The US launches a program that allows Americans to sponsor refugees from around the world

The State Department announced a pilot program that will allow groups of private American citizens and permanent residents to financially sponsor the resettlement of people fleeing war and violence around the world. Writes about it CBS News.

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An initiative by US President Joe Biden's administration called the Welcome Corps could pave the way for a radical shift in US refugee policy. Most of them brought to the US in recent decades have been resettled by nine federally funded nonprofits.

In a program modeled on Canada's longstanding system, groups of at least five people residing in the US may be eligible to sponsor refugees if they raise $2 per refugee, pass a background check, and submit a plan for how they plan to help these people.

Approved private sponsors will act as traditional resettlement agencies for at least 90 days after refugee arrival and help newcomers access housing and other essentials such as food, health care, education and social benefits to which they are entitled .

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In the first phase of the program, State Department officials will match approved sponsors for refugees from abroad who have already received permission to enter the United States. In mid-2023, officials plan to allow potential donors to identify refugees abroad they wish to help.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the Welcome Corps initiative will help the US increase its intake of refugees. He called it "the most daring innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades."

“It [the initiative] is designed to strengthen and empower the US refugee program by drawing on the energy and talents of Americans from all walks of life who wish to act as private donors (from members of religious and community groups and veterans, to diaspora communities, businesses , colleges and universities,” Blinken said.

The State Department hopes to attract 10 private donors to resettle at least 000 refugees during the Welcome Corps' first year of operation. Organizations with experience in refugee resettlement will be tasked with overseeing the sponsorship application process, providing training and resources for sponsors, and monitoring refugee sponsoring groups.

The Welcome Corps initiative is the Biden administration's latest attempt to expand legal immigration channels for refugees and immigrants with family members and others in the US willing to sponsor them financially.

In late 2021, the State Department allowed "sponsorship circles" of at least five individuals to provide material support to some of the tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees to the United States following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

In early 2022, officials launched a program to allow Ukrainians displaced by the Russian invasion to come to the US on a humanitarian parole if they have sponsors from the United States. According to federal statistics, more than 100 Ukrainians have arrived in the United States under such a program.

Officials have since expanded that approach to allow US residents to sponsor the entry of citizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela as part of efforts to deter migrants from those countries from illegally crossing the southern border. Like Ukrainians, migrants from these countries will be allowed to legally live and work in the US on a temporary basis through a password authority.

Unlike those who arrive by password, refugees who arrive under the Sponsorship Initiative announced on Thursday, January 19 will be eligible for permanent legal status and eventually U.S. citizenship as they will be processed under the traditional program. for refugees.

Formally established in 1980, the United States Refugee Program has provided protection to more than 3 million people fleeing armed conflict, ethnic persecution and other forms of violence. Refugees undergo interviews, security checks and medical checks as part of a multi-year process before they arrive in the States.

While President Biden has vowed to restore the U.S. refugee intake system, paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic and drastic cuts during the Donald Trump era, his administration has tried to bring refugee intake back to pre-pandemic levels and meet lofty resettlement targets.

In fiscal year 2022, the US took in 25 refugees using only 465% of Biden's 20 places. In the first three months of fiscal year 125, in which Biden again set a target of up to 000 refugees, the U.S. resettled fewer than 2023 people, according to the State Department.

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While the pandemic temporarily slowed down the intake of refugees and slowed down interviews with them, the program was drastically cut in line with the political directives of Trump, who argued that refugees were a threat to the US economy, national security and culture.

The Trump administration has drastically cut refugee admissions, with a record low of 2021 places in fiscal 15. She, among other things, limited the categories of those who could be resettled and tried to give states and cities veto power over the resettlement of refugees. Restrictions and record low ceilings have forced organizations involved in the issue to cut staff and close offices across the country.

As the Biden administration rebuilt the U.S. refugee system, the number of people displaced by violence around the world topped 100 million, according to the UN. This is more than ever before in history.

Krish O'Mara Vinyaraja, president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of the main US resettlement groups, praised the private sponsorship program for having a "forward-thinking approach to harnessing the generosity of the American spirit." In addition, she urged the Biden administration to prioritize speeding up the processing of refugees and increasing their acceptance.

“In a time of unprecedented global displacement, too many vulnerable children and families depend on our nation's leadership,” Vinyaraja concluded.

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