The United States will open the reception of refugees to private capital with the Welcome Corps program, announced this thursday by the Department of State. Through this initiative, described by Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “the most daring innovation” in this field in the last four decades, US citizens will be able to welcome refugees who arrive in that country from “contexts of violence and oppression”.
Welcome Corps It has been organized by the Department of State together with the Department of Health and Human Services, and is intended for migrants who arrive in the US through the Refugee Admission Program (Usrap).
Cubans, however, will not be able to access Welcome Corps at the moment, since the US Embassy in Havana paralyzed usrap services four years ago for those who reside on the Island. In the past, the US admitted as refugees persecuted religious, activists and defenders of human rights, former political prisoners, people subjected to “severe and discriminatory” treatment for political or religious reasons, or former “recruits” of the Military Production Support Units (Umap).
The bill hopes that Americans will financially support the “resettlement and integration” of refugees “while these people build a new life,” Blinken explained. The State Department’s intention is to convince 10,000 US citizens to host 5,000 refugees in the first year of the program’s implementation.
Interested parties will need to form groups of at least five individual sponsors with the responsibility of raising funds independently
Those interested will have to form groups of at least five individual sponsors – US citizens or permanent residents – with the responsibility of independently raising funds and supporting the refugee for at least 90 days. “This assistance includes helping refugees find housing and employment, enrolling their children in school, and connecting refugees with essential services in the community,” Blinken said.
The precedent for Welcome Corps is, said the Secretary of State, in the aid that US citizens have offered to “Afghan allies”, Ukrainians fleeing the war and Venezuelans who have fled from the Nicolás Maduro regime. Work has also been done with “non-profit resettlement agencies” that deal with migrants in the first months after they arrive on US soil.
“The presentation of Welcome Corps fulfills the US Government’s commitment to formulate a privately sponsored program to resettle refugees in the United States,” said Blinken, who affirms that his Department thus complies with order 14301 of the Administration of Biden, aimed at improving the treatment of migrants.
The implementation of the program will have two stages. First, private sponsors will contact refugees approved by Usrap in the first six months of 2023. In a second moment, in the middle of this year, the sponsors themselves will be able to identify and recommend refugees to Usrap.
According to Blinken, the US government is financing various organizations that have been in charge, in the past, of promoting the reception of refugees. These include Community Sponsorship Hun, Church World Service, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (Iris), the International Refugee Assistance Project, the International Rescue Committee and the Welcome US program.
This set of organizations will be in charge of validating the applications of private sponsors, will offer them resources and training to better receive refugees, and will control the entire process through supervision and data collection on its development.
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