US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

Overview

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is a non-profit refugee resettlement, immigrant service, public education and advocacy organization founded in 1911. USCRI serves refugees and immigrants through a network of 48 sites across the United States. The agency is known globally for its public education work, specifically related to refugee rights. The agency is in its 45th year of publishing the World Refugee Survey, the statistical compendium of refugee movements worldwide.

Mission

To address the needs and rights of persons in forced or voluntary migration worldwide by advancing fair and humane public policy, facilitating and providing direct professional services, and promoting the full participation of migrants in community life.

Program

USCRI implements comprehensive programs that directly benefit the lives of refugees and immigrants in the United States. The USCRI network of 48 sites across the country provides resettlement, citizenship, legal services, cultural orientation, financial education, English language education, health services, and a variety of other programs to refugees and immigrants in the United States. USCRI’s National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children assists unaccompanied immigrant children by finding them pro bono legal counsel and helping them access health and social services.

Globally, USCRI advocates on behalf of refugees and seeks to create a world where all refugees have the right to work, the right to move freely and the right to education while in living in exile. This year USCRI launched an initiative in Thailand among local civil society to promote refugee rights within Thai borders. In addition, USCRI conducts focused research and policy analysis and reports on worldwide refugee conditions in the annual statistical compendium, the World Refugee Survey.

Impact

USCRI’s work has given numerous individuals and families an opportunity for a new life. In the past 30 years, USCRI has resettled and served over 200,000 refugees throughout the country, the majority of which have become citizens and leaders in their communities. In just one year of operation, the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children has provided over pro bono legal assistance to over 350 vulnerable children. USCRI’s campaign for refugee rights has generated a groundswell of support from refugees living in camps, humanitarian aid agencies and luminaries such Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dali Lama and Desmond Tutu.

Countries of Operation

United States, Thailand