Welcoming newcomers since 1939. 🌏 Formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). President & CEO: @krishvignarajah
Baltimore - Washington, D.C.
Joined March 2009
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We are thrilled to announce that Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) will now be known to the world & the people we serve as “Global Refuge.” 🌍🎉
New name, same mission. We invite you to learn more: globalrefuge.org/identity
#GlobalRefuge #WorkofWelcome
Thank you to the Congressional offices that met with advocates during last month’s Advocacy Summit! Constituents from across the country showed up to share their vision for a just, humane, and dignified immigration system and were grateful for the constructive conversations.
Global Refuge retweeted
These refugee families did everything asked of them. They submitted to interviews, background checks, and years of waiting abroad, only setting foot on U.S. soil once government officials approved their applications.
Our @GlobalRefuge statement:
globalrefuge.org/news/dhs-ru…
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Maryland employers need skilled workers. The newcomers we serve want to work. Thank you, @ChrisVanHollen and @Sen_Alsobrooks , for securing the funding that will help us connect the two. We’re deeply grateful for leaders who recognize that refugees make our workforce stronger!
Global Refuge retweeted
These new restrictions only increase the likelihood that children and families are going to ration essential medication or put off care until a manageable problem becomes an emergency room visit.
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globalrefuge.org/news/refuge…
Global Refuge retweeted
Redesignating TPS for Ukraine is a clear affirmation of humanitarian protection and a powerful recognition of the communities across the United States that have welcomed Ukrainians with open arms.
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Global Refuge retweeted
@GlobalRefuge is deeply grateful to Senators @SenBlumenthal, @lisamurkowski, @SenBillCassidy , and @ChrisCoons for their bipartisan leadership in introducing this critical Ukraine TPS legislation.
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blumenthal.senate.gov/newsro…
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Absolutely tragic: a 20-yr-old honors student, 8 days into college, is dead.
His family believes he took his own life under the weight of having his status stripped and being made to wear an ankle monitor. My heart is with his loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.
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Like an estimated 350,000 Haitian immigrants, Pierre Damas Bel had recently lost temporary protected status, which is given to people fleeing nations experiencing disaster.
He was recently run over and killed in what his family believes was a suicide. wapo.st/4cgAIc4
“This is not the story of a policy that failed. It is the story of promises deliberately broken. These are people our own government vetted, cleared and invited — whose only offense was believing America keeps its word.”
Read our President & CEO’s new op-ed in The @BaltimoreSun.
My latest in @baltimoresun on what we (still) owe our Afghan allies five years later.
Bottom line: our country made a promise of protection across four administrations and both parties, which means keeping it is a debt that no one gets to disown.
baltimoresun.com/2026/08/26/…
Global Refuge retweeted
I took action with @GlobalRefuge to demand protection for #Rohingya #refugees that faced vicious genocidal acts 9 years ago this month. This is exactly what the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program was designed for. Urge #Congress to Act!
globalrefuge.quorum.us/campa…
As the war in Ukraine rages, humanitarian protections for Ukrainians in the US must remain in place. This bipartisan group of lawmakers has urged DHS to redesignate & extend temporary status for Ukraine before its October expiration. Thank you @RepBrianFitz for your leadership!
For more on the looming expiration of Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine, check out our policy report ‘Shaken Stability: Threats to Status, Work Authorization for Ukrainians in the United States.’
globalrefuge.org/ukraine.
We’re grateful for the continued bipartisan support in @UkraineCaucus and on the Hill to maintain status for our Ukrainian neighbors.
Thank you to @RepMikeQuigley, @RepDonBacon, @RepCarlos, @RepMikeTurner, @USRepKeating and 30+ other lawmakers who supported this important effort.
As the war in Ukraine rages, humanitarian protections for Ukrainians in the US must remain in place. This bipartisan group of lawmakers has urged DHS to redesignate & extend temporary status for Ukraine before its October expiration. Thank you @RepBrianFitz for your leadership!
For more on the looming expiration of Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine, check out our policy report ‘Shaken Stability: Threats to Status, Work Authorization for Ukrainians in the United States.’
globalrefuge.org/ukraine.
“They now face an impossible choice: remain without status and risk arrest and deportation, or return to a Haiti marred by gang violence, kidnapping and the collapse of basic services.”
More from our President & CEO, @KrishVignarajah, in The Guardian today 👇
My thoughts in The @Guardian about the contradiction at the heart of terminating TPS for Haiti and the devastating impact it’s poised to have on ~350,000 Haitians legally residing in the U.S.
theguardian.com/us-news/2026…
Global Refuge retweeted
The State Department warns Americans not to set foot in Haiti. If they must, the government insists they draft a will and submit DNA in case loved ones need to identify them.
And yet, the administration is fully prepared to force 300,000 Haitians back into a crisis. Just awful.
Breaking news: A federal judge took the final step in allowing the Trump administration to terminate temporary protected status for 350,000 Haitians, meaning many are likely to lose their jobs and be at risk of deportation. wapo.st/4pYYWNl
Global Refuge retweeted
Relieved Dr. Ameaka is out of ICE custody, where she never should have been (as a Johns Hopkins scientist w/ a pending asylum case + a valid work permit).
Why are we treating Fulbright scholars like threats? Countries compete for talent like this, but now we're chasing it away.
Global Refuge retweeted
Thank you @RepJasonCrow for your leadership & introduction of the Afghanistan TPS Act.
Many Afghans fought alongside the U.S. against the Taliban. This bipartisan legislation will grant them Temporary Protected Status (TPS), offering work-authorization and protection from deportation.
This bill is endorsed by @afghanevac, @nolbpac , @GlobalRefuge, @iava , and Refugees International.
Full press release ⬇️
crow.house.gov/media/press-r…
