HIAS Chicago

12/14/2016

Hey HIAS Chicago followers! Did you know that HIAS Chicago is now a program of JCFS Chicago? Head on over and 'Like' their page to keep receiving HIAS Chicago news -- including information on this year's scholarships (also linked below -- deadline to apply is Janaury 15).

HIAS Chicago is a program of Jewish Child & Family Services and a partner with the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago in serving our community.

06/24/2016

We are deeply disappointed in yesterday's Supreme Court ruling to block DAPA and expanded DACA. Read a statement from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights here:

(Chicago—June 23, 2016) The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and our member organizations are deeply disappointed with this morning’s US Supreme Court ruling blocking the Obama Administration’s immigration relief programs. These programs, Deferred Action for Parents of A...

06/22/2016

Congratulations to our 2016 HIAS Chicago Scholarship Winners!

Pictured from left to right: Julie Zavelevich, Rebecca Pavchinskiy, Benjamin Gutman, Nima Kohanpour, Olga Konyakova, Alice Chudnovsky and Jason Levin. Not pictured: Anna Goman, Irene Sophie Keselman and Elizabeth Zharovsky.

05/09/2016

Last week, 50 Jewish community leaders from 7 different agencies, including HIAS Chicago, traveled to Springfield for the annual Jewish Federation Mission. The group spoke with state lawmakers about the impact of the declining investment in human services and the budget crisis. Read more here:

The governor, the house speaker, the senate president, Republican leadership, and more than 30 legislators from both parties met with and listened closely to the group.

04/20/2016

Do you know your family's immigration story? Want a chance to record and preserve it?

Thanks to the powerful 1989 Project from the Russian Jewish Division, JUF's Tikkun Fellowship, you might just be eligible to do so. Watch the video below, which features three Russian Jewish families' journeys to the United States, and be in touch if you're interested.

04/15/2016

SAVE THE DATE! HIAS Chicago's Annual Meeting and Scholarship Award Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 21 from 5:00 - 7:00pm. Join us as we celebrate another successful year of program and service delivery, and honor the accomplishments of our TEN scholarship winners.

04/14/2016

On Monday evening, HIAS Chicago Director, Jessica Schaffer, was one of six speakers at the Jewish Council on Urban Affair's Annual Freedom and Justice Seder, this year themed 'The 11th Plague: Standing Against Islamophobia.' It was an honor to be included along with Rabbi Andrea London of Beth Emet The Free Synagogue, Tahera Ahmad and Michael Simon of Northwestern University, Sanah Khan of Forward Humanity, and Dr. Larycia Hawkins. Thank you, JCUA - Jewish Council on Urban Affairs!

03/04/2016

How wonderful! A team of refugees will compete at the Olympic Games in Brazil this summer:

"Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic Anthem. They will have a home together with all the other 11,000 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees in the Olympic village."

Previously, athletes who didn't represent a country weren't allowed to compete. The IOC says the all-refugee team will compete under the Olympic flag and be treated like all other teams.

02/10/2016

President Obama plans to resettle 100,000 refugees in the US in FY17. Here, HIAS helps to explain what Congress will need to specifically fund in order to make that happen:

A congressional aid unpacks boxes of President Obama's $4 trillion-plus Fiscal Year 2017 budget in the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C., February 9, 2016.

01/20/2016

Great news to share!

Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of the 5th Circuit decision that blocked DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) and expanded DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). This opens the door for a positive ruling on DAPA/DACA by June 30, which means that millions of immigrant families would be able to apply for these programs after that date. The following infographic explains everything that will happen between now and then: