In case you missed it:

• HIAS Applauds President Biden’s Quick Actions on Immigration – After four years of attacks by the Trump administration, President Biden’s swift actions offer renewed hope that refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants will be able to exercise their rights and find safety in the United States. HIAS is deeply heartened that the Biden administration has put immigration issues at the top of its agenda.

• Going Deep Into the Guyana Forest to Help Refugees – HIAS Guyana is our latest overseas office, opened in response to the arrival of thousands of Venezuelans who have fled economic and political turmoil in their own country. Country director Alex Theran and her staff have traveled to remote corners of the country to reach potential clients in need of help.  

• Biden Lifted Trump's Travel Ban. Here's How That Affects Refugees – Corine Dehaby, who runs refugee resettlement for HIAS’ local affiliate in Toledo, Ohio, spoke to NPR about her hopes for refugees under the Biden administration.

• Trump’s Refugee Resettlement Policy Blocked By Federal Appeals Court – HIAS won another victory in its lawsuit against a Trump-era policy allowing state and local governments to refuse refugee resettlement. “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said the administration’s policy undermines the national resettlement program created four decades ago by Congress,” wrote the Washington Post.

Watch and Learn:

• Family Separation, Three Years On – Jacob Soboroff, a correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC joined Sue Kenney-Pfalzer, HIAS’ director for the Border and Asylum Network, to discuss the current state of the family separation crisis and how organizations like HIAS are fighting back against its effects.

• The ‘Welcome to Paradise’ Series: Henry Slucki’s Story – Henry Slucki, a Holocaust survivor who recently retired as a professor of behavioral sciences at USC, came to the United States as part of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s initiative to save refugee children. Slucki joined HIAS and the Holocaust Museum LA for their series, “Welcome to Paradise: Refugees at Home in LA.”

• Toward Safety and Justice: Stories from the Border – Staff members from HIAS and its partners along the U.S.-Mexico border discuss how to undo the Trump administration’s near-obliteration of the U.S. refugee resettlement program and asylum system.

Get Involved:

• HIAS’ Refugee Shabbat 2021, which takes place on March 5 and 6, is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals to dedicate a Shabbat experience to refugees and asylum seekers. Find out how to participate here.

• Check out upcoming HIAS events to stay engaged on refugee issues during the pandemic. 

• Check our list of ways you can help refugees and asylum seekers, even while social distancing.

• Learn about our remote volunteer opportunities.