(RepublicanDaily.org) – The Biden administration has officially launched a program to allow Americans to sponsor refugees, Fox News reported.
The program is called Welcome Corps. In its early stages, the U.S. State Department will match Americans with immigration experts to guide private sponsorship of asylum seeker families. The program patterned private citizen sponsorship after a similar program in Canada.
The program was initially proposed last year, intending for a late 2022 release, but was ultimately delayed. The Welcome Corps program will reportedly make use of the United States Refugee Admissions Program.
Groups must raise $2,275 cash or in-kind funds to sponsor each refugee. Funds will be applied to the refugee’s initial needs to support them before they find employment.
Fox News quoted Blinken, saying that the Welcome Corps program will provide assistance to Afghan allies, Ukrainians displaced by the Russian incursion into Ukraine, and Venezuelans.
The program will roll out in two phases. By mid-2023, the State Department intends to allow private sponsors to identify refugees abroad they wish to assist, CBS News reports.
State Secretary Anthony Blinken called the program “the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement” in four decades.
Individual Americans have reportedly been providing as much help as they are able for migrants. Floridians reportedly have been rescuing water-traveling migrants. A cruise ship returned to Florida’s shores with 17 migrants from Cuba in town on January 14, Local10.com reported.
However, national asylum-seeker programs are nearing capacity. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has put pressure on the Biden administration to address the asylum seeker crisis at the national level, saying there is “no more room” in New York City to host busloads of migrants from the Southern U.S. border, Politico reported.
Adams called on Biden to address “the immediate needs” of cities managing asylum seeker arrivals.
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