New program will allow private citizens to sponsor refugees

Ordinary Americans will soon be able to directly sponsor refugees entering the U.S. through a new policy the State Department announced Thursday.

Under the new program, called the “Welcome Corps,” private citizens can volunteer to support refugees with everything from finances to finding a place to live.

“The Welcome Corps will build on Americans’ generosity of spirit by creating a durable program for Americans in communities across the country to privately sponsor refugees from around the world,” the State Department said in a statement, calling the program “the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades.”

The program will roll out in two phases, with a goal of matching 10,000 U.S. citizens with 5,000 refugees in the first year, the State Department said. During the first phase, volunteers will be matched with refugees already approved under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. In the second phase, which will begin mid-2023 according to the State Department, sponsors will be able to identify refugees and refer them to the admissions program.