The Biden administration unveiled a new program called “Welcome Corps” that will allow groups of permanent residents and citizens to sponsor refugees from around the world to live in the United States.
Many define this program as a measure to fulfill at all costs the commitment to implement a private sponsorship program to resettle refugees in the United States, as instructed in Biden's executive order since February 2021.
This program will be implemented in 2 stages:
- Participating private sponsors will be connected with refugees whose cases have already been approved for resettlement. The State Department will begin coordinating sponsors with refugees arriving during the first six months of 2023.
- It will be launched in mid-2023, and private sponsors will be able to identify refugees to send to the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for resettlement purposes.
During the first year of the program, the State Department will seek to motivate 10,000 Americans to apply as sponsors to host at least 5,000 refugees.
According to the program, groups of at least 5 people can apply to sponsor refugees and help them adjust to life in the USA, with the support of a consortium of non-profit resettlement organizations.
Sponsor groups must raise a minimum of US$1,275 per refugee, but they are not obligated to provide ongoing financial support to the refugees they sponsor. The support they provide will be fixed for the first three months, and they must ensure continued financial support for the refugees as needed for two years.
The migration process for a refugee is not an easy task; finding a school, a job, learning how to get around, having financial support, and other everyday things takes time. All of these tasks would have to be taken on by a group of 5 or more Americans.
Now, the main concern that remains is whether sponsors will actually come forward for this arduous task.
Source: State Department and CNN en Español
