In this video, former U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright (1997-2001) and Henry Kissinger (1973-1977) share their own refugee stories with the International Rescue Committee.

Last year, the Governor of Texas declared that the state would no longer accept Syrian refugees, citing security concerns after the horrific attacks in Paris. The state demanded that the International Rescue Committee halt its resettlement programs or face a lawsuit. A federal judge on June 16, 2016 dismissed the lawsuit that would have banned refugee resettlement in Texas.

As President Trump bars refugees for the second time with the signing of a new executive order today, this Syrian family remains uncertain if they will ever been able to start a new life in America. Read their story.

When he visited the Greek island of Lesbos, actor and IRC ambassador Mandy Patinkin bonded with a Syrian family living in a refugee camp. More than a year later, he returned to Europe with his wife, Kathryn Grody, to pay a visit to the family, who have started a new life in Germany. 

"If the rescue boats hadn't found us, we all would have drowned," recalls Mohammed Omadi. Mohammed and his family, from Afghanistan, came face-to-face with death when forced to cross the sea to Greece to seek refuge in a safe country. Their cash, passports and luggage disappeared in the waves. Cash relief provides emergency financial assistance for families like the Omadis that have lost everything.

More than half of the world's refugees are children under the age of 18 and three-quarters are women and children. Find out the real story of refugees fleeing war and persecution.