Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service) is the second-largest refugee resettlement organization in the United States, and its network partners operate at 50 resettlement and placement sites in the United States. ¹ As of 2024, Global Refuge claims to have supported more than 750,000 refugees in the United States. ²

Formerly known as the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) and still partnered with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, ^{3 4} Global Refuge received at least $881 million in U.S. government grants during the Biden administration to work on refugee resettlement-related issues. ⁵

History

Global Refuge was founded in 1939 as the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). ^{6 7} Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, LIRS resettled individuals from Germany and Eastern Europe in the United States. The organization was active in resettling other refugees from Cuba, Uganda, and Vietnam in the U.S. throughout the 1960s and 1970s. ⁷ LIRS received tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service in 1972. ⁸ As of 2024, Global Refuge remains partnered with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Latvian Evangelical Church in America. ⁴

In 2018, LIRS was one of two organizations designed by the U.S. government to address the “family separation crisis” at the United States-Mexico border. In 2021, LIRS responded to the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by resettling more than 14,000 Afghan nationals in the United States. ⁷

On January 17, 2024, LIRS rebranded as Global Refuge. ⁹

Leadership and Staff

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Global Refuge. ¹⁰ Prior to joining Global Refuge, Vignarajah worked in the Obama administration as the White House Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama. She also worked at the U.S. Department of State as a senior advisor for U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. ¹¹

Megan Bracy is the director of Global Refuge’s refugee and migrant services programs. ^{10 12} Prior to joining Global Refuge, she was the associate director for community integration at the migration advocacy organization U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). ¹³

Lorie Davidson is Global Refuge’s vice president for children and family services. She oversees Global Refuge’s national network of family reunification centers for unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors. She also runs the organization’s global programming in Guatemala and Mexico. Prior to joining Global Refuge, she was the associate director for USCRI’s children’s services and trafficking victims’ program. ¹⁴

Other members of Global Refuge’s senior leadership team have worked for Achieving the Dream, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the U.S. Grains Council, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the ELCA Foundation, Corus International, Save the Children, the International Institute of Akron, and Georgetown University’s Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. ¹⁴

Global Refuge’s board of directors includes individuals with ties to the Warnock Foundation, ELCA, Lever for Change, Southeastern District LCMS, Ministries of Diverse Cultures and Communities, Inspiritus, and others. ¹⁵

Global Refuge considered 2023 to be one of the biggest years in the organization’s history. That year, Global Refuge grew to a staff of more than 500 people and extended its programming to support more people than at any point in its history. ⁹

Overview

Global Refuge is an activist organization that works to welcome refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants of mixed status to the United States. Global Refuge is the second-largest resettlement organization in the United States, and its network partners operate at 50 resettlement and placement sites and one remote placement site in the United States. ¹ As of 2024, Global Refuge claims to have supported more than 750,000 refugees in in the United States. ²

Global Refuge’s activism and work priorities are guided by immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. ¹⁶ The organization supports the critical race theory-influenced concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout all its work ² and supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants residing in the United States. ¹⁷

In 2024, Global Refuge’s priorities included rebuilding the American refugee resettlement system; strengthening the economic integration of its refugees; giving American citizenship to impacted individuals; support for temporary protected status (TPS), parolees, special immigrant visa holders (SIVs), and so-called “climate refugees.” ¹⁸

Refugee Resettlement

Global Refuge’s network partners operate at least 50 resettlement and placement sites and one remote placement site in the United States. ¹ Global Refuge directly operates “refugee centers” for foreign nationals with both legal and illegal immigration status in Baltimore, Maryland; Denver, Colorado; Las Cruces, New Mexico; New York, New York; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and Tampa, Florida. ⁹

Global Refuge works with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Refugee Resettlement to release unaccompanied illegal immigrant children into the United States at various locations across the country. Some of its partners include Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, The Women’s Building, Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, Jewish Vocational Services, the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, and others. ¹⁹ Global Refuge also coordinates with groups of volunteers to meet refugees at airports in Baltimore, Maryland; Fargo, North Dakota; and San Antonio, Texas. ²⁰

