Since our last newsletter, the Policy & Advocacy team has continued to spotlight urgent refugee and immigration issues through research, advocacy, and public engagement. The team collaborated with USCRI’s Refugee Health team to emphasize the importance of strong health coverage through Refugee Medical Assistance. We issued a statement urging DHS to withdraw a proposed rule that would effectively halt asylum seekers’ access to work permits. The […]
Category: Policy and Advocacy
Education Interrupted: Refugee Children in Burundi Fight for Their Future
By: Victoria Walker, USCRI Policy Analyst With thanks to Gaspard Atibu, Chairman of the Legal Refugee Center (LRC) and to the LRC Burundi Team for informing this reporting. LRC is a nonprofit humanitarian organization founded in April 2023 in the United States by a former Burundian refugee. Operating in Burundi, Tanzania, South Africa, and Ghana, […]
USCRI Latin America and the Caribbean launches new call to expand higher education pathways for refugees to study in Mexico
On May 1, USCRI Latin America and the Caribbean, together with the Shapiro Foundation, launched a new call for Habesha Project applications, reaffirming a shared commitment to support refugees as they rebuild their lives through higher education. At a time when opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers are shrinking globally, access to education remains one of the strongest pathways to long-term stability, […]
Meet the Congresswoman Behind U.S. Refugee Law
As Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman steered the 1980 Refugee Act through the House of Representatives, partnering with Senator Ted Kennedy to drive the bill to final passage. The landmark legislation fundamentally reshaped American immigration law, allowing the United States to welcome more than three […]
LEARNING TO CALL A NEW PLACE HOME
Mary, Taban, Yar and Nun – students of the Habesha Project – have built a new way to call “home” a country that was once unknown to them. Since their arrival in Mexico, students from South Sudan who lived in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, have faced the impact of living in a country so […]
Refugee Medical Assistance: A Strong Start Requires Strong Health Coverage
As refugees begin rebuilding their lives in the United States, access to reliable medical coverage is essential to give them the best chance at success. The 2025 reduction of Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) from 12 months to four months undermines refugees’ ability to achieve medical stability, economic self-sufficiency, and successful integration, while increasing long-term public costs. In [...]
April 29: A Supreme Court Case That Could Uproot Millions
By: Victoria Walker, Policy Analyst On April 29, 2026, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will go before the U.S. Supreme Court. On paper, the case may appear to be another set of briefs, another date on the calendar, but for hundreds of thousands of people living in the United States under TPS, this moment could mean […]
Policy and Advocacy Newsletter: April 23, 2026
Since our last newsletter, the Policy & Advocacy team marked three years of war in Sudan by highlighting the expansive suffering from the world’s largest displacement crisis. USCRI also reflected on the promise of Kenya’s Shirika Plan, a critical initiative to promote the inclusion of refugees in Kenya. USCRI also spoke with the International Institute of New England’s President, Jeff Theilman, to understand how they […]
Situation Update: Iran April 2026
Ten Issues Reshaping the Humanitarian Landscape By Will Evans, Policy Analyst Over one month into the conflict, a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis is emerging in Iran and the surrounding region. The Iran war that began on February 28, 2026, has created the largest energy supply disruption in modern history, which is having cascading humanitarian impacts far beyond the […]
From the Archives – Never Again, Still a Broken Promise
By Alexia Gardner, Policy Analyst, and Benjamin Leong, International Programs Intern (Fall and Winter 2026) Despite clear evidence of genocide in Rwanda, the United States failed to act. Today, this failure echoes. Content Note: This piece includes descriptions of violence and atrocities related to the Rwandan Genocide, including firsthand accounts from a former staff member who was in Rwanda for […]
