FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Resettlement agencies, Afghan-American organizations, businesses, veterans, faith leaders, human rights organizations, governors, mayors, and more also involved in nationwide, bipartisan effort Arlington, VA— The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants joins a new national organization called Welcome.US to mobilize the American people to welcome our new Afghan neighbors. Welcome.US provides a single […]
Category: Policy and Advocacy
USCRI Snapshot: Humanitarian Parole for Afghan Evacuees
The Biden Administration is currently evacuating tens of thousands of Afghans from Kabul. Many Afghans are entering the United States on “humanitarian parole,” which allows individuals in urgent situations to enter the United States when they are not otherwise eligible. This Policy Snapshot by USCRI explains parole in the immigration context, the role of humanitarian […]
USCRI Urges the Current Administration to Continue Evacuations from Afghanistan
August 24, 2021 Arlington, VA– This very moment, tens of thousands of Afghans are desperately trying to flee the fundamentalist and oppressive rule of the Taliban, and resettle in the United States. Yet, the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, particularly in the capital city of Kabul, has made it extremely challenging for any American-affiliated or […]
Not a Numbers Game: Human Faces of the Crisis in Afghanistan
Many of us have been shaken by recent news of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. As news outlets report staggering numbers of people in danger, it can be easy to decontextualize those large figures from the humans they reflect. USCRI, and other refugee resettlement agencies and human rights organizations across the United States, have received […]
Afghan Mother Pleads for her Children’s Safety
Suneeta, an Afghan woman living as a lawful permanent resident in Albany, New York, has four children who live in Kabul, Afghanistan, aged seventeen, fifteen, nine, and seven. Suneeta’s husband, the father of her children, worked with the U.S. Military as an interpreter and Team Leader with the security forces at Camp Eggers. He disappeared […]
Cornered by Conflict: Eritrean Refugees in Northern Ethiopia Need Resettlement in a Safe Third Country
Eritrean refugees remaining in Tigray and other parts of northern Ethiopia are in danger. Various state and regional actors in the ongoing conflict in Tigray view these refugees with suspicion or outright hostility. First-hand witnesses, corroborated by other credible sources, report that Eritrean refugees have been subject to harassment, beatings, forced removal and refoulement, abductions, […]
Ethnic Cleansing or Genocide? Either Way, the World Must Act to Prevent Further Atrocities in Tigray
The Tigray region of Ethiopia is under siege, with Ethiopian and Eritrean forces at war with the armed forces of the Tigray Regional Government, a group fighting for the region’s autonomy under the current Ethiopian Constitution. The violence has caused massive displacement in the region, both of Eritrean refugees previously in Tigray, and of Tigrayans […]
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) Backgrounder: Cameroon
After many years of being considered one of Africa’s more peaceful countries, Cameroon is now struggling with the combined threats of a civil war in the south, terrorist attacks in the north, increasing political corruption, and the negative impacts of climate change. As a result, Cameroon is seeing high numbers of internally displaced persons within […]
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants’ Statement on the Arrival of the First Afghan Allies
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants commends the Biden administration for facilitating the safe arrival of the first Afghan allies early this morning. Additionally, we are grateful to U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy, Jeanne Shaheen, and Richard Shelby, for swiftly passing H.R. 3237 last night, and U.S. Representatives Steny Hoyer, Jason Crow, Seth Moulton, and […]
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) Backgrounder: Myanmar
A military coup on February 1, 2021, has stalled both Myanmar’s economy and its slow progress toward democratization. It is also worsening displacement trends in a country that was already the source of one of the most serious refugee crises in the world. Since the coup, thousands have fled their homes as the Tatmadaw military […]
