants. Constituents, former refugees, and longtime advocates shared their stories, opened up crucial conversations, and called for meaningful policy […]
For Lesbians, No Refuge in the Refugee Camp
In many places, love is persecuted: 65 countries criminalize same-sex relationships. Lesbians are particularly the target of cruelty: they are often hated both for being women and for being gay. Fearing torture, internment, and even death, many seek freedom elsewhere, leaving their lives and communities behind in hopes of finding safety. Refugee camps are meant […]
Climate Solutions in Refugee Camps
Last year was the hottest year on record on our planet. This unprecedented warming and extreme climate events, like high floods, extreme drought, and raging wildfires, forced people out of their homes and displaced communities. Some of these extreme climate events affected people who were already forcibly displaced. Climate events in displacement settings have acute […]
Situation Update: Sudan April 2025
The situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate as the country approaches two years in a civil war that has caused humanitarian catastrophe. War between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on April 15, 2023. Both sides have committed atrocities. In January 2025, the U.S. Department of State determined that […]
When Accounting for War Crimes, Include Refugee Voices
Lessons from Colombia to Reckon with the Syrian Civil War What Came Before In March of 2011, the Syrian Civil War began. Bashar al-Assad’s government responded to anti-regime protests with a campaign of cruelty, razing the city of Deraa and torturing dissidents. Defectors from Assad’s forces mounted the Free Syrian Army (FSA) while jihadist […]
