65,000+ People Sign Up to Sponsor Refugees in the First 3 Months of Welcome Corps Expansion

https://www.niskanencenter.org/65000-people-sign-up-to-sponsor-refugees-in-the-first-3-months-of-welcome-corps-expansion/

New data released today by the Community Sponsorship Hub shows significant interest by private sponsors in resettling refugees they know through the Welcome Corps, a State Department program that empowers U.S. sponsors to support refugee resettlement in their local communities.

Three months after the launch of the program’s expansion to “Sponsor Someone You Know,” more than 13,000 applications have been submitted. Each application requires at least five U.S. citizens or permanent residents to formally join as a sponsor, bringing the total number of sponsors enrolled to over 65,000 – with many more individuals involved informally. Another 11,000 applications (at least 55,000 sponsors) are in process of submitting an application.

Applications have come from every state in the country, with Minnesota, Washington, Texas, California, and Ohio leading the way in submissions. This outpouring of support is yet another example of Americans’ enthusiasm for welcoming refugees in their communities through private sponsorship.

First launched in January 2023, the Welcome Corps is the most significant innovation in U.S. refugee resettlement in decades, in which groups of five adults join to raise money together, complete sponsorship training, pass background checks, and ultimately welcome a refugee into their community. The program started by matching sponsors to refugees already qualified for and awaiting resettlement in the United States.

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