HIAS is opposing a proposal by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that would once again raise certain immigration and naturalization fees to fund asylum and refugee processing. As the Jewish nonprofit dedicated to welcoming the stranger and protecting forcibly displaced persons, HIAS calls on the United States government to prioritize the protection of refugees and asylum seekers, and to fund that system appropriately, rather than continuing to rely on fees paid by immigrants, work visa holders and their employers who will have to pay a new $600 “Asylum Program Fee Surcharge” to cover the cost of the United States fulfilling its obligations under the International Refugee Convention.
In a moment when asylum seekers and other migrants are frequently regarded as threats, HIAS and T’ruah brought rabbis to the U.S.-Mexico border to speak to the moral imperative at the heart of this issue: recognizing the humanity of those seeking safety in the United States.
2022 will likely be remembered in the refugee world as one of the worst crises ever, as the war in Ukraine continues to shape the global response to millions of displaced people. Take a look back at the Ukraine crisis and other pivotal moments of the year.
Title 42, the public health order that was issued by the Trump administration at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that has stopped people from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border ever since, was blocked by a federal judge. Now what?
Since April 2022, tens of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants have been sent from Texas and Arizona to Washington, D.C., New York City, Chicago, and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. HIAS staff involved in the local and national response explain the situation and what HIAS is doing to help.
