News & Views

Watch It Now: Housing our Refugee Neighbors 2023

On Friday, April 21st, 2023, HIAS Pennsylvania hosted an online information session for landlords and property managers interested in partnering with Philadelphia-area refugee resettlement agencies. Watch the video to learn more about the process of renting to newly arrived refugees.

HIAS Pennsylvania’s 2023 Golden Door Awards: United for Immigrants

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Golden Door Awards on Thursday, April 20th, 2023, as we honored those who lead the way in support of immigrants and refugees!


Honoring:

Nelofar Asadi

a teenager, ripped from her homeland, who has never stopped using her art and her voice to bravely advocate for Afghan girls and women.


Blank Rome LLP

a stalwart pro bono partner whose attorneys and staff responded immediately to the Afghan crisis, providing representation to many Afghan clients in their asylum, humanitarian parole, and family reunification matters.


Mishkan Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue &
St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church

RESA RUDNEY AWARD HONOREE

The inaugural Resa Rudney Award, bestowed for extraordinary community support.

Mishkan Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue and St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church are the epitome of welcoming the stranger and showing what makes Philadelphia a welcoming community.


Donate to HIAS PA to help more immigrants like Nelofar establish new lives in the Philadelphia area: https://hiaspa.org/donate

Volunteer with HIAS PA: https://hiaspa.org/volunteer

Advocate for immigrants’ rights: https://hiaspa.org/advocate

Subscribe to our newsletter to hear about immigration news and future events: https://hiaspa.org/subscribe

Find us on social media as “HIAS Pennsylvania”! (@HIASPA on Twitter)


THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS


GOLDEN DOOR SPONSORS

Duane Morris LLP

In memory of Susan and Kenneth Kaiserman z”l

Irwin Lipton in memory of Adele Lipton z”l

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Dveera Segal & Bradley Bridge, in honor of the Germantown Jewish Centre Refugee Welcoming Team

Carol Thomson & Paul Wheeling

Troutman Pepper

TORCHBEARER SPONSORS

Ballard Spahr LLP

Blank Rome LLP

Dechert LLP

Clare Kahn Mozes & Sanford K. Mozes

Thomas B. Roberts

Sheila & Daniel Segal

AMERICAN DREAMER SPONSORS

The Hon. Harold Berger

Comcast NBCUniversal

Judith B. Ginsberg

Edda Katz

Landau, Hess, Simon, Choi & Doebley

The Meier and Berlinghof Families Fund

Philadelphia Federal Credit Union

Andrew Rogoff & Amy Ginensky

Richard Weisbrot & Barbara Shaiman

Larry & Harriet Weiss

Willig, Williams & Davidson

GLOBAL CITIZEN SPONSORS

The Brant Family

DLA Piper LLP (US)

Victor Bustos Dominguez & Mayrel Hesiquio Vargas

Judy Drasin & Bob Washburn

Michael & Paula Dvorak

Exude, Inc.

Galfand Berger, LLP

Carol A. Gantman, PhD

Wendy & Steven Hess

Bud & Betty Hirsch

Holland & Knight LLP

Michael Horn & Susan Storb

Rebecca Katz

Main Line Reform Temple

Maureen Pelta & Alan M. Feldman

Esta R. Schwartz

Alice & Michael Solomon

Margret Trotzky, MD & Dennis Murphy

Wayne Immigrants Sponsor of Hope (WISH)

David & Betsy Wice

Roger & Lillian Youman

PASSPORT PARTNER SPONSORS

Anonymous

Connie & Dick Berman

Judith Bernstein-Baker & Karl Baker

Ann Cohen & Stuart Davidson

Dr. & Mrs. Steven Cohen

Arthur Cohn

Matthew I. Hirsch

In honor of Wayne Immigrants Sponsor of Hope (WISH)

Eve Biskind Klothen & Kenneth L. Klothen

Danielle LaGuerre

Langer, Grogan & Diver P.C.

Dr. Adele Lindenmeyr

The Hon. Frederica Massiah-Jackson

Kathy Ochroch & Peter Hilton-Kingdon

Rina & Ivan Rosenberg

Enid & Michael Rudney

Daniel Schwarz, Ph.D.

Mindy & Carl Silver

Irwin Solomon

Robert, Jamie, Scott, Alexandra & Wyatt Solomon

Anthony Vale

Ilene Wasserman & Mark Taylor

The Wenger Family

FRIEND SPONSORS

Anonymous

Mitchell & Bonnie Benson

Emily M. Cohen, Esq.

Suzanne & Norman Cohn

Arlene Fickler

Maria Giraldo Gallo & Juan Castrillón

Mary L. Goldman

Rabbi Alan Iser & Sharon Liebhaber

Carol Leiper

Richard & Paula Mandel

Denise & Jeffrey Portner

Cantor Marshall Portnoy

Karyn L. Scher

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP

Harris Sokoloff

Helen Szigeti

Ellen Weber

Esther Weinrach

Marsha Weinraub & Stuart Schmidt

Watch It Now: Ask Me Anything: Work Authorization

“The decline in immigration is one of the primary factors contributing to our current labor shortage.”

