Welcome Corps Brings Refugee Resettlement Decisions to You at a Community Level

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Are you tired of reading about the major problems like climate change and the world refugee problem and feeling helpless to do something to help? In the early 1970s Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day which spawned the call to “Think Globally and Act Locally” because the climate issues are so massive and existential that it is easy to get discouraged. Environmentalists encouraged everyone to do their part to change their lifestyles to reduce the growing damage to all aspects of our environment.  

We made a lot of progress in the past 50 years with Americans altering their lifestyles and consumption patterns with the business community following along. That “Think Locally” philosophy also encouraged people to pressure their election officials to pass legislation or run for office themselves. We made some very serious progress with climate change, but we still have a long way to go. 

How to Act Locally with the Refugee Issues

Another issue that distresses a lot of good people is the worldwide refugee migration issues. People are fleeing wars, poverty, climate devastation, dictators, gangs and a host of other issues. Refugees are dying along the way, whether it is drowning in the Mediterranean, being shot by the Saudi military or dying trying to cross the Rio Grande, and good people again feel helpless. In the Think Globally and Act Locally framework, there is now something you can do. This is not going to solve the global problem of refugee migration, but nationwide, the Welcome Corps program will have an impact on tens of thousands of refugee families and also enable good people to actually get involved and do something positive. 

This can have a big impact. In the first six months of the program, for example, it has commitments from local community members across the country to sponsor more refugees than our government has admitted in the past five years. Refugees are generally defined as individuals who have been forced to leave their home country due to violence or persecution or the fear of persecution based on race, nationality, religion or political positions to list the most common reasons.

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Our country and our economy were built on immigration. Our Statue of Liberty says it all when it welcomes immigration. We currently need more working age families especially after the Trump administration cut back on refugee resettlement. Remember, our Social Security and Medicare programs—that you are either benefiting from or plan to in the future—are paid for by the payroll tax on current employees and employers, so we also have a self-interest. Unless your ancestors were Native Americans, they were immigrants to this country, and a bigger percentage than we like to admit, came in illegally. 

Welcome Corps Program Lets You Act Locally

In 1980, the Federal Government created the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) in the State Department. The USRAP teams up with the nine major nonprofit resettlement agencies like the Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services and the International Rescue Committee along with refugee organizations of all the major faith groups to assist our government with refugee resettlement. As you might expect they are overwhelmed with demand for their services, and there is a line of individuals and families who have been vetted by the U.S. government waiting to be resettled. A new program called the Welcome Corps program can address this.

In response to this need for resettlement services and the inability of the current resettlement agencies to fill the need, the Biden administration decided to bring the immigration issue to the community level. In February 2021, President Biden through an Executive Order made the biggest change to our refugee efforts in the last 40 years. The Welcome Corps was created to bring the refugee resettlement challenge to you at the local level. There are individuals from around the world who have gone through the very complex vetting process of the United States including security vetting by U.S. law enforcement and medical screening. They are patiently waiting their turn in line. 

We just need more capacity at the local level to help the refugee families navigate America and become successful Americans. They often enter with minimal understanding of English and must learn the basics: find a place to live, shop for groceries, enroll their children in schools, etc. These children need a lot of support because they are put in a classroom where they have no idea what is going on due to their lack of English.

Janan Najeeb, the founder and current executive director of the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, who has worked extensively with refugees, believes the Welcome Corps has a lot of potential. “This program will allow family members who are established in the United States the opportunity to sponsor the rest of their family who may still be languishing in a refugee camp somewhere in the world. The fact that family or members of that community can sponsor means that a lot of the barriers regarding cultural literacy are avoided and family unification is quicker.” Najeeb also warned that “well intentioned individuals who have no connections but choose to sponsor a family out of the goodness of their hearts may underestimate the amount of time and commitment required when working with refugees. However, for those who are fully committed and know what they are getting into, this may be one of the most fulfilling jobs they do in their entire life.”

How the Welcome Corps Program Works

The program in its most simple terms is that five or more local individuals can petition to become a refugee sponsor group and bring a fully vetted individual or family to the US and essentially act as their extended family until they become comfortably acclimated and can find employment. These local sponsor groups will be supported by refugee organizations, so the locals are definitely not left on their own. 

The local sponsor group can be just a group of good friends, neighbors, your fellow members of a religious group, a book club, a civic organization, fellow condo or coop neighbors, members of a parent’s group, veteran’s organization, rotating dinner club, golf or pickleball cohorts, a group of fellow employees or any of hundreds different groups of friends and associates. Legally, there needs to be at least five individuals who are over 18 years of age, U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, and live near the community the new arrivals will live. 

The sponsors who are part of sponsor group of at least five individuals will contribute at least $2,375 dollars in cash or in-kind per individual refugee they are hosting to be used to secure an apartment, furnish it, fill the refrigerator, and then greet the individual or family at the airport and bring them to their new home. Obviously, the amount needed will vary. They will also help with all the other basics like enrolling the children in school and getting them ready to begin their new lives in America. Groups often do fundraisers to enable individuals to get involved who have some money but not much time to work along with individuals who have the time and commitment but not a lot of spare cash.

The Welcome Corps was launched in two phases. We are currently in Phase 1 where the local American sponsoring group will provide basic information like the size of a family it can sponsor but not designate the particular family, country or individual. Many of the Phase 1 families are from Latin America and central Africa. In the near future, it will also include refugees from additional countries including Ukraine and Afghanistan. The second phase is scheduled to start later this year. In Phase 2, the local sponsoring group can identify the particular family or individual they want to sponsor. Of course, that family or individual must have gone through the rigorous vetting process by the U.S. government. 

A Personal Note

When I left the state legislature in the 1990s, I had the opportunity as both an economist and former legislator to work as an international consultant for the U.S. Agency for International Development in a dozen countries. My assignments were either in the areas of economic development and what was called democracy building which was helping countries become democracies. Democracy building help was requested by many of the Eastern European countries that were freed from the yoke of Soviet Union. My most interesting assignment was in a rural Mongolia community helping them transition from a herder economy to a market economy. I also worked in Romania, Bulgaria, Uganda, the West Bank and Gaza helping them create a democratic parliament.

In Uganda, I saw the damage that the dictator Idi Amin had done and what the new government was trying to create. During my years doing this international work, we had some successes and certainly some disappointments. It was, however, gratifying, and inspirational to work with honorable individuals who were trying so very hard to build a better country for themselves. People need hope and refugees are forced to find hope outside their country. As much as many people these days criticize our government from both the right and the left, we still are viewed as the best hope in the world for so many individuals just trying to build a life like we have and which we often take for granted.

I want to see this program work in the Milwaukee area and throughout Wisconsin and to give some refugee families hope and a chance to work hard and build a new life. The Shepherd Express will help build this effort in our area. If you have an interest in learning more about this program and all the good it has done so far for both the refugee families and also for us Americans who have rolled up our sleeves and directly changed people’s lives, please email us at Welcome@shepex.com. One of the people I worked with when I was advising the new parliament in Ramallah in 1996 and 1997 is now very involved in this program in Connecticut. He has agreed to help us get this program working in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.  On a final note, the researchers who study happiness have concluded that if you want to be happier, help others who are struggling and need a little help