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, […]
Category: Policy and Advocacy
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 […]
USCRI Policy Snapshot: The Future of DACA
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was created by President Obama in 2012 to allow certain people brought into the country without documentation as children to stay on a temporary basis. These people are often referred to as “Dreamers.” As of March 2021, there were more than 600,000 active DACA beneficiaries in the United […]
USCRI Policy Snapshot: Arriving Unaccompanied Children
Unaccompanied children (UCs) are minors who arrive in the United States without a parent or legal guardian and who do not hold legal immigration status. Typically, arriving UCs are placed into a network of shelters that are run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Shelter care providers offer temporary homes and services, including educational, […]
Safety and Fairness for Afghans under the Special Immigrant Visa Program
On June 4, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers and a group of over 70 NGOs, including the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), sent letters to President Biden urging him to protect U.S.- affiliated Afghans in the wake of U.S. troop withdrawal. Currently, around 18,000 Afghan nationals who have provided service to the U.S. […]
USCRI Policy Snapshot – Displacement In The Climate Change Era
On May 22, 2021, Mount Nyiragongo erupted near the densely populated city of Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lava flows advanced toward neighborhoods north of the city’s airport. Shortly after the volcanic eruption, officials were concerned about displacement to and from Sake, an area […]
Understanding Migration: Corruption, Poor Governance, and their Effects on Migration in Central America
On February 2, the Biden Administration announced an Executive Order to address the root causes of migration from Latin America. The Executive Order directed a small collective of officials to develop a plan “to address the root causes of migration, including by (A) combating corruption, strengthening democratic governance, and advancing the rule of law; (B) […]
