EIN 82-2167556

International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

IRS 501(c) type
501(c)(3)
Num. employees
88
Year formed
2017
Most recent tax filings
2022-08-01
Description
IRAP organizes legal aid, litigation and systemic advocacy to develop and enforce legal and human rights for refugees and displaced persons.
Total revenues
$66,214,216
2022
Total expenses
$17,569,471
2022
Total assets
$72,263,409
2022
Num. employees
88
2022

Program areas at IRAP

Legal servicesirap serves individuals fleeing forced displacement across the globe. This year, Irap worked with clients from 52 countries of origin, with the majority coming from afghanistan (31%), syria (18%), iraq (14%), and eritrea (6%). Approximately 57% of our clients identified as male, 41% as female, and 2% as transgender or gender non-conforming. By risk factor, about 53% of Irap clients were u.s.-affiliated afghans and iraqis, 21% were at-risk children or unaccompanied minors, 17% were at-risk women or survivors of sexual- and gender-based violence, 14% were survivors of torture, 12% were medically vulnerable, 7% were religious minorities, and 6% identified as lgbtqia+.legal informationthis year, 156,887 people accessed our legal information website providing extensive information on global resettlement pathways for migrants of all nationalities at an accessible reading level, in five languages. In addition to extensive legal information for afghans, this year we added dedicated legal resources for people fleeing the war in ukraine, and we created several new guides related to global family reunification pathways. Users were located in over 150 countries, with 33% in the united states, 25% in afghanistan, 7% in lebanon, 4% in jordan, 3% in turkey, and 3% in pakistan. The two most-viewed pages on the site this past year were: am i eligible for the new afghan Refugee program? And how do i apply for humanitarian parole in the united states?family reunificationeurope: this year, we leveraged our casework to develop technical research and recommendations related to prohibitive documentation requirements for family reunification that have been formally recognized by german and swedish migration authorities. Irap also partners with equal rights beyond borders to provide legal Assistance to refugees in greece, including those seeking family reunification. United states: Irap has redoubled our efforts to defend the central american minors (cam) Refugee and parole program. When multiple states filed a lawsuit seeking to end cam, Irap in collaboration with clients impacted by cam joined ongoing litigation to preserve this vital family reunification program. We also launched an ngo policy coalition to advocate for the biden administration to protect cam for its thousands of existing applicants, and expand eligibility to thousands of additional families. Resettlement in the u.s.irap advocates to ensure that the united states continues to provide safe haven for forced migrants through humane, welcoming policies. Irap and our coalition partners at the Refugee advocacy lab published a bipartisan letter signed by more than 380 state and local elected officials from all 50 states, the district of columbia, and puerto rico, urging president biden to invest in and rebuild the Refugee resettlement program for the united states' fiscal year 2023. Irap's efforts, including strategic communications and media advocacy, also contributed to the state department's reinstatement of the iraqi priority-2 direct access program (for iraqi allies of the united states), which had been suspended in 2021. Irap is leveraging momentum from this victory to push the government to address the application backlog that has left tens of thousands of u.s.-affiliated iraqis and their families in danger.following extensive advocacy by Irap, the biden administration took important next steps toward creating an expanded channel for ngos to augment the unhcr referral system and refer cases directly to the u.s. resettlement program. This change will help bring the u.s. government closer to its Refugee admissions goal and provide more equitable access to u.s. resettlement, especially for populations of particular concern.legal practitioner trainingthis year, we trained approximately 2,600 people in legal topics such as immigration pathways for at-risk afghans, legal support for forcibly displaced haitians, and family reunification procedures for refugees in europe. We also provided training and supervision to law students and private attorneys engaged in our pro bono network, and we created an innovative "ask an expert" online portal where legal professionals could receive detailed and timely answers to technical legal questions related to the special immigrant visa process for afghans. Equitable access to safetyirap co-chairs the one Refugee approach working group in jordan to address the inequity between two legal systems for forced migrants: one for syrians and one for people of other nationalities. This double standard leaves tens of thousands of people who have fled to jordan from countries like somalia, sri lanka, sudan, and yemen unable to access humanitarian resources and without equitable protection from threats including human trafficking, detention, and deportation. This year we advocated for a legal framework inclusive of all Refugee groups in jordan. Irap's jordan staff worked in partnership with embassies in amman to form a diplomatic working group to address the unmet social, protection, and healthcare needs of displaced lgbtqia+ populations facing worsening discrimination. This year, Irap pivoted to an affirmative agenda to rebuild and expand pathways to safety in the united states, while continuing to advocate for government accountability and just, equitable policies toward displaced people at the federal, state, and local levels.equal access to asylum in the usirap worked with our partner, the mexican ngo derechos humanos integrales en accin ("dhia"), and other local partners, to disseminate know your rights information, identify and screen potential clients, and provide legal aid to advance their claims. We collaborated with johns hopkins university and local organizations to make medical documentation and legal Assistance more accessible for migrants with disabilities.to address the targeted anti-black racism, isolation, and disparity in access to services that haitian migrants experience in mexico, Irap increased our legal services for the haitian community at the u.s.-mexico border. In 2022, we held three legal clinics with haitian creole interpretation and translation services including two with our pro bono partner manatt, phelps & phillips, llp to share legal information, help participants understand their rights and options, and provide additional legal representation for qualifying clients. These clinics have resulted in increased requests for Assistance from haitian migrants, demonstrating that there is a need among haitian migrants at the u.s.