The Biden administration announced a new pilot program that would allow groups of Americans to sponsor refugees directly.
The program, known as “Welcome Corps,” will allow groups of at least five people to sponsor refugees through the Refugee Resettlement Program if they raise enough money, pass background checks, and come up with a plan on how to support them.
It will cost the sponsors at least $2,275 per refugee to invest in their initial needs before they can be employed. That commitment will provide “friendship, guidance, and financial support” for the initial 90 days a refugee is in the U.S.
The State Department said the program will be in two phases, the first involving the administration facilitating matches between private sponsors and refugees. The second phase, to launch in the middle of the year, will allow sponsors to identify refugees to refer to the agency for resettlement. The State Department is aiming to mobilize 10,000 Americans to help at least 5,000 refugees, and said it would be supported by a consortium of non-profits with expertise in the area to support the Corps. That consortium will help with vetting, training and monitoring of the program.
“The Welcome Corps is the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “It is designed to strengthen and expand the capacity of the [U.S. Refugee Admissions Program] by harnessing the energy and talents of Americans from all walks of life desiring to serve as private sponsors — ranging from members of faith and civic groups, veterans, diaspora communities, businesses, colleges and universities, and more.”
What looks good on paper promises to be a disaster in real life. While religious and non-profit groups will end up sponsoring many of the refugees, the vetting process always leaves a lot to be desired, and it’s just as important to consider where the refugees settle. Bringing dozens of refugees to a small town might sound like a great idea, but the culture shock is usually too much for the refugees to overcome.
The program will resettle 5,000 refugees — eventually. In the meantime, even expanding the program by a factor of three or four is just a drop in the bucket for the million or so asylum seekers clamoring to get in.
That may be true, but it’s great PR, right?
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