March 17 marks the 40th Anniversary of President Jimmy Carter signing the Refugee Act of 1980. Forty years ago, Congress passed landmark legislation with near unanimous bipartisan support creating a formal process for welcoming refugees based on humanitarian needs and U.S. interests.

The International Rescue Committee is significantly scaling up our humanitarian response in northeastern Nigeria, where hunger and famine threaten people who have lived in the grip of Boko Haram terror over the past four years.