Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
AbbreviationLIRS
Founded1939 (1939)
TypeNon-governmental
Legal statusNon-profit
HeadquartersBaltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Region
United States
President and CEO
Krish O'Mara Vignarajah
AffiliationsEvangelical Lutheran Church in America,
Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Revenue
US$ 52.1 million (2017)[1]
Employees
103
Websitehttps://www.lirs.org/

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is a non-profit organization that welcomes and supports refugees and migrants entering the United States. It is one of nine refugee resettlement agencies working with the Office of Refugee Resettlement[2] and one of only two that serves unaccompanied refugee minors.[3] LIRS also advocates for just policies and practices relating to immigration and detention.[4][5]

As an organization, LIRS originates from the response of American Lutherans in 1939 to the needs of Europeans displaced because of World War II,[6] 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.[7] Since then the organization's scope has expanded to include any refugees entering the US, support for asylum seekers[8] and migrants,[9][10] and services to unaccompanied children (UACs).

LIRS continues to be a faith-based organization and celebrates strong collaborative relationships with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.[11]

The current president and CEO is Krish O'Mara Vignarajah (2019–present).[12]

References

  1. ↑ Influence Watch
  2. ↑ "Voluntary Agencies". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Administration for Children and Families. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  3. ↑ "About Unaccompanied Refugee Minors". Office of Refugee Resettlement; Administration for Children and Families. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ "'Locking Up Family Values, Again' Report". Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. January 24, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  6. ↑ Solberg, Richard W. (1992). Open Doors the Story of Lutherans Resettling Refugees. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
  7. ↑ Bouman, Stephen Paul; Deffenbaugh, Ralston H. (2009). They Are Us: Lutherans and Immigration. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Hartke, Linda (April 24, 2012). "See It, Say It: The Supreme Court Should Strike Down SB 1070". Sojourners. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Church Partners". Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  12. ↑ "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.
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