Jesuit Refugee Service | USA | The JRS/USA Newsroom

Syria: Humanitarian plight must be prioritized
(Beirut, Rome, Washington, D.C.) February 1, 2013 – With the recent escalation of violence and ongoing shortages of food and other basic commodities, Jesuit Refugee Service urges the international community to prioritize the humanitarian needs of the civilian population in Syria and neighboring Jordan and Lebanon.
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Kenya: group urges government end abuse of refugees
(Nairobi) January 24, 2013 — A number of civil society groups, including Jesuit Refugee Service, strongly urged the Kenyan government on Tuesday to end police harassment and abuse of refugees and protect the basic human rights of all refugees and Kenyan citizens.
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Migrants: a call for justice and hospitality
(Bogotá) December 30, 2012 – Members of the Jesuit Network in Latin America and the Caribbean issue a message of solidarity and hope to 214 million migrants in the world. Despite the valuable contributions migrants make to their new host societies and countries of origin, a significant number of them are forced to live in vulnerable circumstances, without international protection from human rights violations.
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Spotlighting Urban Refugees during #GivingTuesday
(Washington, D.C.) November 2, 2012 — Jesuit Refugee Service/USA has joined #GivingTuesday, a first of its kind effort to harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners — charities, families, businesses and individuals — to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. JRS is one of the few organizations to assist refugees in urban settings worldwide and has long recognized the severe state of neglect of urban refugees.
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Dallas Students Highlight Refugee Issues
(Washington, D.C.) March 22, 2012 — Jesuit Refugee Service/USA and Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas will host a Refugee Awareness Day and community reception on March 28, 2012. The American/African Outreach Society, a JRS Student Action Team, has organized the event, which will include two Refugee Camp simulation experiences.
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Report Highlights Plight of Ethnic Chin Christians
(Washington, D.C.) March 6, 2012 — In a report released today, 'Seeking Refuge: The Chin People in Mizoram State, India,' leading refugee and human rights experts call on the central government of India and Mizoram State to respond to the protection and humanitarian crisis of up to 100,000 Chins from Chin State, Burma, who are seeking refuge in India.
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Ecuador: Youth without borders
(Quito) March 3, 2012 — Jesuit Refugee Service announces the launch of the journal “Connection: Youth without Borders," with an event to be held in Quito on March 7. At the event, the finished work of the young people involved in the project will be presented along with the experiences they had in creating the publication.
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Kino Border Initiative provides humanitarian aid
(Phoenix) February 29, 2012 — On March 10, 2012, the 2nd Annual Kino Border Initiative Dinner will be held to raise financial support for this ministry that helps individuals and communities on both sides of the Arizona/Mexican border affected by the consequences of migration.
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Europe: Human Rights Court strengthens refugee rights
(Brussels) February 24, 2012 — The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday unanimously held that several human rights of the migrants forcibly returned to the countries of persecution had been violated, including the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to judicial remedies.
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Spiritual basis of the JRS mission
(Rome) November 14, 2011 — In commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the foundation of the organization, Jesuit Refugee Service announced the launch of a new section of its international website devoted to the key issues facing JRS staff in their service and advocacy work with refugees and other forcibly displaced migrants.
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JRS urges stricter cluster bomb standards
(Rome) November 9, 2011 — Jesuit Refugee Service expresses concern about the forthcoming review of the Convention on Conventional Weapons. If the current protocol on cluster munitions is approved, it would sanction continued use of cluster munitions proven to cause unacceptable harm to civilians.
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Washington hosts Teach-In for Justice
(Washington, D.C.) November 7, 2011 — More than 1,000 students, teachers, parish members and others passionate about faith-inspired social justice will gather here this weekend for the 14th annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice sponsored by the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
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Conference on Statelessness and the Right to Nationality in the Dominican Republic
(Washington, D.C.) October 12, 2011 — As Dominican citizens of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic are having their nationality revoked by the Dominican government, an international coalition of leading human rights groups announced plans to examine those actions and their impact in a one-day conference and a surrounding week of dialogue.
