Refugee Status

Not All Members of Congress Recognize the Nation’s Role in Protecting Unaccompanied Minors

Not All Members of Congress Recognize the Nation’s Role in Protecting Unaccompanied Minors

The House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing today entitled, “Dangerous Passage: The Growing Problem of Unaccompanied Children Crossing the Border.” Committee members questioned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson on the growing humanitarian crisis at our southern border. Thousands of children from Central America… Read More

Child Refugees from Central America Need Protection, Not Deportation

Child Refugees from Central America Need Protection, Not Deportation

The reasons why so many unaccompanied children from Central American nations are trying to make their way to the United States are not simple. There are the abysmally high murder rates, escalating gang violence, and grinding poverty which prevail in some Central American countries. There are the… Read More

On World Refugee Day, Consider Today's Migrants Fleeing Violence

On World Refugee Day, Consider Today’s Migrants Fleeing Violence

Governments and organizations around the world mark June 20 by honoring refugees for their struggle and their contribution to their new country with World Refugee Day. As we tackle a humanitarian crisis at the southern border of the United States, this day is an important reminder of why we… Read More

American Boston Marathon Winner Came to U.S. as Refugee

American Boston Marathon Winner Came to U.S. as Refugee

For the first time in more than 30 years, an American man won the Boston marathon yesterday. Meb Keflezighi, a naturalized American citizen who came to the United States at age 12, finished the 26-mile race with a time of 2:08:37, his personal best. The 38-year-old Keflezighi is a… Read More

Celebrating a Legislative Victory for Refugees and Religious Freedom

Celebrating a Legislative Victory for Refugees and Religious Freedom

Iranian Jewish men pray during Hanukkah celebrations at the Yousefabad Synagogue in Tehran, Iran. BY MELANIE NEZER, HEBREW IMMIGRANT AID SOCIETY (HIAS) Tucked into the fiscal year 2012 spending bill the President signed before the holidays was an extension of a provision known as the “Lautenberg Amendment.”  The inclusion of the extension is good news for refugees seeking religious freedom at a time when Congress has deadlocked on immigration issues and legislative victories are few and far between. Read More

An Assessment of DNA Testing for African Refugees

An Assessment of DNA Testing for African Refugees

In March 2008, the Bureau of Population, Migration and Refugees (PRM)—the Department of State agency that processes refugees abroad—halted its family reunification program, known as Priority 3 (P3), because of concerns that there were high levels of fraud in the program. In September of… Read More

From Refugees to Americans: Thirty Years of Vietnamese Immigration to the United States

From Refugees to Americans: Thirty Years of Vietnamese Immigration to the United States

Thirty years after the fall of the Saigon government, Vietnamese Americans celebrate the fact that they have moved far beyond their refugee origins and become successful economic and political players in U.S. society. Read More

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