-mexico border for focused, linguistically-tailored legal services.fighting the continued impact of the trump administration's muslim and african banthis year, Irap engaged in extensive advocacy, including publishing an open letter signed by more than 75 partner organizations and calling on the biden administration to dismantle all vestiges of the bans and end egregious processing delays that prevent Refugee families from reuniting. We also filed litigation challenging unreasonable delays and discriminatory denials of applications connected to the muslim ban, including two lawsuits on behalf of somali Refugee families who had been approved to reunite in the united states before the ban was enacted, but who remained separated after it was lifted. Protecting people displaced by climate changeirap is working with partners to accelerate the development of legal protections in the americas for people displaced by environmental or climate devastation, which could serve as prototypes for other regions. This year, we collaborated with partners to develop training materials for asylum and Refugee officers to better evaluate situations when climate contributes to displacement. Private sponsorshipirap is a leading advocate for private sponsorship of refugees in the united states, which will expand resettlement opportunities and resources by allowing civil society organizations and private groups of individuals to directly support newcomers. This year, we played a key advisory role in the development of community sponsorship programs for afghans and ukrainians. We also published joint recommendations with amnesty International usa, the community sponsorship hub, and the niskanen center for a u.s. Private sponsorship pilot program for refugees of all nationalities.
Policyin fy22, Irap continued to advocate for humane, transparent, and welcoming policies. Recent campaigns have yielded important gains for displaced persons:policy has led the Refugee advocacy community's repeated requests that the administration provide regular stakeholder engagement meetings on the u.s. Refugee admissions program and the Refugee family reunification program. U.s. Citizenship and immigration services finally granted these requests and hosted a meeting on the Refugee family reunification program in july and scheduled quarterly engagements on Refugee resettlement, to start in august. Also, policy launched a new ngo advocacy coalition on the central american minors (cam) Refugee and parole program. This coalition brings together interested policy professionals and advocates to influence the administration's implementation of this family reunification pathway for youth in central america. So far, over 60 organizations have joined this coalition under Irap's leadership. Irap policy is working closely with litigation and legal on protecting and expanding this program. Irap is also playing a key advisory role in the design and implementation of a private sponsorship model for the united states, and helping to build a coalition amongst Refugee advocacy and resettlement support groups around this issue. In october 2021, the u.s. government announced a pilot community sponsorship Project to assist newly-arrived afghans with resettlement, a major step that brings us closer to Irap's advocacy priority to establish a national private sponsorship program. Private sponsorship could significantly expand resettlement opportunities and bolster services and resources for resettled refugees through the creation of a public-private partnership that leverages burgeoning interest from the u.s. philanthropic community, businesses, religious institutions, and individual families to welcome and support refugees. Over the past year, Irap has expanded to work for pro-refugee policies at the state and local level, including partnering with the Refugee advocacy lab and we are all americans to provide technical legal guidance in support of state-level campaigns.
Litigationin fy22, our litigation team achieved significant milestones in cases that protect and expand the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in the united states.on july 2, Irap filed a lawsuit on behalf of our tamil Refugee client from sri lanka who has been separated from his family for eight years. U.s. citizens and immigration services ("uscis") has transferred his family reunification petition multiple times in a span of a few years without making any apparent progress towards adjudication. Irap filed this case to expedite adjudication for the family and to gain better insight into how changes in adjudication policies and transfer of petitions between agency components are affecting processing.irap, represented by the american immigration council and the law firm of winston & strawn, filed freedom of information act ("foia") litigation seeking policies and other documents relating to uscis's processing of afghan humanitarian parole applications. These documents are needed to shed light on uscis's handling of the 45,000+ humanitarian parole applications filed by afghans since last year, particularly given the community's concerns over slow processing and inequitable standards of adjudication. Irap itself filed, or assisted in filing, over 100 applications for its clients.our somali client who has been a part of two of our cases in his effort to move forward his family Refugee reunification petition was finally able to reunite with his family in the united states. His family reunification had been delayed because of the trump Refugee ban.in this long standing case regarding systemic delays in the afghan & iraqi special immigrant visa ("siv") programs, we are back in court fighting against the government's attempt to seek relief from our existing court order based on alleged changed circumstances and seeking additional enforcement relief. Two sets of organizations - the afghan-american foundation and the alliance of wartime allies / vets for american ideals - filed amicus brief supporting our positions.
Communicationsirap continues to amplify the voices of displaced people through traditional media outlets and in the digital sphere. We involve our current and former clients in our media and advocacy work to ensure their voices are heard. In addition to media placement, we utilize social media outlets, including facebook, twitter, and instagram, our website, and mass email campaigns to communicate to supporters. In fy22, Irap received significant media coverage regarding our work to protect human rights and pathways to safety for displaced people. This includes: - during and immediately following the u.s. military withdrawal from afghanistan in august 2021, Irap staff and clients were quoted and featured in 164 reports by outlets including the new york times, abc news, npr, reuters, the new yorker, politico, the atlantic, stars and stripes, forbes, c-span, the wall street journal, and al jazeera. - Irap's climate displacement Project strategist, ama francis, was quoted in a bloomberg law article analyzing the biden administration's approach to addressing forced migration due to climate change. - Irap's policy director, sunil varghese, was quoted in a business insider article responding to the biden administration's announcement that it would formally raise the 2021 Refugee cap to 62,500 after previously saying that it maintains the trump administration's historically low cap of 15,000, an increase that Irap fiercely advocated for. - Irap's executive director, becca heller, was quoted in a new yorker article exploring the experiences of migrants from different parts of the world impacted by the immigration policies of former president trump and president biden, including an Irap client awaiting resettlement after facing threats on his life for his work as an interpreter for american military forces in iraq.

