All Stories

May 31, 2016

HIAS CEO Warns US is “Falling Short” on Refugee Protection in Letter to New York Times

In a letter to the editor published online on May 31 and in print on June 1 by the New York Times, HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield takes a critical look at the Obama administration's record on refugee protection.

Read More
May 31, 2016

Ben Saw Refugees on TV and Wanted to Help. What He Learned Next Changed Everything.

Svitavsky immigrated from St. Petersburg, Russia with her family in 1977. Like many refugees fleeing the Soviet Union at that time, they came with help from HIAS. Yet somehow the topic never came up with her children, who had no idea about their mother’s own refugee story until her son Ben brought up the topic himself.

Read More
May 25, 2016

Stakes are High, and Personal, in Supreme Court Immigration Case

The fate of over 4 million immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers currently residing in the United States is now in the hands of the Supreme Court, writes HIAS Refugee Policy Intern Eden Siskind.

Read More
May 23, 2016

From Refugee to Lawyer, Kurt Shaffert Fled WWII and Found His American Dream

Born in Vienna in 1929 to a Jewish family, Kurt Shaffert and his family fled to America when he was only 10 years old. “When they arrived in New York, they really had nothing,” said Robin Shaffert, Kurt’s daughter. “He never forgot what that was like–and he never forgot the help that his family got from HIAS.”

Read More
May 20, 2016

Ukraine Remembers the Crimean Tatar Genocide

In 1944, nearly 200,000 Crimean Tatars, a Turkic ethnic minority, were unjustly accused of aiding and abetting the Nazi regime and ordered by Joseph Stalin to be forcibly expelled from their homeland to remote areas of the Soviet Union. On May 18, 2016, Ukraine held ceremonies to remember the Crimean Tatar people who lost their homes and their lives.

Read More
May 19, 2016

HIAS Statement to the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration

Comments regarding the U.S. refugee admissions program for fiscal year 2017, submitted by HIAS to the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

Read More
May 17, 2016

Guest Post: We Have a Refugee Crisis in America, Too.

Stories of the European refugee crisis continue to flood the headlines, but mass media seems to forget we have a refugee crisis in America, too. Since the beginning of fiscal year 2014, over 120,000 unaccompanied children have arrived at the U.S. border seeking protection from violence in Central America.

Read More
May 12, 2016

Will Kenya Shutter the World’s Largest Refugee Camp and Displace Thousands?

Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, is home to more than 344,000 refugees. If it were a city, it would be Kenya’s third largest. On Wednesday, the Kenyan Interior Ministry announced plans to close the camp by November. The announcement has raised significant concerns from local and international refugee protection organizations.

Read More
May 10, 2016

Step 1: Flee Anti-Semitism. Step 2: Get Famous. Step 3: Change the World.

Before she was the face of AT&T and the founder of Can’t Do Nothing, a non-profit dedicated to getting people engaged with the Syrian refugee crisis, Milana Vayntrub was a refugee herself. She explains why she can’t do nothing, and you shouldn’t either.

Read More
May 6, 2016

Update From Ecuador: “People Here Have Not Lost Their Warmth and Hope”

“A disaster of this scale really takes a toll, not only on the victims but on the responders. It’s not easy to be in the field and see this kind of sadness,” said Sabrina Lustgarten, director of HIAS Ecuador. “Our goal is to support those doing this very difficult emergency work, to prevent burnout and enable them to continue to respond effectively.”

Read More
HIAS-big-cta-1

Give Now

Help HIAS provide vital services to refugees and asylum seekers around the world

Donate Now

Search HIAS