U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

Last updated
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Formation1911, 113 years ago
TypeNon-Profit Organization
Headquarters Arlington, Virginia
President and CEO
 Eskinder Negash
Website refugees.org

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is an international, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the rights and addressing the needs of people in forced or voluntary migration globally.

Contents

History

The history of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants can be traced to two organizations formed during the 1910s: the International Institutes and the Foreign Language Information Service (FLIS). The International Institute movement began in 1911 in New York City as the brainchild of Edith Terry Bremer. Over the next six years, the movement spread across the nation with offices opening in Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. By 1924 the number of International Institutes had grown to 55 and reached across the country to Los Angeles. [1]

The origins of the FLIS date to 1918, when the United States Committee on Public Information began an effort to communicate its wartime messages to members of the domestic population who did not speak English. As such, the Committee produced articles about the war effort and sent ready-to-print translations to foreign language newspapers published in the United States. After the war, the FLIS was formed as a private organization that could carry on work in a similar vein. Like its precursor, the FLIS wrote and distributed articles to the foreign language press on topics of interest to immigrant readers. However, the FLIS expanded on this mission by creating articles for the English-language press aimed at educating the general population on immigrant life, culture, and achievements. In 1922 the organization began publishing Interpreter Releases, a weekly immigration law update with 48 issues/year. [2] [3]

In 1924 the National Origins Act, severely restricting the number of immigrants entering the country was passed as well as the Labor Appropriation Act which officially established the Border Patrol.

The FLIS changed its name to the Common Council on American Unity (CCAU) in 1939, and the CCAU and the International Institutes merged in 1959 to become the American Council for Nationalities Service (ACNS). [2] [4] The ACNS, in turn, became Immigration and Refugee Services of America in 1994, and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in 2004. [5]

Activities

For over a hundred years, the U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigrants (USCRI) has fought for a future where "migrants, refugees, and uprooted people will live dignified lives with their rights respected and protected in communities of opportunity." [6]

USCRI works in all 50 U.S. states, México, El Salvador, Honduras, and Kenya to provide support for those experiencing forced and voluntary displacement, including unaccompanied children and adult and minor survivors of trafficking [7] .

USCRI's programs include legal, refugee health, anti-trafficking, and children's services, as well as policy and advocacy [8] .

Its international programs focus on supporting youth migrants and returnees [9] [10] .

World Refugee Survey

The World Refugee Survey is an annual USCRI report presenting information on refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers. The country-by-country analysis is based on information collected from governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and field visits. Each country profiled in the Survey is given a grade. Countries are rated according to refugees' enjoyment of rights under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and are graded on: 1) Refoulement/Physical Protection 2) Freedom of Movement and Residence 3) Detention/Access to Courts 4) Right to Earn a Livelihood and 5) Public Relief and Education.

On June 19, 2008, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and its research partners released the World Refugee Survey 2008 with events around the world. Within the annual publication, USCRI released a list of the Ten Worst Places for Refugees. Countries and regions were graded based on their commitment to standards outlined in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. As determined by the committee, the 'Ten Worst Places' were: Bangladesh, China, Europe, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Russia, Sudan, and Thailand. [11] Sixty countries hosting the largest numbers of refugees were profiled in the 2008 survey. In 2009, the 'Worst Places for Refugees' were South Africa, Gaza, Thailand, Kenya, Malaysia, Egypt and Turkey. [12]

On June 20, 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak of Malaysia stated, "Malaysia strongly disagrees with the newly released World Refugee Survey 2008." [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Mohl, Raymond A. (1981). ""The International Institute Movement and Ethnic Pluralism"". Social Science. 56 (1): 14–21.
  2. 1 2 "Scope and Content Note". Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America. 1989. pp. v–vii.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ Schweitzer, Lynn Ann (1978). Romanofsky, Peter (ed.). "Foreign Language Information Service (FLIS)". Greenwood, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 311–315.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ Schweitzer, Lynn Ann (1978). Romanofsky, Peter (ed.). "Common Council for American Unity (CCAU)". Greenwood, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 244–247.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ↑ ""History"". U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. 2020.
  6. ↑ https://refugees.org/who-we-are/
  7. ↑ https://refugees.org/who-we-are/
  8. ↑ https://refugees.org/who-we-are/
  9. ↑ https://refugees.org/uscri-el-salvador/
  10. ↑ https://refugees.org/uscri-kenya/
  11. ↑ "World Refugee Survey 2008". U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. 2008-06-19. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05.
  12. ↑ "World Refugee Survey 2009" (PDF). U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-21.
  13. ↑ "Malaysia Disagrees With World Refugee Survey". Bernama.com. 2008-06-20.
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