Advocacy
Our Washington, D.C. office advances HIAS’ refugee and immigrant protection agenda by educating Washington policy makers on issues concerning both Jewish migrants and the broader immigrant and refugee community.
NEW! Action Alert: Speak Out to Protect Vulnerable Immigrants
Today, the House Judiciary Committee is marking up the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 (VAWA), H.R. 4970, a bill that severely undermines the protections available to vulnerable immigrant victims of violence and places victims at further risk of harm. Yesterday, HIAS and various other faith organizations sent a letter to Congress expressing concerns with the immigration provisions of H.R. 4970, such as many provisions that would roll back protections in current law for battered non-citizens, making them more vulnerable and, in some cases, endangering their lives. Click here to urge your Members of Congress to strike these provisions from the bill before the measure is brought before the full House of Representatives for a vote.
Posted May 9, 2012
NEW! Women's Refugee Commission Honors Eritrean Refugee Who Serves Asylum Seekers in Israel
On May 7th, HIAS staff attended an event sponsored by the Women's Refugee Commission entitled "Protecting and Empowering Displaced Adolescent Girls." The event featured two recipients of the 2012 Voices of Courage award including Rim Tekie Solomon, an Eritrean woman who works with asylum-seeking adolescent girls in Tel Aviv. Rim was raised in a Sudanese refugee camp and at age 15 she crossed the Sinai Desert on foot into Israel, where she lived in a detention center and taught herself Hebrew so that she could translate for other detainees. Learn more.
Posted May 9, 2012
NEW! Faith Groups Bring Message to Supreme Court
Religious groups held a 48-hour prayer vigil in front the Supreme Court last week leading up to Wednesday, when the justices heard oral arguments in Arizona's immigration enforcement law. The Interfaith Immigration Coalition --- of which HIAS is a part -- helped bring religious leaders from around the country to the Court. Rabbi Noam Marans of AJC delivered the opening prayer on Monday, and Rabbis David Shneyer of Am Kolel and Charles Feinberg of Adas Israel, two local congregations, led participants in song and prayer on Tuesday night. Read about the events in the Huffington Post, the PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, NPR, the Republic, and the Los Angeles Times.
Posted May 3, 2012
NEW! Urge the Government to Reunite Haitian Families
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved family-based visa petitions for 112,000 Haitians who nevertheless remain on a wait list of about 3 to 11 years in Haiti, where many may not survive. Rather than waiting 3 to 11 years for a visa in Haiti, beneficiaries could be paroled into the U.S. where they can be reunited with family and have employment authorization. Take action by signing a petition that urges DHS to establish a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program that would reunite families, beginning with the most vulnerable or deserving -- such as the 15,000 minor children and spouses of permanent residents whose wait is nearly 3 years.
Posted May 3, 2012
NEW! HIAS Participates in Supreme Court Vigil
On Tuesday night, HIAS, the American Jewish Committee, rabbis, and others in the Jewish community will gather by the steps of the Supreme Court to join the Interfaith Immigration Coalition Prayer Vigil in advance of Wednesday's oral arguments on the Arizona immigration law. Click here to join the Reform Immigration for America campaign's virtual vigil to stand in solidarity with those who support a fair and humane immigration system that applies throughout the country.
Posted April 30, 2012
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