Talk:U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

Conflict of Interest
Several of the editors of this article are related to the organization described in it. Please see: Administrators%27_noticeboard/IncidentArchive437. Brilliant Pebble (talk) 19:32, 30 June 2008 (UTC)
 * If this is the case, then what about the article is NPOV? What needs to be cleaned up? Bruxism (talk) 03:52, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

After checking the reference for the 10 worst places to be a reguee in and not finding India in the top 10 I have decided to remove India from that particular list. It is clearly vandalism by Anti-India elements. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.66.213.186 (talk) 15:31, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Proposed Changes
Full disclosure: My name is Jenelle and I work for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). I have established this account in order to help improve USCRI-related articles on Wikipedia. I respect Wikipedia's COI guidelines and policies on a neutral point of view. Out of respect for these guidelines, I will only be editing Talk pages, rather than making edits to actual articles. It is my goal to improve the accuracy of USCRI-related articles and provide updated facts about USCRI. For example, the text on the current USCRI page is very outdated. I hope an editor will look at the proposed text below, review, and edit. Thank you.

Introduction
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)—founded in 1911—is an international organization headquartered in the Washington, DC metro area. A nonsectarian, nongovernmental organization, its mission is "To address the needs and rights of persons in forced or voluntary migration worldwide by advancing fair and humane public policy, facilitating and providing direct professional services, and promoting the full participation of migrants in community life." USCRI administers domestic programs related to refugee resettlement and placement, foreign-born victims of human trafficking, and unaccompanied immigrant children. Its international programs focus on defending the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

History
Founded in 1911, USCRI was the brainchild of social worker Edith Terry Bremer. It was part of the International Institute movement and the YWCA. USCRI began creating Interpreter Releases—up-to-the-minute reports about immigration—in 1922 and published the first book on U.S. citizenship, How to Become a Citizen of the United States in 1948. In response to emergency legislation admitting 130,000 Southeast Asian refugees to the United States after the Fall of Saigon, USCRI and its network began focusing on refugee resettlement in 1975.

World Refugee Survey
The World Refugee Survey was an annual USCRI report presenting information on refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum seekers. The country-by-country analysis was based on information collected from governments, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and field visits. Each country profiled in the Survey was given a grade. Countries were rated according to refugees' enjoyment of rights under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and were graded on: 1) Refoulement/Physical Protection 2) Freedom of Movement and Residence 3) Detention/Access to Courts 4) Right to Earn a Livelihood and 5) Public Relief and Education. In 2009, the 'Worst Places for Refugees' were South Africa, Gaza, Thailand, Kenya, Malaysia, Egypt and Turkey.

The first World Refugee Survey was published in 1961 and the final edition in 2009.

Refugee Resettlement
As one of the State Department's ten VOLAGs, USCRI administers refugee resettlement and placement programs in 33 locations across the United States. Refugee resettlement involves addressing the immediate needs of newly-arrived refugees—like housing, food, and medical care—and assisting refugees and asylees to enroll in school, obtain jobs, and acclimate to their new communities in the United States.

Pro Bono Representation of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children
USCRI coordinates a national network of pro bono attorneys, who provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children arriving in the United States. Each child served by the program is under age 18 and arrived in the United States unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Founded with support from Angelina Jolie and previously known as the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children, the pro bono network has assisted over 1,300 kids who face deportation proceedings.

Aiding Victims of Human Trafficking
USCRI administers the National Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Program on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. The program provides comprehensive case management services to victims of trafficking and certain family members as they rebuild their lives in 29 states and six US territories.

The Campaign to End Refugee Warehousing
USCRI established the Campaign to End Refugee Warehousing in 2004, in order to offer alternatives to the refugee camp model. Foreign Policy Magazine named the campaign one of the “Best Small Ideas of 2012.”

Organization
The President & CEO of USCRI is Lavinia Limon, formerly the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton Administration.

The organization is governed by an unpaid volunteer Board of Directors. Scott Wu is Board Chair.

USCRI has worked with various celebrities, including Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, author Isabel Allende, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie, actors Jeff Fahey and Ken Leung, supermodel Alek Wek, author and television personality Dr. Bob Arnot, seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner, Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, and businessman Austin Hearst.