Through our network of local resettlement partners, HIAS welcomes resettled refugees and helps them build their lives in communities across the United States.
The Biden administration’s new Welcome Corps initiative represents a breakthrough in advancing private refugee sponsorship in the United States — but is by no means the first program of its kind in North America. The American initiative, according to HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield, in fact drew inspiration from a similar program in Canada.
HIAS, the international Jewish humanitarian organization that provides critical services to forcibly displaced people, is organizing the fifth annual Refugee Shabbat to take place February 3-4, 2023. The initiative encourages Jewish congregations, community organizations, and individuals across the United States and around the world to dedicate a Shabbat experience to raising awareness about the global displacement crisis, and to reaffirm support for refugees and asylum seekers and take action at a time when the right to seek asylum is being severely abridged in the U.S. and around the world.
In an appearance on “CNN Newsroom” on Friday morning, HIAS President and CEO Mark Hetfield praised the Welcome Corps, a new Biden administration initiative that allows Americans to privately sponsor refugees from around the world. The initiative resembles what HIAS has been doing through its own Welcome Circles, starting with Afghan evacuees in 2021.
Welcome Corps, the first U.S. government program supporting private refugee sponsorship in nearly 40 years, will allow Americans to privately sponsor refugees from around the world.
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.
Twenty years ago there was a critical gap in resettlement case processing for refugees who sought safety in Kenya after fleeing from discrimination and violence. Now HIAS Kenya has seen the number of staff grow from the initial 10 people to 127.
HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees, has opened new country offices in Moldova, Poland, and Romania to step up its assistance to people displaced by the war in Ukraine. In addition, new offices in Honduras and Guatemala will position the organization to provide services to a growing population of refugees and asylum seekers in Central America.