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Kino Border Initiative recognized for humanitarian work
(Nogales, Ariz.) September 30, 2011 — On Sept. 16, the Mexican Consulate in Nogales hosted a ceremony and reception to honor the Kino Border Initiative for their humanitarian work in the Nogales border region.
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NGOs urge no further cuts to humanitarian funding
Washington (April 14, 2011)—InterAction calls on Congress to pass the 2011 spending agreement today and work with the Obama administration to agree on a 2012 budget that invests in building a more stable and prosperous world.
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International Women's Day
(Johannesburg, Nairobi, Rome, Washington, D.C.) March 8, 2011 – On International Women's Day, Jesuit Refugee Service urges governments to take concrete steps to strengthen the role of displaced women in aid programs affecting refugee communities.
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Dominican Republic: JRS staff assaulted
(Djabon, Dominican Republic) December 16, 2010 – Jesuit Refugee and Migration Service (JRMS) staff report they were physically assaulted by Dominican Republic Police of the General Directorate on Migration. The event took place on the morning of December 15, 2010, as part of a raid which took place near the building Centro Bonó, a Jesuit social center in which JRMS is housed.
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Structuring and Implementing an Immigrant Legalization Program
(Washington, D.C.) November 27, 2010 – The Migration Policy Institute – an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank – dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide this week launched the first report in a series on how to shape and administer a legalization program, with the intent of providing solutions for some of the most important issues that policymakers in Congress and the administration would need to consider in designing and implementing effective legislation.
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Landmine and Cluster Munitions Monitor
Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor is an initiative providing research for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC). It is the de facto monitoring regime for the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor produces several research products including the annual Landmine Monitor and Cluster Munition Monitor reports, online country profile reports, as well as factsheets and maps.
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JRS/USA Annual Report now online
(Washington, D.C.) November 17, 2010 – The 2010 Jesuit Refugee Service Annual Report is now available online.
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JRS/USA board member to head F&M College
(Lancaster, Pa.) November 16, 2010 – Jesuit Refugee Service/USA board member Daniel R. Porterfield, Ph.D., a senior vice president at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., was named the 15th president of Franklin & Marshall College today by the College’s Chair of the Board Lawrence I. Bonchek, M.D.
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Supporting refugees in Australia
Jesuit Refugee Service Australia and other church-based organizations say they are ready to support the government’s decision to move children and vulnerable families into community-based accommodation.
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Online Retreat Marks 30 Years of Jesuit Refugee Service
(Washington, D.C.) October 28, 2010 – This November 14th is the 30th anniversary of the founding of Jesuit Refugee Service. We recall fondly Father Pedro Arrupe’s sound advice to "pray, pray much" as he encouraged the struggling first generation of Jesuit Refugee Service team members in Southeast Asia to bring the overwhelming challenges of their new apostolic work to the Lord in prayer. To highlight the anniversary and our on-going work with refugees and forced migrants, on November 1 we will make available on our website an Online Retreat.
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Campaign urges governments to get on board cluster bomb ban
(New York) October 19, 2010 – Governments that have not yet joined the international treaty banning cluster bombs should get on board without delay and participate in next month’s historic meeting of the convention, said the Cluster Munition Coalition today at a special event held at the United Nations in New York.
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News archive

October, 2010

Jesuit Refugee Service/USA welcomes new National Director
Fr. Michael A. Evans, S.J. today becomes the sixth National Director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. Fr. Evans succeeds Fr. Kenneth J. Gavin, S.J., who next year becomes Assistant Director of Jesuit Refugee Service International in Rome.
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September, 2010

U.S. NGOs Applaud Introduction of Obama Administration’s New Global Development Policy
“We applaud the Obama administration for creating the first-ever global development policy. As Americans, we agree that global development is a moral, economic and political imperative," said Samuel A. Worthington, InterAction President and CEO.
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