At the end of January 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is set to decide if they will cancle or continue Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria. TPS is a program that allows thousands of Syrians to live and work legally in the United States.
Washington, DC (January 9, 2018)- The American Relief Coalition for Syria, a coalition of 13 Syrian-American relief organizations, joins with the many other groups calling on the US government to re-designate and renew TPS for Syria. At the end of the month the US government will decide the fate of around 6,000 Syrians with temporary protected status (TPS) living in the United States.
November 1st, 2017 (Washington, D.C.) -- Over the past weeks, reports have emerged detailing the tragic situation in the besieged Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, with images of emaciated children and stories of starvation bringing to light the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. Members of the American Relief Coalition for Syria have expressed frustration and grave concern with the lack of humanitarian access for civilians trapped in Eastern Ghouta, which has been under a stifling siege for the past four years.
Washington, DC (September 15, 2017)- News reports this week claim that the US government is considering a huge shift in refugee resettlement policy by capping the number of admitted refugees at 50,000. This change in policy would have a widespread negative impact on current refugee communities within the US and on global perceptions of our country. Members of the American Relief Coalition for Syria from across the country are calling on the Trump administration to reject this historically low number and ensure at least 75,000 refugees will be admitted next year.
This May, I concluded my full academic year internship with the American Relief Coalition for Syria; serving as the Communications/Advocacy/Marketing Intern during the Fall 2016 semester, and continuing on as the Senior Communications/Advocacy Intern for Spring 2017. As a Senior at the George Washington University, I became interested in getting involved with the coalition after witnessing the collaborative and multi-layered humanitarian programs launched by Syrian American diaspora organizations within the United States.
The first Arabs immigrated to the United States in the 1880s. Most of them came from Greater Syria, which is present-day Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Syria. Typically, immigrants made the journey to escape economic struggles and to pursue the American dream. In recent years, the migration from Greater Syria to the United States has been driven largely by political unrest and religious conflict in the Middle East.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1951, during the Second World War. The purpose of its creation was to help millions of Europeans who fled their countries and left everything behind.
Today, the world is still working hard, seeking the protection of refugees and helping them all over the world.
President Trump’s ban on Syrians goes into effect as Syrians mark tragic milestone.
Six years since the descent into a brutal civil war, millions of Syrians are bearing the brunt of increasingly restrictive policies around the world and inside Syria to stop them from reaching safety.
In January, President Trump announced his support for the creation of safe zones in Syria. Which, if planned and executed properly, can protect civilian populations from the crossfire.
Washington, DC (March 8th, 2017) – On Tuesday, President Trump announced his new Executive Order on refugees and immigrants. The new Executive Order retains many of the central elements of the original order, including decreasing the number of refugees admitted to the United States each year from 110,000 to 50,000, the lowest number in 35 years. This will dramatically reduce the number of Syrian refugees who are able to resettle in the U.S.