WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – American groups will be able to directly sponsor refugees for resettlement in the United States under a new program that began on Thursday, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, a step that could increase intakes and cut government spending.
Under the pilot program, which will be called Welcome Corps, groups of at least five people will be expected to raise a minimum of $2,275 per refugee set by the government, one of the people said. Sponsor groups will also need to pass checks and create a maintenance plan.
The program will aim to find American sponsors for 5,000 refugees in the 2023 fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, another of the sources said.
The individual sponsorship program for refugees – similar to the model used in Canada – is part of a broader effort by US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to provide opportunities for Americans to support foreigners seeking protection.
Earlier this month, Biden introduced a humanitarian entry program that allows up to 30,000 migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter through “parole” if they have US sponsors and travel by air. The administration is also using parole to take in Afghans and Ukrainians and piloting sponsorship programs to support them in the United States.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Welcome Corps program will accept refugees through the US Refugee Resettlement Program, which accepts referrals from the United Nations and US embassies. Biden set a cap of 125,000 refugee admissions this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2022, but only 6,750 have arrived since October-December, according to the program’s data.
The United States severely restricted the entry of refugees under former Republican President Donald Trump, who portrayed them as a security threat. Admissions still haven’t returned to pre-Trump levels.
Sasha Chanoff, founder of RefugePoint, which identifies people in need of resettlement, said the sponsorship could be one of the most significant developments for the U.S. refugee program since the early 1980s.
“It invites Americans to get involved in new ways,” he said.
Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Micah Rosenberg and Rosalba O’Brien
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