International Refugee Assistance Project

This week, we sued the Trump administration for access to immigrants transferred from the United States to detention at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba under President Trump’s recent order. We are proud to stand with impacted families and advocates from ACLU, Center for Constitutional Rights, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, RAICES, American Gateways, and Americans for Immigrant Justice to challenge this administration's egregious attacks on due process rights. "Under the Constitution, detained immigrants facing deportation proceedings on American soil cannot be held incommunicado and denied access to lawyers. The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration cannot eliminate those rights by moving prisoners to foreign soil against their will." https://lnkd.in/emrEhSye #DueProcess4All #CloseGuantanamo

“The United States has a moral and legal obligation to protect refugees, and the longer this illegal suspension continues, the more dire the consequences will be. Refugees and the families and communities waiting to welcome them have been thrown into indefinite limbo and the resettlement agencies ready to serve them don’t know if they can keep the lights on if the government continues to withhold critical funding. This could decimate the USRAP, carrying consequences for years to come.” https://lnkd.in/eUtZq8Cz

Our communities have an essential role to play in the fight against hate and fearmongering. Together, our states and localities have the power to push back against harmful federal policies like the #RefugeeBan. Urge your state and local leaders to take action to #DefendRefuge bit.ly/DefendRefugeAction

🚀 Join NASP Cohort 8 & Become a Storytelling Leader! Are you a refugee looking to sharpen your storytelling skills and create positive change? NASP Cohort 8 is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for! What you’ll gain: 🌟 Storytelling & advocacy training 🌍 A network of passionate changemakers 📣 The power to inspire and lead 📅 Applications close on February 17 – Apply today! https://bit.ly/Cohort-8 #NASPCohort8 #StorytellingForChange #NASPCommunity #LeadershipThroughStories WeaveTales Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) The Refugee Advocacy Lab We Are All America USA for UNHCR Refugees International

Our lawsuit with HIAS, Church World Service, and Lutheran Community Services Northwest is powered by people seeking safety, refugee-serving organizations, and everyday Americans committed to being welcomers. One of the plaintiffs challenging the cruel #RefugeeBan is a Welcome Corps sponsor who, "befriended a young Afghan woman here in the United States whose family remained in Afghanistan, and she organized her synagogue and community members to raise the money. She now is devastated, having made all these plans to welcome this family." https://lnkd.in/eiTEh2Ui #RefugeesBelong Quil Lawrence NPR

"A 22-year-old refugee from Congo whose flight was canceled after a two-year application process to resettle in the United States is one of the plaintiffs in the suit filed on Monday. 'He sold almost all of his possessions, other than the things that can fit in the two bags that they’re allowed to bring with them,' said Melissa Keaney, a lawyer with the International Refugee Assistance Project, who helped file the lawsuit. 'Now they’re in this indefinite period of not knowing how to both rebuild their lives in Nairobi and for how long of a period they should expect it to remain there while the suspension is in place,' she said. 'So it’s just been really devastating for refugees who expected to be able to travel imminently and now are seeing their travel canceled.'" https://lnkd.in/eYAY4nKz The New York Times Hamed Aleaziz

Americans across the country stand ready to welcome refugees. President Trump’s #RefugeeBan is another attempt to violate our nation’s laws and the people’s will. But refugees and welcomers are ready to fight. That’s why International Refugee Assistance Project, HIAS, Church World Service, Lutheran Community Services Northwest and 9 directly impacted people have filed federal litigation to challenge the suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program and the funding freeze impacting resettlement agencies. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ev6Px8QY #RefugeesBelong 🏠

Refugees are essential members of our communities, and we stand in solidarity with all of the people impacted by President Trump’s #RefugeeBan. Faith leaders, humanitarians, refugees, members of Congress, and resettlement agencies came together this week to affirm that welcoming refugees saves lives, unites families, and makes our communities stronger. #RefugeesWelcome

"'These flights set the stage for egregious rights violations, indefinite detention, and crushing family separations,' said Hannah Flamm, interim senior director of policy for the International Refugee Assistance Project. 'The United States has a deplorable history of detaining different groups of people unlawfully at Guantánamo to avoid oversight and the public eye, and this latest chapter is no exception.'" https://lnkd.in/eksabd-X Take action to #CloseGuantánamo: https://lnkd.in/e5rRcwvW

"'Targeting immigrants doesn’t make our communities safer,' said state Rep. Emily Randall, who just took office, representing the Olympic Peninsula. 'What it does is spread fear through our communities, so that folks are afraid to go to work, afraid to send their kids to school, afraid to call the police when something happens in their neighborhood.'" https://lnkd.in/e4Vr2knR