HIAS and Council Migration Service of Philadelphia

HIAS Pennsylvania aims to help refugees and immigrants in the Greater Philadelphia Region:
1. Promote integration, self-sufficiency and financial stability of refugees and immigrants.
2. Ensure protection from persecution, societal and interpersonal violence abroad and in the U.S. and enable eligible immigrants and their family members to work and remain in this country through immigration legal services.
3. Use immigration legal services to safeguard immigrants' and refugees' ability to work, travel, and support family members, and safeguard immigrants' and refugees' access to benefits that assist with employment and education.
4. Promote the fair and just treatment of immigrants and refugees through advocacy.

We work to achieve our goals by:
1. Providing high quality, trauma-informed, culturally competent case management and direct support to refugees and other immigrants. This includes providing integration social services such as ESL, culturally and linguistically appropriate health care access, cultural orientation, employment and housing assistance.
2. Providing immigration legal services to vulnerable immigrants. This includes representation for humanitarian based visas, family reunification services, and support with naturalization.
3. Identifying and eliminating integration barriers through community education which includes educating immigrants and refugees about their rights, educating community members about the positive impact immigrants and refugees have on their communities. This also includes educating political influencers such as legislators, both State and Federal, about policy and regulation issues effecting immigrants and refugees.

HIAS Pennsylvania has been serving refugees and immigrants since 1882. We are the largest and most respected immigration legal services agency in Pennsylvania.

Our legal staff is both locally and nationally recognized as experts on all forms of immigration legal services except those relating to employment.

We have teams specialized in providing legal services to the most vulnerable immigrants, including:
Youth (including unaccompanied minors)
Domestic Violence Survivors
Victims of Crime
Survivors of Torture
& Elderly and disabled immigrants seeking naturalization

We have a proven history of collaboration, taking the lead on Philadelphia naturalization efforts, leading both the Philadelphia Citizenship Action Network and New Americans Campaign.

Our refugee programs are well respected and we continue to grow our services in the under-resourced Northeast Philadelphia region. We are one of 7 organizations in Pennsylvania who provides after school programs for refugee youth.

HIAS Pennsylvania sits at the center of every worldwide crisis. Much like the Red Cross, we are an agency that is called upon in the aftermath of significant events, whether it be a natural disaster or a human-created conflict. When people are displaced due to humanitarian crises such as natural disasters, war, famine or political instability, they are often left with few resources and little support. In these situations, fleeing, would-be immigrants can be particularly vulnerable, facing language barriers, cultural differences, and unfamiliar legal systems. Stabilizing immigration status is life-changing. Without access to highly-specialized legal experts and life-saving support services, refugees, asylum seekers and all low-income immigrants may be at risk of exploitation.

HIAS PA’s values are based on the core Jewish beliefs of “welcoming the stranger” and tikkun olam, or “repairing the world.” As Americans, we are enriched by welcoming the many new families who continue to seek refuge here, and HIAS PA views newcomers as valuable resources, not burdens to the community.