For immediate release: Feb. 27, 2021 WASHINGTON--Refugee Congress urges the Biden Administration to sign a revised FY21 Presidential Determination (PD) [...]
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State: Vermont Arrival in the US: 2012 Umesh Acharya is the Refugee Congress Delegate for Vermont. Growing up in a refugee camp in Nepal, Umesh understood the feeling of being considered “less than” others. Soon after his arrival in the U.S. in 2012, Umesh started advocating for health equity and social justice. He worked for a local school district as […]
State: Oklahoma Country of Origin: Burma/Myanmar Sang Rem is the Refugee Congress Delegate for Oklahoma. She came to United States as resettled refugee from Burma/Myanmar when she was 15 years old. Sang has three brothers and two sisters. Her family came to the United States through the Malaysia UN office and did not speak any English when they arrived. She […]
State: Washington Country of Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo Arrival in the U.S.: 2018 Tshishiku Henry is the Refugee Congress Delegate for Washington State. He was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and arrived in the United States in 2018 after fleeing conflicts in his home country. Tshishiku is passionate about helping and working with immigrants and refugees […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 8, 2020 WASHINGTON–Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a national and international upsurge of racism directly targeted at the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. There has been an increase in harassment, verbal attacks, social media bullying and physical attacks against AAPIs. According to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting site, there have […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 1, 2020 WASHINGTON – Refugee Congress strongly denounces the Trump Administration’s proposal to resettle just 15,000 refugees this year — the lowest refugee admissions goal in U.S. history. Since taking office, the Trump Administration has sought to dismantle and destroy the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Last year, the Administration did not set a refugee admissions goal […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 12, 2020 Refugee Congress is deeply concerned about reports that the Trump Administration is considering postponing refugee admissions in the coming fiscal year. Refugee resettlement numbers are already at a historic low — just 18,000 this fiscal year, and we are unlikely to even get near that low number. As we near the end of the […]
Refugee Congress Delegate Ekhlas Ahmed (Maine) talks about coping with the uncertainty of the COVID pandemic and the work she is doing to support fellow community members: “Refugees fill these rolls, because we want to give back to the country that welcomed us. But we also do it because selflessness eases our suffering. I became an ESOL teacher five years […]
Refugee Congress Delegate Jihan Daman (Michigan) talks about her work helping trauma victims in the U.S.: “This is who refugees are. They are people like me, and my brothers. There are millions of refugees who work long hours each day, who go to school, who build communities.” Read the Newsweek article
Refugee Congress Delegates and others talk about racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement. Read the article on Medium by UNHCR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 10, 2020 Refugee Congress condemns the Trump Administration’s newest attack on asylum-seeking protections — a proposed rule that would redefine who is eligible for humanitarian protection and bar people with well-founded fears of persecution from seeking asylum. The rule uses the pretext of public health to restrict asylum-seeking. It would bar people who work in healthcare […]
As Pride Month draws to a close, Refugee Congress celebrates the life, dignity and resilience of LGBTQ+ refugees, asylum seekers/asylees and other vulnerable migrants. We recognize that members of our communities who identify as LGBTQ+ may have fled persecution based on their sexual or gender identify, and even as they found some safety in the U.S., they still face discrimination, […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2020 Refugee Congress condemns a new rule announced by the Trump Administration that delays and bans asylum-seekers’ ability to obtain employment authorization. The rule doubles the time asylum-seekers must wait before applying for employment authorization, from 150 to 365 days, and blocks work authorization for many asylum-seekers based on entry or filing requirements. As an […]
Do you know a refugee/former refugee or asylee/asylum seeker who is active in the community and wants to become an even more powerful advocate for refugees/asylees in their state? Refugee Congress seeks nominations of committed refugee and asylee/asylum seeker leaders to serve as the volunteer Delegate to the Refugee Congress for a term of three years. We currently seek to […]
Delegate – Minnesota Country of Origin: Somalia Arrival in the U.S.: 2000 Fartun Weli is the Refugee Congress Delegate for Minnesota. Weli is Executive Director and Founder of Isuroon, a nonprofit with a mission of helping Somali women build self-sufficiency and maintain healthy lives. Isuroon is committed to improving the health and upward mobility of Somali women in Minnesota, the […]
Delegate – Indiana Country of Origin: Democratic Republic of the Congo Arrival in the U.S.: 2013 Ally Ntumba is the Refugee Congress Delegate for Indiana. He was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and arrived in the United States in 2013 after fleeing conflicts and civil war. Ntumba is passionate about helping and working with immigrants and refugees in […]