Driven by the Jewish value of "welcoming the stranger," HIAS Pennsylvania provides legal, resettlement, citizenship, and supportive services to immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from all backgrounds in order to ensure their fair treatment and full integration into American society. HIAS Pennsylvania helps low-income and vulnerable immigrants from arrival to citizenship. We have specialized projects dedicated to working with: (1) immigrant domestic violence survivors; (2) immigrant youth; (3) immigrant survivors of violence, (4) immigrant survivors of torture, (5) asylum seekers, (6) refugees and; (7) citizenship assistance for elderly and immigrants with disabilities.

HIAS Pennsylvania has been a proud member of PICC since its inception. We recognize that the only way towards fairness for all immigrants and refugees is working in coalition with community based organizations and other immigrant rights organizations and thank PICC for providing this platform.

Proposed Rule on Asylum: DHS and EOIR published a new proposed rule on June 15, 2020, that would essentially gut the asylum system as it currently operates. Troubling provisions include (among many others): heightening credible fear standard in screening; removing eligibility for gender, gang violence, and generalized violence; changing the standard for political opinion; heightening the persecution standard. The comment period closes 30 days from publication.

ICE states that International Students have to leave the country - Early last week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said that international students who are taking classes entirely online starting in the fall would not be allowed to enter the United States. Those that are already in the countries must leave and continue taking classes online in their home counties. The agency said affected students on F-1 and M-1 visas in the US could transfer to schools offering in-person courses to maintain their legal status; otherwise, students risk being put on deportation proceedings.

Some students taking a combination of online and in-person classes will meet their visa requirement, but F-1 students in English – language-training programs and those on M-1 visas, used for vocational programs, are not allowed to enroll in any online classes.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program previously instituted a temporary exception for online classes in the spring and summer semesters in response to schools going online because of COVID-19.

As of Tuesday July 13, 2020 the Trump administration has rescinded its policy that would bar international students who only take online courses from staying in the US, a federal judge announced on Tuesday in Boston. The decision came a little over a week after ICE announced that students at schools offering only online course due to the coronavirus pandemic would need to either leave the US or transfer schools. Trump administration is now focusing on having the rule apply only to the new incoming students rather than the ones that are already in the US.

PICC is hiring a Resource Director to join PICC's small team of fun and close-knit staff! The Resource Director will be focused on helping PICC answer the question: how do we build the organizational capacity and infrastructure of our movement so that immigrant communities can access the services they need and have powerful vehicles for creating systemic and structural change?

The Resource Director will lead the work of developing and implementing a movement-oriented fundraising and capacity building strategy that includes ensuring PICC’s sustainability, leadership development, organizational capacity building, and expanding the resources available to community-led immigrant rights work in Pennsylvania. The Resource Director serves as a member of PICC’s leadership team and shapes strategic thinking for the organization, including fundraising, communications, and planning. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a flexible and team-oriented approach to problem solving, and be excited about building a fully-resourced immigrant rights movement.

See the full job description here. Please submit resume and cover letter outlining why you are interested in working for PICC and your experience with fundraising via email to jobs@paimmigrant.org with the subject line “Resource Director”. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, with a final deadline of August 15, 2020.

Please Donate to PICC!

PICC depends upon your support. Please donate to PICC today to support our advocacy and organizing work to mobilize the immigrant vote, build immigrant leaders, campaign for pro-immigrant policies at the local, state and federal levels, and support the effective implementation of pro-immigrant public policies.