Policy Statements

On September 30, 2023, Congress failed to update legislation (as it had done previously in 2022) to extend authorization for newly-arriving Afghan humanitarian parolees to access key refugee services and mainstream benefits. Even as benefits were retroactively restored to arriving Ukrainian parolees in an April 2024 supplemental funding package, Congress failed to include the same fix for Afghans. As thousands …

Refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants, and other newcomers deserve fair and just access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. But today’s housing market reveals deep-rooted inequities and a dearth of housing support, development and market availability, and affordability for renters and homeowners. Studies show that the United States has a shortage of 7.3 million affordable homes, a figure that has increased …

Church World Service Comment on the Department of Justice and Homeland Security’s  Interim Final Rule on Securing the Border; Docket No: USCIS-2024-0006 Church World Service (CWS) submits this comment in response to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) interim final rule on Securing the Border (“IFR”), which has …

Church World Service respectfully submits the following comment in response to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) request for comment on the Temporary Increase of the Automatic Extension Period of Employment Authorization and Documentation for Certain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Renewal Applicants, 89 Fed. Reg. 24628 (Apr. 8, 2024) (to be codified at 8 C.F.R. pt. 274a) (DHS Docket …

Among the most significant challenges facing arriving asylum seekers – and the communities that welcome them – is the ability to access employment authorization. Asylum seekers and other new arrivals in the U.S. need employment authorization documents (EADs) so they can become self-sufficient, lawfully support themselves and their families, and contribute economically to their new communities. In the midst of …