Gideon Aronoff Elected Chair of National Immigration Forum: Organization is leading immigrant advocacy group in country

Posted on Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 15:16 pm

(New York, NY)– Gideon Aronoff, President & CEO of HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, today was elected chair of the National Immigration Forum, the leading immigrant advocacy organization in the United States. Established in 1982, the Forum advocates for immigrants and immigration, and seeks to maintain the traditions of safe, legal, and orderly immigration that strengthens the nation.

As chair, Aronoff will take the lead position on the board of directors – comprised of advocacy leaders

HIAS Praises Report Exposing Anti-Immigration Groups as Vehicles of Racist Fringe

Posted on Fri, Feb 06, 2009 at 15:24 pm

(New York, NY)– Gideon Aronoff, President & CEO of HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, today praised the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for their report that exposes three organizations responsible for blocking comprehensive immigration reform in 2007 and earlier, as part of a network of groups created by John Tanton, a retired Michigan ophthalmologist who has been at the heart of the movement to reduce or eliminate legal immigration and refugee resettlement for decades.

“This report

Progress By Pesach Launches Call For Immediate Immigration Reform: Grassroots campaign taps pro-immigration sentiment in America

Posted on Thu, Jan 29, 2009 at 15:27 pm

(New York, NY)– For far too long, immigration issues have been seen as the “third rail” of legislative life in Washington, DC. As of today, HIAS is leading a long list of national and local Jewish organizations in making “not passing legislation the third rail of Washington politics,” according to Gideon Aronoff, President & CEO of HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community.

Placing immigration reform at the top of the new government’s agenda is the goal of

HIAS Helps Israel Establish Refugee Guidelines for Growing Number of Arriving Africans

Posted on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 15:29 pm

(Tel Aviv, Israel)– In one of the great ironies of 21st century life, Israel, established 60 years ago as a refuge for the tattered remnants of Europe’s Jewry, has now become a destination for Africans fleeing conflict in places like Darfur and the horn of Africa. Since late 2005, when an Israeli court determined that those seeking refuge in Israel could no longer be automatically detained – at roughly the same time that Egyptian police massacred Sudanese refugees demonstrating in

No Longer Your Grandparents' HIAS

Posted on Fri, Dec 05, 2008 at 15:29 pm

(New York, NY)— Mia Farrow, renowned actress and activist, presented HIAS board members and friends with a high-level briefing on the humanitarian crisis in Chad yesterday at an event that highlighted HIAS’ non-traditional refugee work. As the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, HIAS not only works with Jewish refugees wherever they are in trouble, but is the only Jewish organization with staff on the ground in Chad providing Darfuri refugees with much needed psycho-social services.

Farrow, who is

HIAS Applauds Signing of SSI Extension Into Law: Measure will help thousands of elderly and disabled Jewish refugees

Posted on Thu, Oct 02, 2008 at 15:39 pm

(Washington, D.C.)– HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, applauds the President for signing the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act. As a result, tens of thousands of humanitarian migrants – including elderly and/or disabled Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union – who have lost their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) because they were not able to become citizens within seven years of entering the United States, will now qualify for two or three

HIAS Lauds Passage of Religious Worker Visa Program Extension

Posted on Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 15:40 pm

(Washington, D.C.)– HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, applauds the passage of a bill this weekend extending the Religious Worker Visa Program (RWVP), portions of which were scheduled to expire on September 30. The RWVP is extended through March 6, 2009, when several other immigration provisions also will be considered for a longer extension.

Under this important program, up to 5,000 permanent immigrant visas are available each year for religious workers employed by a broad range of religious denominations and organizations.

HIAS Lauds Today's House Passage of SSI Extension: Measure will help thousands of elderly and disabled Jewish refugees

Posted on Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 15:46 pm

(Washington, D.C.)– HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, applauds the House of Representatives for passing the SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act today. The legislation now moves to the White House for the President’s signature.

Once the legislation is signed into law, tens of thousands of humanitarian migrants – including aged and/or disabled Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union – who have lost their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will qualify for two additional years

Midwest Summit Mobilizes Faith Community for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Posted on Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 15:47 pm

(Columbus, OH)– Faith-based leaders and advocates from more than 20 religious denominations and 17 states met late last week at the Midwest Interfaith Immigration Summit in Columbus, Ohio to learn how to engage and mobilize their communities in support of fair and humane immigration reform. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a partnership of faith-based organizations committed to enacting comprehensive immigration reform , and local partners convened the Midwest Summit to stress the importance of the faith community as a moral voice

HIAS Lauds Senate Passage of SSI Extension: Measure would help thousands of elderly and disabled Jewish refugees at risk

Posted on Fri, Aug 01, 2008 at 15:52 pm

(Washington, D.C.)– HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, applauds the Senate’s passage of a bill yesterday extending Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for disabled and elderly refugees. HIAS is particularly gratified because when this bill becomes law among its primary beneficiaries will be the aging Russian-Jewish émigré community in the U.S. – a population that HIAS has worked tirelessly to protect through years of intensive advocacy work at the grass-roots, local, regional, and national levels.

“This is the most encouraging sign