This paper is part of USCRI’s ongoing policy and advocacy work highlighting strengths and weaknesses in existing U.S. and international policy toward migration from climate-affected countries and possible policies or models to pursue in response. Through a series of bilateral treaties called the Compacts of Free Association, citizens of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau […]
Tag: Immigration
Lautenberg Program Fact Sheet
The Lautenberg Amendment allows citizens in former Soviet Union countries, including Ukraine, who are members of a religious minority group to join their family members living in the United States. These religious groups include Jews, Evangelical Christians, Ukrainian Catholics, and members of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and Greek Orthodox Church. The program created under […]
USCRI Policy Brief: TPD and TPS: The EU and the US Provide Immigration Protection
August 24 marks the six-month anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. Over 6.7 million Ukrainians have fled their country as refugees and another 6.6 million are internally displaced. The EU was fast-acting to protect refugees streaming out of Ukraine. Just over a week after the beginning of the invasion, the Council of the […]
Part 2 of USCRI’s Series: In Search of Safety
This week’s conversation about unaccompanied children is about the essential services provided by USCRI’s Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children (CRIC) following their release to parents and guardians. Vice President AnnaMarie Bena talks to Director Matt Haygood about the post-release needs of unaccompanied children on their immigration journey. In 2005, USCRI began providing services to […]
A Tragic Journey
This heartbreaking story is typical of the stories we hear from immigrants who have fled their homes in Central America and made it to the United States. Trigger Warning: violence, sexual abuse Jareth and his 11-year old daughter Noemi lived peacefully in a small city in Honduras. He worked the overnight shift at a bakery […]
The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021: USCRI Analysis
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) presents the following bill analysis of the U.S. Citizenship Act (USCA) of 2021. The Administration sent the USCA to Congress on January 20, 2021. On February 18, 2021, Representative Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38) and Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the USCA. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19), Lucille Roybal-Allard […]
USCRI Statement on President’s Executive Orders on Refugee Resettlement and Immigration
by Eskinder Negash USCRI is greatly encouraged by newly elected President’s actions to restore the country’s robust refugee resettlement program and other paths to immigration . The President has pledged to raise the annual refugee admissions ceiling from its historic low of 15,000 to 125,000 beginning next fiscal year. He has signed Executive Orders this […]
USCRI Statement on the Inauguration
by Eskinder Negash The solemn pageantry of America’s presidential inaugurations celebrates our long history of democratic transitions following elections. Despite the events of January 6th, the will of the people through a free and fair election has been honored, and we will once again witness the peaceful transfer of power. Democracy is not an […]
The U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services | Similar but Unequal
In early August 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), announced a final rule significantly raising the fees associated with certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests – by a weighted average of around 20 per cent.1 The agency included the decision to charge asylum seekers a $50 […]
USCRI Expands Work to Mexico in Partnership with Habesha Project
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 […]