ARLINGTON, VA—Today, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants announced its new office that brings critical legal assistance to migrants in the San Diego-Tijuana region. USCRI staff will work on both sides of the US-Mexico border, in partnership with Mexico’s Habesha Project. USCRI’s office will focus on legal aid to help migrants in claims […]
Category: Policy and Advocacy
Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Refugee Girls’ Education Part II of II: Solutions for Equal Access
Part I of this brief discussed the barriers refugee girls face to continuing their education in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The barriers fall into three main categories: financial issues, gendered norms about the value of educating girls, and outright gender-based and sexual violence. Part II focuses on solutions, not only to […]
Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Refugee Girls’ Education Part I of II: Barriers to Equal Access
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken 1.6 billion students out of classrooms around the globe. Although students everywhere are struggling to access education during the pandemic, the problem is especially exacerbated for girls. Girls in lower-income countries face unique challenges both in getting to school and in staying enrolled. These challenges include everything from lack of […]
Moving Forward: Statement by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants on the Election
by Eskinder Negash President and CEO Today, with the election behind us and the votes tabulated, America is moving forward. Our vote is our most sacrosanct exercise of American democracy. It is the people’s voice. It is with our vote that we choose who will represent us for the next two years, the next six […]
USCRI Announces A New “Know Your Rights” Toolkit
USCRI’s Know Your Rights toolkit includes a guide for survivors of trafficking and asylum seekers to help them navigate law and immigration enforcement. The contents include: General tips On the street At home In a vehicle If detained Cannabis (marijuana) There is also a handy wallet-sized version in English, Spanish, French, Russian and Ukrainian. Click […]
URGENT ACTION: Keep America’s Refugee Resettlement Program Alive!
The refugee admissions goal for next fiscal year was just officially set at 15,000—the lowest level in U.S. history—and is restricting refugee arrivals based on limited categories of persecution and country of origin, meaning even fewer than 15,000 refugees will actually be resettled. The United States has long been a leader in refugee resettlement, but […]
USCRI Calls for DHS Investigation of the Unlawful Detention of Unaccompanied Children in Hotels
Nelson Mandela wrote, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than how it treats its children.” The United States continues to lose its way in how we treat the unaccompanied children fleeing the intractable violence, endemic poverty, and widespread lawlessness of the countries located in the Northern Triangle—Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. […]
Join USCRI in the National Refugee Day of Action: Make Your Voice Heard
National Refugee Day of Action Monday, October 26, 2020 Background: The Trump administration has proposed the lowest refugee admissions goal in history — just 15,000 refugees in FY 2021. To make matters worse, the administration is not resettling refugees based on their vulnerability. Instead, the administration’s roadmap for resettlement is based on very restrictive categories […]
Learning from COVID-19: An Early Analysis of “Pain Points” in Congregate Care for Unaccompanied Children in Pandemic
Readers will be well aware that the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing. While many scientific questions about COVID-19 remain, scientists and public-health officials are reasonably certain about a number of aspects of the virus. Transmission is primarily airborne. Individuals have several days between contracting the virus and becoming symptomatic. A large proportion of people afflicted with [...]
USCRI Statement on the President’s Report to Congress on the Proposed Refugee Admission for FY2021
ARLINGTON, VA – The President’s Report to Congress on the Proposed Refugee Ceiling for FY 2021 calling for a maximum of 15,000 refugees to enter the U.S. is a serious and consequential action that significantly weakens the longstanding global humanitarian leadership role of the United States. The report, required to be submitted to Congress preceding […]