Who funds International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

Grants from foundations and other nonprofits
GrantmakerDescriptionAmount
National Philanthropic TrustInternational$9,449,118
Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund (GSPF)Humanitarian$3,005,000
Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)International Development$2,040,000
...and 79 more grants received totalling $25,588,821

Personnel at IRAP

NameTitleCompensation
Becca HellerChief Executive Officer
Sarah MortonChief Operating Officer$207,956
Yelena BakalevaChief Financial Officer As of June$0
Aish ShuklaChief Technology Officer
Kelly GrampChief Development Officer$170,094
...and 50 more key personnel

Financials for IRAP

RevenuesFYE 08/2022
Total grants, contributions, etc.$65,450,633
Program services$0
Investment income and dividends$232,791
Tax-exempt bond proceeds$0
Royalty revenue$0
Net rental income$0
Net gain from sale of non-inventory assets$0
Net income from fundraising events$0
Net income from gaming activities$0
Net income from sales of inventory$0
Miscellaneous revenues$530,792
Total revenues$66,214,216

Form 990s for IRAP

Fiscal year endingDate received by IRSFormPDF link
2022-082023-12-01990View PDF
2022-082023-07-17990View PDF
2021-082022-05-12990View PDF
2020-082021-05-28990View PDF
2019-082021-01-21990View PDF
...and 2 more Form 990s
Data update history
January 26, 2024
Updated personnel
Identified 20 new personnel
January 3, 2024
Received grants
Identified 33 new grant, including a grant for $2,040,000 from Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
October 26, 2023
Received grants
Identified 10 new grant, including a grant for $344,833 from American Endowment Foundation
August 24, 2023
Posted financials
Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2022
August 20, 2023
Updated personnel
Identified 6 new personnel
Nonprofit Types
Social advocacy organizationsHuman rights organizationsHuman service organizationsHeadquarter / parent organizationsCharities
Issues
Human servicesHuman rights
Characteristics
Political advocacyLobbyingPartially liquidatedOperates internationallyNational levelReceives government fundingCommunity engagement / volunteeringTax deductible donations
General information
Address
1 Battery Park Plaza 33rd Floor
New York, NY 10004
Metro area
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
County
New York County, NY
Website URL
refugeerights.org/ 
Phone
(516) 701-4636
IRS details
EIN
82-2167556
Fiscal year end
August
Taxreturn type
Form 990
Year formed
2017
Eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions (Pub 78)
Yes
Categorization
NTEE code, primary
P20: Human Service Organizations
NAICS code, primary
813311: Human Rights Organizations
Parent/child status
Independent
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