Welcome Corps Group Helping US Citizens and Residents Support Refugees Come to the US Legally

With President Joe Biden's new asylum restrictions already in place, refugees fleeing violence in Latin America and other parts of the world can still get permanent legal status, and that is with the help of Welcome Corps, as well as US citizens or residents who are in the US legally.

Created by the US State Department in January 2023, the Welcome Corps program was created "to provide qualifying refugees a path to legal, permanent status in the US" with the help of US citizens, according to NBC News.

American citizens or legal permanent residents can form a group and sponsor refugee families through the program and these sponsors could also help these refugees transition to life in the United States.

María del Carmen Chaparro and her family, which includes her husband and four children, fled from political violence in Colombia and are now living in the US with them thanks to Welcome Corps. She was persecuted and threatened by criminal groups while working as a community political leader, forcing them to flee to neighboring Ecuador.

The refugee family was sponsored by the Antioch Church community in Bend, Oregon, which "came together to sponsor them, facilitating their arrival and helping them as they integrate into their new community."

"It was like being born again, like an opportunity to rest and be able to give my children a life without persecution," she told NBC News.

How US Citizens Can Help Refugees Through Welcome Corps

The official Welcome Corps website has instructions on how to help refugees out, urging US citizens and legal residents to "reach out to friends, neighbors, coworkers, your congregation, or your book club to form a group. Any adults who are US citizens or permanent residents and who live in or near the community where the refugee(s) will live can join your sponsor group."

Steps include creating an account, getting background checks, and undergoing training to be eligible to sponsor a refugee. Those approved can then plan and fundraise how to get these refugees to the United States and help them transition.

Welcome Corps noted on its official website that the funds to bring these refugees to the US are managed by the sponsor and stated that the program would not collect any money from interested sponsors.

Thousands of US Citizens and Residents Have Signed Up to Sponsor Refugees Through Welcome Corps Program

Since the US State Department launched Welcome Corps, over 65,000 people have already applied as sponsors for refugees during the first three months of the program with applications coming from every state in the country, according to the Niskanen Center.

The majority of the sponsorships come from, Minnesota, Washington, Texas, California, and Ohio, with the program initially being launched, for US military veterans seeking to sponsor their Afghan allies as the Taliban took back control of the government. It is also open to those fleeing conflict in Latin America.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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