On Monday, April 3rd, 2023, Cathryn Miller Wilson, Executive Director of HIAS Pennsylvania, joined with Sarah Steltz, from The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and Shaloo Jose, a HIAS PA legal team staffer who was caught in the struggle for more than a decade, to learn about work authorization from a business, political, and personal perspective.

Links shared during the event:

https://hiaspa.org/
(215) 832-0900

https://chamberphl.com/
https://www.inclusivegrowthphl.org/

Learn more about Driving PA Forward and House Bill 769 here: https://www.drivingpaforward.org/

More information on the current bill in PA Statehouse – Drivers License for All: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/BillInfo.cfm?syear=2023&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=769

Learn more about how to advocate for driver’s licenses for all here: https://hiaspa.org/advocate

If you have further questions, please email our Development and Communications Associate, Becca Weber, at rweber@hiaspa.org.

Watch it Now: HIAS PA’s 4th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Advocacy and Action

On Monday, January 16th, 2023, at HIAS PA’s Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Advocacy and Action, a panel from Philadelphia-area immigrant-serving organizations discussed what our welcoming community is doing in response to the buses of migrants being sent from Texas to Philadelphia.

Participating Organizations

Donate & Volunteer

Advocacy Materials


We’d like to thank Comcast for their support, including their support of the City of Philadelphia’s Welcoming Fund.

Watch it Now: Ask Me Anything – Political Discourse, the Media, and Immigration: Fact or Fiction

The 2022 Pennsylvania Senatorial debate highlighted the ramped-up inflammatory anti-immigration rhetoric that gets weaponized during every election cycle.

Watch our virtual discussion with Charles D. Ellison of WURD and Nick Gourevitch from Global Strategy Group as we cut through the noise and discuss political polling, how polls and media reports inform campaign strategy, and, ultimately, their effect on public perceptions about immigration.


Watch it Now: Voyage of the Doomed: Commemorating the SS St. Louis

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our June 2022 advocacy event commemorating the SS St. Louis!

We were honored to have grandchildren and other descendants of SS St. Louis passengers in attendance. A special thank you to Dr. Paul Finkelman of Gratz College for sharing his expertise about the events leading up to the “Voyage of the Doomed”.

This program was generously supported by Dveera Segal & Bradley Bridge.

 


Want to learn more from Dr. Finkelman?

Register here for his upcoming four-part online continuing education course through Gratz College, “Jews and Slavery: A Long and Complicated History”. CLE credits are available.

Watch it Now: Immigration Advocacy from a Faith-Based Perspective: A Virtual Panel Discussion Regarding the Religious Value of Welcoming the Stranger

VIDEO: Ukraine, Afghanistan, Haiti: Our World in Crisis

3/24 Update: Read our updated statement regarding President Biden’s recent announcement about Ukrainian refugees.


Hear from our Executive Director, Cathryn Miller-Wilson, who has provided a briefing about the global impact of the three worldwide displacement crises in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Haiti. Hear also about what HIAS PA is doing and not doing, why, and learn how you can help.

 

Watch It Now: Ask Me Anything: Immigrants in Detention

HIAS Pennsylvania’s Executive Director, Cathryn Miller-Wilson, discusses immigrants in detention with HIAS PA’s Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellow, Matt Egler DiFerdinando.

Giving Tuesday 2021: Afghan Refugee Update

TONIGHT (4/20) - Join us ONLINE at the 2023 Golden Door Awards!

Join us ONLINE at 6:45PM TONIGHT, Thursday, April 20th, for HIAS PA's 2023 Golden Door Awards: United for Immigrants!

Happy Passover from HIAS Pennsylvania!HIAS PA is closed in observance of the Jewish holiday of Passover

HIAS Pennsylvania will be closed in observance of the Jewish holiday of Passover from 1PM on Wednesday, April 5th through Friday, April 7th, and on Wednesday, April 12th and Thursday, April 13th.

Join us at the 2023 Golden Door Awards!United for Immigrants

The Golden Door Awards is HIAS Pennsylvania's annual fundraiser. Your generous support helps us serve low-income immigrants from all over the world as they build new lives in our community.

Building closed until further noticeHIAS PA remains open!

HIAS PA’s physical offices at 600 Chestnut Street are CLOSED until further notice due to a burst pipe in the building.

Our organization remains open, and HIAS PA staff continue to work remotely at this time.

Please call (215) 832-0900 with any questions.

Building closed until further noticeHIAS PA remains open!

HIAS PA’s physical offices at 600 Chestnut Street are CLOSED until further notice due to a burst pipe in the building.

Our organization remains open, and HIAS PA staff continue to work remotely at this time.

Please call (215) 832-0900 with any questions.

TONIGHT: Join us at the table!Join us for Thankful Together!

Thankful Together, formerly known as Refugee Thanksgiving, is happening TONIGHT at 6PM!

Register here to join us tonight: https://hiaspa1.wpengine.com/event/thankful-together-2021/

Celebrate our volunteers who make this all possible!Click here at 11:45AM to join our Annual Meeting!

Click here to join our virtual Annual Meeting!

The Annual Meeting starts at noon, but join us at 11:45AM for an informal chat before the event!

POSTPONED! Speed Advocacy: Afghanistan

Today's Speed Advocacy: Afghanistan Facebook Live event has been postponed due to a worldwide Facebook outage. We will update you as soon as possible about rescheduling the event.