From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Global Refuge
.png)
Founded 1939; 86 years ago
Legal status Non-profit
Affiliations Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Revenue US$3 00 million (2017)[1]
Employees 550
Website www.globalrefuge.org
Formerly called Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Global Refuge, formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service,[2] is a non-profit organization that supports refugees and migrants entering the United States. It is one of nine refugee resettlement agencies working with the Office of Refugee Resettlement[3] and one of two that serves unaccompanied refugee minors.[4] Global Refuge also advocates for policies and practices relating to immigration and detention.[5][6]
As an organization, Global Refuge originates from the response of American Lutherans in 1939 to the needs of Europeans displaced because of World War II,[7] but the roots of the organization reach back to the 1860s when the New York Ministerium and the Pennsylvania Ministerium joined together to help and protect Lutheran immigrants in the US.[8] Since then the organization's scope has expanded to include any refugees entering the US, support for asylum seekers[9] and migrants,[10][11] and services to unaccompanied children (UACs).
Global Refuge continues to be a faith-based organization and maintains collaborative relationships with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.[12]
As of 2019 the president and CEO is Krish O'Mara Vignarajah.[13]
References
- Influence Watch
- "LIRS Rebrands as Global Refuge | Press Release". Global Refuge. 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- "Voluntary Agencies". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Administration for Children and Families. Archived from the original on December 13, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- "About Unaccompanied Refugee Minors". Office of Refugee Resettlement; Administration for Children and Families. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- Sneed, Tierney (October 30, 2014). "Immigrant Detention Centers in Texas, New Mexico Have Old Problems, Report Finds". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- "'Locking Up Family Values, Again' Report". Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. January 24, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- Solberg, Richard (1992). Open Doors the Story of Lutherans Resettling Refugees. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
- Bouman, Stephen Paul; Deffenbaugh, Ralston (2009). They Are Us: Lutherans and Immigration. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.
- Oleaga, Michael (October 30, 2014). "Immigration Reform Update: Immigrant Rights Groups Call for Closing Artesia, Karnes Detention Centers as Report Details 'Inhumane' Conditions : US News". Latin Post. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- Hartke, Linda (April 24, 2012). "See It, Say It: The Supreme Court Should Strike Down SB 1070". Sojourners. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- Aziz, Saharf; Roman, Ediberto (June 21, 2012). "If High Court Upholds Arizona's SB 1070, Priests and Rabbis Could Be Prosecuted for Providing Humanitarian Aid". TruthOut. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- "Church Partners". Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- "LIRS Appoints Krish O'Mara Vignarajah as President and CEO: Choice Represents a New Generation of Leadership". Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
External linksOfficial website
------------------------------------------
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Krish Vignarajah
Krish Vignarajah
Born September 16, 1979 (age 46)
Sri Lanka
Education Yale University (BS, JD)
Magdalen College, Oxford (MPhil)
Political party Democratic
Relatives Thiru Vignarajah (brother)
Krishanti O'Mara Vignarajah (born September 16, 1979) is an American lawyer serving as President and CEO of Global Refuge.[1][2][3][4][5] She previously served in the Obama White House as Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama[6][7][8][9] and at the State Department as Senior Advisor under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State John Kerry.
Early life and education
Krishanti O'Mara Vignarajah is the second child of Tamil parents Elyathamby and Sothy Vignarajah.[10] Vignarajah and her brother Thiru Vignarajah arrived in the United States as children because their parents fled the Sri Lankan Civil War.[8] At Yale College she earned a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, graduating magna cum laude and with Phi Beta Kappa honors; she also earned a Master's degree in Political Science.[11] She was a 2002 Marshall Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford,[12] where she received an M.Phil. in International Relations. She returned to Yale Law School, where she served on the Yale Law Journal.[11]
Career
Back from college for a summer, Vignarajah worked for Senator Paul Sarbanes.[11] She has practiced law at Jenner & Block in Washington, DC; she has clerked for Chief Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and has taught at Georgetown University as an adjunct.[11]
She was a Senior Advisor at the U. S. Department of State under both Secretary John Kerry and Secretary Hillary Clinton.[11]
At the White House, Vignarajah served as Policy Director for Michelle Obama and led the First Lady’s signature Let Girls Learn initiative. At the State Department, she coordinated development and implementation of multiple programs including those concerning refugees and migration, engagement with religious communities, the legal dimensions of U.S. foreign policy, and regional issues relating to Africa and the Middle East. She worked closely with USAID, Health & Human Services and the Department of Defense.
Vignarajah ran for governor of Maryland in the 2018 primary election, finishing fourth.[1] She gained "some national attention" because had she won, "she would have been the first woman, immigrant or person of color to be elected governor in the state".[1]
In 2019, she became president and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.[1] During her tenure there, the refugee resettlement agency filed litigation against the Trump administration, challenging the legality of Executive Order 13888, which seeks to give state and local officials the authority to opt out of refugee resettlement in their jurisdictions.[13][14][15] In an interview with NPR, Vignarajah described the policy as "cruel and shortsighted," and noted that "refugees that have been waiting to be reunited with their families for years may be forced to settle hundreds of miles away."[16] Vignarajah also spoke out against the Executive Order in a Baltimore Sun OpEd entitled, "The courts should declare Trump's refugee order unconstitutional."[17] The lawsuit has thus far resulted in a preliminary injunction against the policy, barring its implementation temporarily.[18][19] In response, Vignarajah told NBC News, "This injunction provides critical relief. Those who have been waiting for years to reunite with their families and friends will no longer have to choose between their loved ones and the resettlement services that are so critical in their first months as new Americans."[20]
She has been recognized as one of The Daily Record’s “Top 100 Women,” “Most Admired CEOs,” the Hill’s Changemakers, WTCI’s “International Business Leaders,” and one of the Baltimore Sun’s Women to Watch.
Personal life
Vignarajah is married to Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. Their wedding was officiated by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware.[21] They are the parents of two young daughters, Alana and Leya.[22]
In June 2020, Vignarajah went public with her breast cancer diagnosis.[23] In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, she said, "My hope is to do my part to lift some of the stigma and anxiety that sits around breast cancer."[24]
No comments:
Post a Comment