International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a left-of-center immigration policy organization that seeks to liberalize policies on immigration to the United States and refugee status. ^{1 2} In addition to offices in the United States, IRAP has field offices in Amman, Jordan; Beirut, Lebanon; and Berlin, Germany  ³ from which it seeks out potential asylum applicants from countries such as Iraq and Syria. ⁴

Background

International Refugee Assistance Project was founded by Becca Heller under the name Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project. ⁵ Starting in 2010, IRAP was fiscally sponsored by the left-of-center Urban Justice Center. ⁶ In 2015, the organization shifted its focus from Iraqi refugees to addressing immigration policy more generally. ⁷ In 2017, IRAP became a distinct organization independent from the Urban Justice Center. ⁸

Litigation

International Refugee Assistance Project states that it selects immigration cases with the specific intent to make “systematic” changes to how United States immigration policy processes and handles refugee and asylum-seeker applications. ⁹

In 2017, IRAP represented the left-of-center Jewish Family Services of Seattle and Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley immigrant resettlement organizations, ¹⁰ which sued the Trump Administration for suspending immigration from countries that posed security threats to the United States. ¹¹ The case was settled out of court. ¹²

Lobbying

In 2017, International Refugee Assistance Project conducted its first “lobbying day” event, in which staff from IRAP and law students from American University, New York University, Yale, Georgetown, Northwestern, University of Connecticut, and Columbia lobbied members of Congress to end the Trump administration’s decision to suspend immigration from countries that posed security risks to the United States. ¹³  

IRAP engages in lobbying to liberalize United States immigration laws and increase the number of refugees that can lawfully enter the United States. ¹⁴ The changes suggested by IRAP are not limited to increasing the number of individuals who qualify for refugee status, but also substantially broadening the definition of “refugee.” ¹⁵ For instance, IRAP has recommended that the United States expand the definition of “marriage” for immigration purposes in order to grant refugee status to the partners of refugees who may not be legally married in their country of origin. ¹⁶

Climate Policy

International Refugee Assistance Project seeks to expand refugee status pathways, currently limited to individuals fleeing violence or persecution, to include individuals who claim they are displaced because of climate change, which is not currently permitted under U.S. law. ¹⁷

Private Sponsorship of Refugees

International Refugee Assistance Project encourages other nonprofit organizations, companies, and philanthropies to support the immigration and settlement of refugees in the United States. ¹⁸ IRAP has also supported and encouraged others to utilize the Biden administration’s “Welcome Corps Program,” ¹⁹ which connects families interested in housing refugees with refugees seeking entry into the United States. ²⁰

IRAP also advocates for “selective sponsorships,” under which a sponsoring family identifies and selects the exact refugee whom they intend to house. ²¹ IRAP encourages the use of selective sponsorships to admit low-priority individuals whose application would otherwise be unlikely to be processed. An example of potential beneficiaries of such a program, according to IRAP, are transgender individuals, who claim they are persecuted for their gender but who do not reside in high-priority refugee countries such as Iraq and Syria. ²²

Leadership

Rebecca Heller is the founder and executive director of International Refugee Assistance Project. ²³ Heller initially formed IRAP while attending Yale Law School in 2008. She has received awards from multiple center-left and left-of-center organizations for her work with IRAP, including a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the Charles Bronfman Prize, the American Constitution Society’s David Carliner Public Interest Award, a public interest fellowship from the  law firm Skadden Arps, the Draper Richards Kaplan Fellowship, the Echoing Green Fellowship, and the Gruber Family Foundation’s Yale Law School Gruber Human Rights Fellowship. ²⁴

Finances

In 2020, International Refuge Assistance Project received $15,760,478 in contributions, ²⁵ incurred $9,622,066 in expenses, ²⁶ and held $18,666,815 in net assets. ²⁷

In 2022, IRAP was the recipient of a $53 million dollar grant, to be distributed over six years, from The Audacious Project, ²⁸ a left-of-center grantmaking organization and project of TED Conferences, LLC, the organization known for hosting Ted Talks. ²⁹

1. “Mission & Vision.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/who-we-are/mission-vision
2. “Mission & Vision.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/who-we-are/mission-vision
3. “Our Offices.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/how-we-work/offices
4. “Notes from the Field: Jordan Trip Reflections from an American University Washington College of Law Student.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/notes-from-the-field-jordan-trip-reflections
5. “Success Stories- IRAP.” Urban Justice Center. https://www.urbanjustice.org/2019/10/21/irap/
6. “Success Stories- IRAP.” Urban Justice Center. https://www.urbanjustice.org/2019/10/21/irap/
7. “2017 Report to Supperters.” Urban Justice Center – International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IRAP_Report_to_Supporters_2017.pdf
8. International Refugee Assistance Project. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Section L.  2019.
9. “Litigation Department.” International Refugee Assistance Project.
10. “JFS v. Trump: Challenging the Refugee Ban.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/jfs-v-trump-challenging-the-refugee-ban-implemented-under-october-2017-agency-memo
11. “JFS v. Trump: Challenging the Refugee Ban.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/jfs-v-trump-challenging-the-refugee-ban-implemented-under-october-2017-agency-memo
12.  “JFS v. Trump: Challenging the Refugee Ban.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/jfs-v-trump-challenging-the-refugee-ban-implemented-under-october-2017-agency-memo
13. “Guest Post: IRAP’s First Lobbying Day.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/guest-post-iraps-first-lobby-day
14. “Policy Department” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/how-we-work/policy
15. “Press Release: IRAP Publishes Blueprint For Expanding Complementary Pathways for Refugees and Displaced People.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/press-release-irap-publishes-blueprint-for-expanding-complementary-pathways-for-refugees-and-displaced-people
16. “Expanding Complementary Pathways for Refugees and Displaced Persons: A Blueprint for the U.S. Government.” IRAP.
17. “Climate Displacement.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/issue-areas/climate-displacement
18. “Private Sponsorship.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/issue-areas/private-sponsorship
19. “Private Sponsorship.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/issue-areas/private-sponsorship
20. “Private Sponsorship.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/issue-areas/private-sponsorship
21. “Private Sponsorship.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/issue-areas/private-sponsorship
22. “Private Sponsorship.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/issue-areas/private-sponsorship
23. “Our Team – Becca Heller.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/who-we-are/our-team
24. “Our Team – Becca Heller.” International Refugee Assistance Project. https://refugeerights.org/who-we-are/our-team
25. International Refugee Assistance Project. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019 Part 1, line 8.
26. International Refugee Assistance Project. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019 Part 1, line 18.
27. International Refugee Assistance Project. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019 Part 1, line 22.
28. “IRAP ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION EXPANSION OF LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR DISPLACED PEOPLE FUNDED THROUGH THE AUDACIOUS PROJECT.” International Refugee Assistance Project. April 11, 2022. Accessed February 2, 2023. https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/audacious-announcement
29. “Ted Prize.” Ted. https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/ted-prize