The Welcome Corps: A ‘Private’ Refugee Program Funded by Taxpayers

Mark Krikorian; Nayla Rush

By Mark Krikorian and Nayla Rush on February 9, 2023

Podcast

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Summary

The State Department recently launched the Welcome Corps, billed as a “private” refugee sponsorship program modeled on last year’s arrangement for Ukrainians paroled into the U.S. The program permits a group of five or more private citizens in the United States, including legal permanent residents, to take over the roles of the State Department, the UN, and government-funded contractors in selecting and resettling refugees.

Nayla Rush, a senior researcher at the Center and guest on Parsing Immigration Policy, said, “The ostensible goal of the refugee resettlement program is to bring the most at-risk, vulnerable refugees to the United States. My concern is how refugees brought in through the Welcome Corps are going to be selected. Citizens and even conditional green card holders can sponsor and even identify the refugee to be brought to the United States, automatically qualifying for benefits and then citizenship in five years.”

The program is being pitched as the “private” sponsorship of refugees. But that label hides the fact that taxpayer money is still central. Activist groups, often funded by the government, may well hijack the program by recruiting individuals to sign sponsorship documents; the organizations can control, select, and fund these “private” sponsorships. In addition to taxpayer funding at the front end of this “private” program, refugees are eligible for a variety of resettlement benefits in the first year, and after the first three months can be signed up for welfare.

In his closing commentary, Mark Krikorian, the Center’s executive director and host of Parsing Immigration Policy, highlights a recent Center report that provides recommendations for improving the Biden administration’s “Strategic Plan” for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency charged with administering the nation’s legal immigration system. The Center’s suggestions focus on serving the interests of both American citizens and applicants for immigration benefits.