HIAS Calls on Homeland Security to Stop Relying on Secret Evidence to Deny Refugees

Posted on Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 11:41 am

(New York, NY) -- HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, strongly supports the screening of refugees for security purposes, but calls upon the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reverse its trend of using secret evidence to delay, deny, and de-approve thousands of refugee applications worldwide. HIAS opposes DHS’s policy of withdrawing approval of hundreds of refugees and delaying thousands more without sharing the basis for the decisions.

The United States has a long and proud

HIAS Awarded Federal Grant for Citizenship Preparation Program: $600,000 Awarded from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Posted on Wed, Sep 21, 2011 at 14:58 pm

(New York, NY) – HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, has been selected to receive a grant totaling $600,000 as part of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 Citizenship and Integration National Capacity Building Grant Program. USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced that 42 organizations from 27 states and the District of Columbia have been selected to receive a total of $9 million in grants to promote citizenship education and immigrant integration in

HIAS Applauds the 108 Congressional Democrats and Republicans Urging Protection of Religious Minorities Who Flee Iran

Posted on Fri, Sep 16, 2011 at 13:57 pm

(New York, NY) – HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, applauds the action taken by 108 members of Congress, who late yesterday sent a letter to the leaders of the House of Representatives urging them to renew the Lautenberg Amendment, and looks forward to the quick reauthorization of this critical safety valve for Jews and other religious minorities.

The bi-partisan group, which included members of Congress from all over the country representing a wide range

HIAS Applauds Obama Administration on New Immigration Enforcement Policy

Posted on Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 11:11 am

(New York, NY) – HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, welcomes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announcement regarding immigration enforcement. DHS announced yesterday that it will implement an agency-wide expansion of prosecutorial discretion guidelines with the goal of allowing immigration officials to focus their enforcement efforts on targeting dangerous criminals. In addition, a joint committee will be created with the Department of Justice to review nearly 300,000 cases currently in removal proceedings and determine

HIAS Applauds Extension of DED for Liberians

Posted on Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 15:59 pm

(New York, NY) – HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, applauds the Obama Administration’s announcement earlier this week to extend Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberians in the United States. Without this extension, DED would have expired on September 30th – it now will continue through May 2013.

The U.S. government first granted Liberians temporary authorization to remain in the U.S. in the wake of the 1989 civil war in Liberia. For nearly 20

HIAS Scholarship Program 2011 Distributes $330,000 to 139 Deserving Students

Posted on Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 15:59 pm

(New York, NY) – This year, on the 130th anniversary of its founding, HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, is distributing $330,000 in scholarship awards to 139 deserving immigrants in the U.S. and Israel. HIAS’ annual scholarships were initiated in 1974 and have since grown into a robust program that has awarded more than $3 million in scholarships to more than 3,500 HIAS-assisted immigrants to help fund their higher education.

Building on its 37-year-track record, the scholarship

HIAS Strongly Supports Reintroduction of Refugee Protection Act

Posted on Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 12:36 pm

(New York, NY) – HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, strongly supports the Refugee Protection Act of 2011, introduced today by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and co-sponsored by Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Companion legislation will be introduced today in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). The legislation, originally introduced last year to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1980 Refugee Act, now marks the 60th anniversary of

HIAS Applauds Extension and Re-Designation of TPS to Haiti

Posted on Wed, May 18, 2011 at 21:04 pm

(New York, NY) – HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, applauds the extension and re-designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians in the United States.

TPS is a provision of U.S. immigration law that allows the Administration to grant temporary refuge to a designated group of individuals in the United States. TPS may be granted to nationals of a country if conditions in the country pose a danger to personal safety due to ongoing armed

HIAS Applauds Introduction of the DREAM Act

Posted on Wed, May 11, 2011 at 11:34 am

(New York, NY) – HIAS, the international migration agency of the American Jewish community, applauds Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA-28) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL-18) for their introduction of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act in both the House and the Senate.  If passed, the DREAM Act would provide a six-year path to a green card for undocumented children brought to the U.S. more than five years ago if they graduate from

URGENT NOTICE – For Jewish and Other Religious Minorities Applying for Refugee Status from Iran and the Former Soviet Union (FSU)

Posted on Mon, Apr 18, 2011 at 13:15 pm

On Friday, April 15, 2011 President Obama signed into law the Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1473) which funds the U.S. government until September 30, 2011. This new law, however, also contains an extension of the Lautenberg Amendment to help Jewish and certain other religious minorities applying for refugee status from Iran and the former Soviet Union but only for applications received by the US Refugee Program in Moscow and Vienna by June 1, 2011.

As before, for the Vienna program, members of