WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the Community-Based Refugee Reception Act, a bill to permanently authorize community refugee sponsorship and resettlement services as an additional resettlement model that complements existing pathways. The legislation is inspired by the Welcome Corps, a program started by the State Department in 2023, that allowed for volunteer groups, working with experienced resettlement agencies, to sponsor newly arriving refugees and support their successful transition to work, school, and housing in their new home communities. By tapping into networks of volunteers who are eager to lend their time and financial support to welcoming refugees, community sponsorship models complement existing resettlement programs and increase our domestic capacity to provide humanitarian protection to individuals fleeing persecution. Through participation, volunteer groups also benefit by uniting around a shared goal, engaging with local businesses and service providers , and building strong bonds with their neighbors and community.

 

Since the Trump administration effectively suspended all refugee admissions in January, community sponsorship has also been frozen despite widespread interest in Connecticut and across the country. In addition to establishing a program within the State Department that uses community sponsorship and co-sponsorship models to provide initial resettlement, the Community-based Refugee Reception Act authorizes funding to support community sponsorship groups and establishes a partnership between the State Department and resettlement agencies and local affiliates to inform training, oversight, and evaluation of the program. Finally, the bill also expresses the sense of Congress that all processing and admissions under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program must immediately resume.

 

“Despite what Donald Trump says, Americans know refugees enrich our communities and they’ve welcomed those fleeing violence and persecution into their neighborhoods. Community sponsorship programs like Welcome Corps provided refugees with the resources and support they needed to thrive in their new homes and also gave local communities a seat at the table,” said Murphy. “Trump’s callous decision to indefinitely suspend nearly all refugee admissions, including this successful and innovative program, is a moral failing and a national security misstep that sinks America’s standing abroad and emboldens our adversaries to fill the void.”

 

The legislation is endorsed by Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services Connecticut (IRIS), Elena’s Light, Jewish Family Services of Greenwich, and the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants.

 

Community sponsorship and co-sponsorship models have deep roots in Connecticut. IRIS, a New-Haven based non-profit dedicated to helping refugees, has facilitated co-sponsorship for more than a decade and used its expertise to help the State Department design and implement the Welcome Corps nationally. In Connecticut alone, thousands of volunteers and over 100 sponsorship groups, including at the University of Connecticut, committed their time and resources to assist hundreds of refugee families reach self-sufficiency in the U.S. with housing, employment, and related services during the critical initial period of resettlement.

 

Full text of the bill is available here.