Today the State Department announced a new initiative that will let Americans financially sponsor refugees who hope to resettle in the United States. The program will build on existing private sponsorship schemes that serve Ukrainians, Afghans, and Venezuelans—and it could transform America's refugee resettlement process in a hugely beneficial way.
The initiative, called the Welcome Corps, will be rolled out in two stages. During the first, a group of at least five American citizens or permanent residents will be matched with refugees who have already been approved for resettlement under the U.S. Refugee Admission Program (USRAP). The second phase, set to launch in mid-2023, will allow private sponsors to identify and resettle specific refugees. The State Department says it hopes to "mobilize 10,000 Americans to step forward as private sponsors and offer a welcoming hand to at least 5,000 refugees," with the possibility of pairing more sponsors with refugees if those numbers are exceeded.
