Assisting refugees
I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. - Matthew 25:35b
Nearly 40 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. We are also working to ensure that refugees and displaced persons abroad receive the assistance and protection they need.
CWS offers assistance to Haitian TPS applicants
Church World Service welcomes the U.S. government's extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians. "This will be an important component of a comprehensive U.S. humanitarian response to the current crisis in Haiti," said Erol Kekic, Director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee Program.
CWS advises any Haitian wishing to apply for Temporary Protected Status to seek legal counsel, as there are important eligibility requirements and filing deadlines that must be met. Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited staff at the CWS Miami, Florida, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, offices and CWS's 15 affiliate offices that are BIA-recognized to provide immigration legal services are prepared to assist with TPS applications. Potential applicants, especially those outside those offices' service areas, also may consult the U.S. Department of Justice website for a BIA-recognized and accredited service provider in their area. In the meantime, click here for the best and most up-to-date source of information.
To view this information in Creole, see CWS Enfòmasyon: Estati Tanporè Pwoteje pou Ayiti.
Speak Out to say, "Immigration reform cannot wait!"
Decisions are being made during these next few weeks on whether immigration reform will be taken up in the House and Senate this year. NOW is the time for the pro-immigrant and refugee resettlement community to send a loud and clear message to their Senators and Representatives that immigration reform cannot wait. Our nation needs immigration reform that reunites families, protects all workers and provides a way for undocumented immigrants to earn their legal status. If we can't get immigration reform this year, we are unlikely to see an opportunity to do so for another three years. Click here for ways that you and your community can be involved to help pass immigration reform and protect the rights of all immigrants, refugees and displaced people.
CWS special: Iraqi refugee chef Zina's biryani recipe
Zina Alkubaisy making biryani
Photo: CWS/Lancaster, Pennsylvania
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Zina Alkubaisy, a refugee from Iraq, has been in the United States only since May, but she already is getting to be known as "Chef Zina." She is the premiere chef in the new "Recipes with Refugees" cooking class series launched by her sponsor, the Church World Service Refugee Resettlement Program in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Alkubaisy already has demonstrated how to make biryani and other traditional Iraqi dishes at "Recipes with Refugees" events in York and Harrisburg, Pa., with more such events to come. Attendees receive recipes and a shopping list for the ingredients.
Watch a video of Chef Zina and get her biryani recipe »
CWS network resettles 6,428 refugees in Fiscal Year 2009
Global humanitarian agency Church World Service resettled 6,428 refugees to the United States in FY 2009, a more than 30 percent increase over FY 2008.
This is about 8.6 percent of total U.S. arrivals of 74,652 during the fiscal year (October 1, 2008 - September 30, 2009), with FY 2010 arrivals forecast to be just as high, marking a return at last to pre-9/11 levels. Read more »
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CWS/IRP monthly newsletter
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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 » | Watch a trailer on YouTube
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