As part of the largest shift in the U.S. Program for Displaced People since 1980, the Biden administration is asking private citizens to sponsor refugees from all over the world who are settling in the United States.
The “Welcome Corps” initiative was launched last week. It allows ordinary Americans to handle financial and logistical commitments to refugees arriving in the United States. Similar programs are already in place in several other countries , such as Canada or Australia.
Alight is a member of a group of non-profit organizations that receive federal funding to train, recruit and support volunteers from community centers and book clubs for the American Pilot Program.
“This is an amazing opportunity for the U.S., to see what it looks to be the kind of country that welcomes refugees, that’s capable to provide safe haven, opportunity, and a pathway towards a rich, desirable future for those that have suffered such trauma, or have faced such hardship in life,” Alight CEO Jocelyn Wyatt said to NPR’s A Martinez.
“And so, this is an opportunity for America to be as generous and caring as we know we can as a nation.”
Welcome Corps is a continuation of other recent emergency programs overseen by Department of Homeland Security. These initiatives have supported Afghan refugees and Ukrainian asylum seekers, as well as expedited processes for Cubans.
The DHS programs provide only temporary support. Welcome Corps, however, supports permanent resettlement.
Wyatt stated that many of these refugees had been waiting for years, if they weren’t decades, to be resettled from countries like Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
She said, “This is an amazing opportunity to really transition people out of refugee camp into more permanent resettlement options in a country such as the United States where so many refugees have such strong desire to move to and settle in.”
American hosts undergo vetting and are trained. They also receive regular monitoring and check in meetings with refugee groups.
A minimum of five people must sponsor a refugee family. They will need to raise $2275 for each refugee’s first three months in the country to cover their needs, such as furniture and apartment deposits.
Private sponsors will be able to identify refugees in need abroad by mid-2023.
Hosts are responsible for helping refugees connect with local services and housing.
In the first year, the State Department expects to find at least 10,000 Americans willing to sponsor 5,000 refugees. The response so far has been positive.
WelcomeCorps.org received 28,000 unique visitors and 62,000 pageviews in its first 24 hour, according to the Community Sponsorship Hub. This is the organization that oversees the implementation of the program.
According to the group, more than 4,000 people registered for more information.
Anatoliy Cherednichenko is an Alight guide and aids hosts with Ukrainian refugees. “And because of our insider perspective, the American sponsors can also benefit from it so they have some insight.”
While the hosts will facilitate refugees’ arrivals and increase U.S. ability to accept them, it will be the non-profit organizations that will lead resettlement efforts.
The U.S. received approximately 25,000 refugees in the fiscal year 2022 — only 20% of all the available slots. The administration set a new target of 125,000 refugees for the current fiscal year that began on October 1. In December however, only 6,750 refugees arrived in the three months.
According to partner organizations, the Welcome Corps provides many benefits to hosts.
Wyatt spoke of hosts who helped refugees in temporary programs.
“They have formed such strong, meaningful and long-lasting relationships with refugees and new arrivals that we expect them to continue these relationships for many years.”
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