I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. - Matthew 25:35b

Nearly 35 million people around the world are uprooted from their homes and communities by persecution and armed conflict. The Immigration and Refugee Program of Church World Service (CWS/IRP) is an ecumenical family empowering churches to show hospitality to strangers, that is, to immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and other uprooted people in the United States and around the world. CWS/IRP resettles about 8,000 refugees and entrants in the United States each year, and also helps meet the needs of people in protracted refugee situations and refugees returning home.

CWS/IRP Newsroom

• Vesna Vila: Former pediatrician now helps refugees heal from trauma
• Viktor Sokolyuk: "To help others: an American principle"
• Miami Office fundraising dinner a celebration of lives saved

Special Features

• Now available - CWS resources for World Refugee Day, June 20, 2008
• Refugee stories from across the decades: CWS's 60 years of resettlement
• Resources on refugees from Bhutan / Burma / Burundi / Iraq and more
• Books, films, and more about refugees, immigrants, and detention - just updated!

Take action on policy decisions affecting immigration and refugees.

A Future with Hope: Welcoming Refugees Video (DVD)
The new CWS DVD “A Future with Hope: Welcoming Refugees” (running time: 15:25) inspires and challenges viewers to extend friendship and practical assistance to refugees resettling in the United States. Order online »

Read about our work in our monthly newsletter, Welcome (PDF file)
Welcome (formerly Monday) archive • Get Acrobat Reader

World Refugee Survey 2007
The annual survey by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants offers comprehensive statistics on sources and host countries for refugees.

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