New Campaign Launches to Expand Refugee Access to U.S. Colleges and Universities 

New Campaign Launches to Expand Refugee Access to U.S. Colleges and Universities 
Learn About The RESPONSE Campaign: College and University Sponsorship of Refugee Students

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2021
Contacts:
Jose Magaña-Salgado (jose@presidentsalliance.org)
Chris Boian (boian@unhcr.org)

 

Washington, D.C.—The RESPONSE Campaign: College and University Sponsorship of Refugee Students launched today to build support for a new college and university refugee sponsorship program, which involves providing refugee students expanded pathways to resettle, study, and obtain legal permanent residence in the U.S. 

Fewer than one percent of refugees worldwide are resettled each year and only five percent eventually access higher education. The new campaign will respond to the scope of this challenge and mobilize higher education leadership to advocate for, design, and engage in a new university sponsorship program. Under this new model, refugee students would enter the United States under a new P-4 category for private sponsorship of refugees. This P-4 category would allow these students to study at a sponsoring U.S. college or university, while providing refugee students with a path to permanent residency. The FY2022 Report to Congress on US Refugee Admissions included the intention to pilot private sponsorship through a P4 category in 2022.

The RESPONSE Campaign launch coincides with the release of a new report outlining recommendations for the U.S. to develop, implement, and sustain a university sponsorship program for refugee students. University Sponsorship of Refugee Students: Initiative on Increasing U.S. Education Pathways for Refugee Students reflects a six-month long process led by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Global Task Force on Third Country Education Pathways, and the University Alliance for Refugees and at-Risk Migrants along with its Student Voices for Refugees network. A briefing of the report will be held on Thursday, December 2nd at 1 pm ET, more information and registration here.

Miriam Feldblum, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, stated: “The ‘RESPONSE’ in our campaign name refers to ‘Refugee Sponsorship for Education’ – it’s a mission we believe in deeply, one that presents an enormous opportunity for higher education, and a model that can change the lives of refugee students. College and university sponsorship of refugee students would meet an urgent global need, enrich campuses, and advance core values of higher education. This is the moment for the U.S. to embark on the essential next step in expanding refugee access to higher education.”

“Two years ago, Columbia created the Scholarship for Displaced Students to support student refugees as they resume their studies and rebuild their lives,” said Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger. “We believe that colleges and universities should be leading on this issue, and we’re very proud of our success so far. We welcome the RESPONSE Campaign and the new effort to develop a university sponsorship program  and trust that it will lead to more opportunities for these young people with so much to offer.”

Oscar Bahati, Project Associate for the Initiative on U.S Education Pathways for Refugee Students, said: “As someone who spent more than twenty years as a refugee, my hope was restored after accessing higher education. University sponsorship will help refugee students obtain a legal residence, increase diversity in different colleges and universities across the nation, and prepare these students for becoming excellent employees. Personally, I am excited to be part of this initiative because it is an opportunity to advocate for fellow refugees and support them to be more successful during their journey.”

Background 

In May, the Presidents’ Alliance, with partners, launched a six-month process, bringing together representatives from over 60 organizations, current and former refugee students, leaders of refugee resettlement, higher education institutions, philanthropic organizations, and other stakeholders in five working groups to develop a robust policy framework and program model for the university sponsorship of refugee students in the U.S. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration partnered with the UN Refugee Agency, the Global Task Force on Third Country Education Pathways, the University Alliance for Refugees and at-Risk Migrants along with its Student Voices for Refugees Network, and numerous other organizations and individual institutions in an initiative to increase refugees’ ability to access higher education. To support this goal, in March, 52 organizations, higher education institutions, and foundations sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Cochran urging the agencies to incorporate college- and university-based sponsorship programs of refugee students and refugee families as part of any private sponsorship initiative established by the administration. 

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The nonpartisan, nonprofit Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration brings college and university presidents and chancellors together on the immigration issues that impact higher education, our students, campuses, communities and nation. We work to advance just immigration policies and practices at the federal, state, and campus level that are consistent with our heritage as a ‘nation of immigrants’ and the academic values of equity and openness. The Alliance is composed of over 500 presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, enrolling over five million students in 43 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.