Warfa: A new federal program has opened the door for everyday Minnesotans to sponsor refugees

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of material from 11 contributing columnists, along with other commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

My friend Maureen from West St. Paul has come together with a small group of Minnesotans to sponsor a family of refugees from Afghanistan. During the Afghan war and American occupation, this family was an ally to the United States and helped international organizations address the needs of the Afghan people. Now, Maureen, her friends and this Afghan family are participating in Welcome Corps, the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades. For the first time, individual Americans can now directly sponsor refugees instead of only resettlement agencies being able to do so. Thanks to Welcome Corps, Maureen and her friends now know this family personally and can raise funds and find housing and support to welcome this family to the U.S.

Welcome Corps is the product of a world that is getting smaller. We benefit every day from social media, allowing us to easily build connections around the globe and maintain friendships across distance. In the 1990s when my family members were refugees seeking a home in this country, we relied on sending letters abroad through the mail, which could take weeks to get to their destinations, and occasional international phone calls, which were extraordinarily expensive. Now as I travel for my work, I video chat with my children and am instantly updated on family news from my mother in California, my siblings in England or relatives in Somalia.

But as people across the world became closer, the federal bureaucracy did not update the process for welcoming refugees to this country. The refugee resettlement program was too institutional, formal and inhumane. Worse than this, Donald Trump spent the four years he was in office attacking refugees and finding ways to discourage those fleeing war and persecution from coming to the U.S. While the American people have shown extraordinary generosity and warmth toward our Afghan allies, Ukrainians displaced by war, and those fleeing violence and oppression in Venezuela and other countries, the U.S. government has been failing refugees.

As a member of the Biden-Harris administration and a former refugee myself, I am proud of our efforts to establish Welcome Corps, which democratized and modernized the welcoming of refugees to this country. We launched it in January 2023, a collaboration that put the American people at the center of refugee resettlement with support of the government, civil society and the private sector.

You might not know it, but Worthington, Minn., welcomed the first family to benefit from Welcome Corps in the summer of 2023. Three generations of Congolese women — a grandmother, two daughters and two granddaughters — found a new home in a thriving, diverse rural community. This happened because 15 residents of Worthington came together, tapping their unique skills and community connections, to help these new Americans find a home, enroll in school and make friends. This sponsorship was assisted by Alight, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit where I sit on the board.

Sponsors through Welcome Corps come together as friends and families in the community to lend a hand to refugees. Using their networks, they help refugees resettle by finding housing, schools and employment. Sponsor groups must have a minimum of five members who are at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens and live in the community where they intend to sponsor the refugee.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken placed the Welcome Corps in the context of our history when he said, “Providing a safe haven and a new home for people fleeing war, violence, and persecution is one of America’s noblest traditions, dating back to the founding of our nation. And throughout our history, our country has benefited from the energy, ingenuity, and hard work of refugees.” Our state of Minnesota is richer, both economically and culturally, because of the contributions of refugees.

Through Welcome Corps, Americans are again providing humanitarian leadership for those individuals and families around the world who face persecution, destruction and death from oppression and war. Americans are saving lives — like my family’s — and providing freedom and security. Americans are a bridge to safety.

Those Americans who choose to welcome refugees transform people’s lives. I can still remember the faces of James and Dorothy of Church World Services. In 1994, my family of 14 arrived in Denver, and James and Dorothy welcomed us, helping us settle into our new home and creating a sense of comfort. Dorothy visited us weekly to take the family shopping. James would play basketball with us. I was a teenager, and imagine my excitement when James purchased my first pair of sneakers.

For my family, Dorothy and James were living examples of the generous spirit of America. They showed us a compassion that touched our hearts forever. But, I did not know then what I know now. Dorothy and James were also courageous. I did not know how many Americans, like Donald Trump, hate refugees and do not want us here. I did not understand that welcoming a stranger is an act of courage. In a short time, these angry Americans came after my family. Our new home and car were attacked, and in response to those threats, my mother moved our family again, this time to San Diego. Dorothy and James were angels, not only for helping our family, but standing up against hatred to welcome refugees. (This story is told in detail in my new book, “The Transformational Leader: Twelve Practices for Driving Lasting Change.”)

To honor those who helped my family, I have dedicated much of my career to welcoming new Americans. From nonprofit direct service to funding programs in both philanthropy and government, I have supported efforts to build belonging. In 2020, I worked with Gov. Tim Walz to set up Minnesota’s Office of New Americans, bringing together new Americans, employers, local governments, nonprofits and other partners to create welcoming communities and a successful state economy.

Recently, my friend Maureen was informed by the U.S. government that her sponsored family could soon arrive. She is making last-minute preparations for their arrival, offering support and an open door to a new life for this family. When American citizens and refugees can come together, they continue the legacy of the U.S. as a welcoming nation with communities where diverse people can come together.