The organization also has an international office in Guatemala that helps manage case management for individuals who have been deported to Guatemala from the U.S. and Mexico. It has provided American Rescue Plan support services to address negative COVID-19 impacts on economic security for illegal immigrants residing in San Antonio, Texas, and runs a program that provides technical assistance and training for refugees, as well as a dollar-for-dollar match for home deposits and savings goals for refugees. ²¹

In 2023, Global Refuge supported 22,000 unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors from 87 countries; aided 15,142 asylum seekers; resettled 13,916 refugees; took more than 950 advocacy actions in support of expansive immigration policy; and inserted “newcomers” in more than 100 American cities. The organization also offered business and personal loans through New American Lending, operated an office in Guatemala, and ran Global Refuge Field Offices in San Antonio, Texas; Fargo, North Dakota; and Baltimore, Maryland. Global Refuge’s San Antonio, Texas, center operates on a referral-only basis. ²²

Global Refuge also worked with 59 partner offices for refugee resettlement in 2023. ⁹ In June 2023, Global Refuge launched its seventh Welcome Center in Baltimore, which was funded by a $400,000 grant from the ELCA World Hunger Program. This center supports asylum seekers and gives them social services, legal assistance, and healthcare. ²³

In 2023, Global Refuge (then as LIRS) spent at least $97,372,215 to resettle refugees, unaccompanied foreign minors, and special immigrant visa holders in the U.S. The top five countries of origin for these individuals are Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Somalia, and Syria. ²⁴

In 2023, Global Refuge gave $659,008 of loans through its “New American Lending” program, which supports refugees with loans. The organization also runs New American Careers, a recruitment firm for immigrant and refugee job seekers that is invested in “strengthening and diversifying” the American workforce. It also provided legal services and advocated for Afghan nationals following the withdrawal of American military forces from Afghanistan. ⁹

Global Refuge assisted 18,261 asylum seekers; resettled 4,900 refugees and immigrants in the United States, supported 1,200 individuals it classifies as “new Americans”’ and reunited 8,400 illegal immigrant children with families across the United States in 2022. ²

Since early 2021, Global Refuge has been working with the Biden administration U.S. Department of State to receive more than 80,000 Afghan nationals in the United States through the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition. Global Refuge advocates in favor of the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would offer permanent legal status to Afghan nationals who were brought to the United States after the August 2021 withdrawal of American troops from the country. ²⁵

According to a May 2024 report in the Free Press, Global Refuge is one of three prominent non-government organizations (NGOs) that receive funding from the Unaccompanied Children Program with the other two being Southwest Key Programs and Endeavors, Inc. The report alleges that all three groups reported a combined revenue of $597 million in 2019 to a combined $2 billion in 2022. In addition, the report alleges that the salaries of the NGOs top executives have grown within the same frame of time, with annual compensations being reported over $500,000 between 2019 and 2022. ²⁶ The report further alleges that according to its 2018 990 form, the group reported a revenue of about $50 million, while its 2022 990 forms show an increase to $207 million, with $180 million coming from grants provided by the federal government. According to group CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the group planned to have over 700 in staff by the end of 2024. However, the report alleges that the NGO was spending roughly $30 million to house 2,591 unaccompanied children while by 2022 it was reportedly spending $82.5 million to house 1,443 unaccompanied children. ²⁶

Activities

Global Refuge works to resettle refugees, asylum seekers, and unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors across the United States. ¹ The organization is the largest faith-based nonprofit solely dedicated to refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. It has given resources and guidance to immigrant groups for more than 80 years. It has 1,000 partners and 50,000 volunteers. ²⁷

Global Refuge claims to have supported more than 750,000 individuals since 1939, including “reuniting” 8,000 immigrant youth and families in the United States in 2022. ²⁷

Global Refuge supports what it calls a “preferred refugee employer” program that prioritizes hiring refugee workers over American citizens, ⁹ releases the “New American Stories” YouTube series to support increased refugee admissions to the United States, ²⁸ and believes in the concept of “climate refugees” that were displaced by a changing climate. ²⁹

To be identified as a preferred refugee employer, companies must meet at least five of Global Refuge’s designated “refugee employment best practices,” which include: free transportation or assistance purchasing a vehicle, cohort model of hiring and placement, refugee-specific new hire orientation sessions, delineated pathway for promotion and a record of advancing refugee employees, established annual hiring goals for refugee hires, housing assistance, childcare subsidies, English as a second language (ESL) and adult education classes, and vocational mentorship. ³⁰

