Asylum Seekers

Soon after the U.S. government’s hasty and chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan last summer, the United States received over 80,000 Afghan evacuees, many of whom were at added risk due to their association with the U.S. government during the two-decade war. Ninety percent of these migrants entered the country on humanitarian parole (HP), which allows them to live and work in the U.S. for two years, but does not provide a path to permanent residency, leaving them in legal limbo. The Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA), would allow Afghans with humanitarian parole to apply for permanent legal status and would expand the categories of Afghans eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs).
Afghan woman holding her daughter and a copy of her birth certificate.
October 2022
Issue Spotlight
News
We find ourselves in a precarious moment for the right to seek asylum in the United States. While advocates continue to push for more inclusive and welcoming state and local policies for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, the fundamental right to seek safety in the U.S. continues to be at grave risk. Though last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision cleared the way for the Biden administration to rescind the inhumane Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as “Remain in Mexico,” an array of cruel and ineffective asylum and immigration policies still stand, foremost among them Title 42.
Group of people gathered at the Mexico-US Border Wall
July 2022
Issue Spotlight
News
One month after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake killed over 2,200 Haitians and left 650,000 more in need of humanitarian assistance, the Biden administration is undertaking a mass expulsion of Haitians seeking safety in the United States. Under the guise of stopping the spread of Covid-19 through the Trump-era Title 42 policy, migrants are being sent back to a country reeling from overlapping crises and decades of political upheaval and natural disasters. Returning to Haiti is not a viable option for them.  
October 2021
Issue Spotlight
News
GCIR is announcing the California Dignity for Families Fund’s first round of grantmaking investments, totalling $2.8M. The Fund, launched in May as part of a public-private partnership with the State of California, mobilizes philanthropic dollars to provide urgent humanitarian relief to migrants and support for their resettlement in California communities. 
October 2021
Press Release
News
We at GCIR are heartbroken about the devastating crises unfolding in Afghanistan and Haiti. Our country can rise to our highest ideals by providing protection to those who most desperately need it and welcoming them into our communities. Read our statement with recommendations for philanthropy.
August 2021
Statement
News
A news article from Reuters looking at the positive impact the incoming Biden Administration may have on refugee populations around the world.
November 2020
News Article
News
Amidst travel restrictions and other government responses to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as of March 17, 2020, temporarily suspended refugee resettlement departures—the actual travel of a refugee from their initial country of asylum to the country where they will be resettled. In addition to travel disruptions, the UNHCR cited concerns that refugees would be placed at a higher risk of contracting and transmitting the virus if they continued to travel as reasons behind their decision.
April 2020
News Article
News
Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) invites their members to contribute to their COVID-19 Rapid Response Migration Fund, which will provide emergency mini-grants to frontline organizations responding to the immediate needs of migrants and refugees to respond to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hispanics in Philanthropy logo
March 2020
Response Fund
News
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