From Friday, March 13 and until further notice, the IRC’s offices in Tallahassee and Miami are closed and our staff is working remotely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are adapting and continuing to serve our clients during this difficult time. Learn more about our COVID-19 response and how you can help refugees and survivors in Florida communities in our latest update.

On Wednesday, September 29, the IRC in Atlanta’s Executive Director, Justin Howell, hosted a webinar briefing with our partners—Alpa Amin, Executive Director of Georgia Asylum & Immigration Network (GAIN); Marjan Nadir, Economic Empowerment Manager at Refugee Women’s Network (RWN); and Chris Purdy, Director of Veterans for American Ideals and Outreach at Human Rights First—to discuss our work and how the community can help us welcome and support new Afghan arrivals in Georgia and continue our more than 40-year history of welcoming refugees to our state.

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is a unique public-private partnership that demonstrates the best of our government, communities, and programs to support refugees as they rebuild their lives in the United States. It has been an essential legal immigration pathway and a key part of U.S. immigration policy for generations, starting with the Refugee Act of 1980. Following recent decisions which indefinitely pause resettlement, tens of thousands of refugees are now stranded overseas, families are separated, and resettled refugees already here in our communities are cut off from needed support to start their new lives. The local partners who participate in the resettlement program as employers, educators, volunteers, and in other capacities are community leaders who can serve as external validators of the myriad benefits of refugee resettlement to local communities. Many are already seeking ways to contribute their perspective and position within communities to support. This guide offers steps on how to help.