Global Refuge works to combat what it considers to be “disinformation” regarding refugees and immigration to the United States. It claims that refugees and immigrants do not take American jobs, that refugees and immigrants are not a drain on U.S. taxpayer resources, that refugees are largely skilled workers, that immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than U.S. citizens, that immigrants are not responsible for bringing drugs into the United States, and that prioritizing refugees and immigrants does not neglect other groups currently residing in the United States. ¹⁷

Global Refuge has also provided residential care and community-based case management to “reunified children and families and runs the “New American Cities” program (funded by Walmart, ICONIQ, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) to upskill and support immigrants currently in the U.S. ²⁴

Global Refuge also cooperates with affiliates to provide refugees and asylum seekers with citizenship test preparation, English language training, job preparation, housing offers, refugee resettlement, and other support. ³¹

Policy Activism

Global Refuge runs the Global Refugee Ambassadors program to advocate for refugees and asylum seekers in the United States ³² and conducts U.S. Congressional outreach to support issues including “climate change, migration, and agriculture policy” to U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), 350.org, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. ⁹

In 2023, the organization spent $128,293 on various outreach and lobbying activities. It also drafts letters to be signed by other nonprofit and religious organizations; calls members of U.S. Congress and their staff; contacts the executive branch; and communicates with other entities on immigration law, refugee resettlement, and detention practices.  ³³

U.S. Government Grants

According to USASpending.gov, Global Refuge has received prime contracts for at least $1.453 billion dollars from the U.S. government, primarily from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of State. ³⁴

As of November 2024, Global Refuge has received at least received at least $881.41 million dollars of grants from the U.S. government during the Biden administration. The organization received $676.1 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and $205 million from the U.S. Department of State during this timeframe. ⁵

In 2023, Global Refuge received $221,476,051 in government grants. It also spent $207,867,327 on U.S. government-funded activities. In 2022, the organization received $179,864,324 of U.S. government grants and spent $168,772,358 on U.S. government-funded activities. ³⁵

Grantmaking

Global Refuge makes grants to organizations involved with refugee resettlement, unaccompanied illegal immigrant youth, and other causes. In 2023, Global Refuge made $171,205,827 in grants, many in support of refugee resettlement and asylum-related activities. ³⁶

These grants included $49,476,074 to Bethany Christian Services of Michigan, $17,083,204 to Lutheran Services in America, $12,008,515 to Lutheran Family Services of the Carolinas, $8,934,129 to Chris 180 for “child services,” $8,055,152 to Lutheran Ministries of Georgia, $7,912,889 to Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, $6,434,623 to Lutheran Family Services of Rocky Mountains, $5,907,949 to Lutheran Services Florida, $4,865,009 to Lutheran Family Services of Oregon and Southwest Oregon, $4,370,116 to Lutheran Social Services of New England, $4,027,314 to Lutheran Family Services of Virginia, $3,907,038 to Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, $3,869,064 to Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, $3,382,973 to Lutheran Services in Iowa, $2,948,582 to Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, $2,728,495 to Creative Solutions for Kids and Families, $2,220,439 to Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, $1,731,736 to Lutheran Social Services of Northeastern Florida, $1,249,116 to Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, $1,271,941 to Canopy Northwest Arkansas for refugee resettlement, $1,113,761 to ICNA Relief USA Programs, $1,024,148 to Lutheran Social Services of Metropolitan New York, $863,555 to Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services, $855,954 to The Women’s Building, $316,112 to Upbring, and $172,526 to Community Legal Center. ³⁷

The organization also spent $3,231,057 on 570 gift cards and other financial assistance for refugees, asylum seekers, and other individuals. ³⁷

Non-Government Funding

Global Refuge primarily receives funding from contributions and grants, investment income, and U.S. government grants. In 2023, Global Refuge reported revenue of $232,828,680 and expenses of $230,219,977. ³⁸

In 2023, Global Giving received $16,708,782 from the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund, $760,000 from the Fidelity Foundation, and $587,265 from Airbnb. The organization received an additional 44 grants from private foundations worth $19,520,478. ³⁹

Global Giving reported revenue of $207,821,506 and expenses of $186,346,164 in 2022. These expenses included at least $149,068,790 of grants or similar disbursements. ⁴⁰

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