Throughout U.S. history, faith communities have been at the forefront of welcoming refugees. Across religious traditions, people of faith have worked together to respond to humanitarian crises, guided by shared values of compassion, justice and hospitality. Here are seven powerful examples of interfaith collaboration in welcoming refugees to the United States.
Welcoming Refugees After World War II (1940s-1950s)
Refugees assisted by CWS in post-WWII Europe
In the aftermath of World War II, an estimated 60 million people throughout Europe were forcibly displaced from their homes. While many returned following the war, millions—including Jewish Holocaust survivors—sought safe, new lives in countries like the United States.
With displacement at a record-breaking high, Catholic and Protestant congregations were compelled to act. Working alongside U.S. policymakers, they urged American citizens to welcome refugees, leading many religious groups to sponsor newcomer families across the country and assist them in rebuilding their lives in safety. Christian churches and agencies coordinated and executed resettlement efforts while also advocating for legislation, playing a key role in the passage of The Displaced Persons Act of 1948, the first U.S. refugee law passed by Congress.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:35)
Church World Service was born in the wake of the devastation of World War II, as seventeen Christian denominations came together “to do in partnership what none of us could hope to do as well alone.” At the time, CWS mobilized more than 11 million pounds of food, clothing and medical supplies for war-torn Europe and Asia and resettled more than 100,000 refugees to the United States during the first ten years.
Vietnamese & Southeast Asian Refugee Resettlement (1975-1980s)
The United States welcomed more than one million refugees in the ten years following the Vietnam War, which had lasted for two decades and forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of families from their homes. During this time, U.S. refugee resettlement was inconsistent, and churches and congregations stepped up to fill in the gaps.
In response, Evelyn Mangham called on Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) churches to welcome refugees from the Vietnam War. With 20 years of experience as a missionary, she cold-called churches, quoted Scripture and told stories about the Vietnamese people she had met during her work. By the end of the year, she had convinced evangelical churches to sponsor 10,000 refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, highlighting the power that even one voice can have in making a lasting difference.
As refugees were welcomed into the United States, faith-based organizations, including Church World Service, played a central role in their resettlement, providing housing, assisting with job placement and ensuring a smooth transition into their new homes in the United States.
This period of mass displacement drove the need for more comprehensive U.S. resettlement policies, the most significant of which was the Refugee Act of 1980, which provided a more accessible path to safety for those seeking refuge. When the Refugee Act of 1980 passed, CWS had already resettled 350,000 refugees in communities across the United States.
The Sanctuary Movement for Central American Refugees (1980s-1990s)
During the 1980s, hundreds of thousands of Central Americans fled civil wars in their home countries and sought shelter in the United States. The U.S. Government was firmly opposed to granting these individuals asylum, claiming they arrived at the U.S. southern border as economic migrants.
Many American citizens felt this refusal countered the intentions of the new 1980 Refugee Act. Individuals seeking asylum lived in fear of being forced back to the danger they just escaped. They had no legal right to representation, most lacked the funds to hire a lawyer and they were forced to face the real threat of deportation alone.
“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in a foreign land.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)
In response, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish congregations formed the Sanctuary Movement. Houses of worship became safe havens, and religious leaders across the country began to organize the use of church buildings as public sanctuaries, where Central American asylum seekers could access food, shelter and legal advice. In the years that followed, hundreds of churches, faith communities, and organizations joined the movement, which aimed to provide safety and support for Central Americans. The impacts of the movement can still be seen today, as many of the U.S.’s largest cities have created policies and programs to provide increased protection for those seeking safety.
Bosnian Refugee Resettlement (1990s)
The Bosnian War erupted in 1992 among the Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Serbs and Croats, causing the displacement of more than 2.2 million people, making it one of the most significant refugee crises in Europe since World War II. More than 143,000 refugees found safety in the United States, and faith groups partnered to sponsor arriving families and create welcoming communities. Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups worked together, providing housing, language classes and community support for newcomers.
Like many other international organizations, CWS responded in the post-war period, promoting reconciliation, peace in the region and repatriation of Bosnians who had fled the country during the war. Through these collective efforts, around one million of those who were displaced had returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina by 2004.
Afghan Refugee Resettlement (2021-Present)
On Monday, August 15, 2021, the world watched as the Taliban officially captured Kabul. Almost overnight, countless Afghans feared for their lives under the new regime. In the weeks that followed, a massive humanitarian airlift evacuated tens of thousands of Afghans to third countries and eventually to the United States.
After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Afghan allies arrived in need of urgent support. Many faith communities provided housing, job training and legal assistance, helping families navigate resettlement and adjust to life in the United States, and Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations worked together to provide critical services to newcomers.
Ukrainian Refugee Crisis (2022-Present)
In February 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine that led to the displacement of millions. In the years since, many of the families who have escaped to neighboring countries have arrived with only the clothes on their backs, and the Ukrainian economy has also plummeted, leaving those seeking safety with little or no financial security.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, faith-based organizations, including Jewish, Christian and Muslim groups, united to support displaced Ukrainians. Programs like Uniting for Ukraine enabled churches, synagogues and mosques to sponsor families, while interfaith coalitions provided financial aid and resettlement assistance to those fleeing war. In the following years, sponsor group programs, like those facilitated by CWS, enabled faith communities to join together in welcoming Ukrainian refugees fleeing war.
Welcome Corps and Community Sponsorship (2023)
On February 25, 2025, three national and local faith-based refugee-serving agencies and nine individuals won a preliminary injunction in the case of Pacito v. Trump, the first lawsuit challenging President Trump’s Executive Order suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program, as well as the efforts to withhold critical, congressionally-appropriated funding for refugee processing and services. Photo Courtesy: IRAP
In January 2023, the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of the Welcome Corps, a new program that allowed community members to sponsor and welcome refugees to their neighborhoods. Welcome Corps expanded the resettlement capacity of the United States and equipped sponsors to provide all the services refugee newcomers need in their first few months.
Though the sponsorship program was paused in January as part of an executive order that suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, more than 160,000 Americans applied to welcome refugees through the Welcome Corps since 2023. In the first year alone, sponsors applied to welcome more than 7,000 refugees through this new pathway.
Congregations and members of faith groups have long stepped up to support those seeking safety, and following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and fall of Kabul, faith networks rallied their communities to help. From national faith organizations to individual families and congregations, a diverse faith community provided critical support to newcomers arriving in the United States.
The United States: A Legacy of Welcome
Across history, faith-based organizations and interfaith coalitions have played a vital role in ensuring refugees find safety, dignity and opportunity in the United States. These efforts reflect a shared commitment to welcoming the stranger—a legacy which is integral to the moral fabric of the United States. With more than 43 million refugees currently living around the world, interfaith collaboration remains a beacon of hope, proving that unity and compassion can transcend differences and transform lives.
CWS has walked alongside displaced communities since its founding, helping refugees and other newcomers build safe, new lives in the United States. To learn more about our work supporting refugee newcomers, click here. Please consider making a donation to help CWS continue this critical work for decades to come.