Mission
“When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt...”
- Leviticus 19: 33-34
Since 1882, HIAS Pennsylvania and its predecessor organization, the Association for Jewish Immigrants, have exemplified the full meaning of the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger, as well as the American sentiment of sanctuary as engraved inside the Statue of Liberty with the words of Emma Lazarus.
Mission Statement
HIAS Pennsylvania was founded to provide services to Jewish immigrants and refugees fleeing persecution and seeking opportunity by migrating to America. Based on the Jewish value of welcoming the stranger, HIAS Pennsylvania continues to resettle, reunite and represent Jewish migrants as well as other migrants residing in Philadelphia and surrounding counties who are of limited means. The agency seeks the fair treatment and full integration into American Society of migrants from all backgrounds.
HIAS Pennsylvania provides the following programs:
- Representation and legal counseling before immigration agencies and courts
- Citizenship, refugee resettlement and other social services to assist newly arriving immigrants, refugees and those recently granted asylum
- Advocacy and education related to immigrant issues and rights
Famous Lines of Poet Emma Lazarus
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
- The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, descendent of Sephardic Jewish immigrants fleeing the Spanish Inquisition, who were among the first Jewish settlers in America.
