Jesuit Refugee Service/USA

What is JRS INSIDER?

INSIDER: Lives in Flight INSIDER is a monthly, long-form newsletter sharing the experiences of people forced to flee. Journey with us to 55+ JRS country offices and encounter the people we accompany. Let their stories shape your advocacy, your decisions, and how you show up for your community.

Headlines move fast. The human stories don’t.

Each month, INSIDER brings you closer to the lived realities of people forced to flee.

If you’re looking for reporting that goes deeper, subscribe here: www.jrsusa.org/insider-sign...

#JRSUSA #ForcedMigration #HumanRights

How compassion and hospitality support the displaced in Ukraine Olesia, JRS Ukraine shares how compassion and hospitality support displaced people and help heal their invisible wounds.

Four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of #Ukraine, the human cost remains devastating.

We spoke with Olesia, who works with JRS Ukraine, supporting people forced to flee their homes.
🙏💙Read the full interview: https://ow.ly/5WLc50YkTR3

Lent offers us the opportunity to slow down, listen deeply, and allow ourselves to be transformed by encounter with our forcibly displaced brothers and sisters.

🙏Through weekly video reflections, we invite you to walk this Lenten path together: ow.ly/nAOu50Yhxzq

@jesuitsglobal.bsky.social

Call on the White House to End Harmful Deportation Practices Urge the White House to end harmful deportation practices that separate families, undermine religious freedom, and violate human dignity.

Call on the White House to end these harmful deportation practices.

Stand with us: www.jrsusa.org/call-white-h...

Call on the White House to End Harmful Deportation Practices Urge the White House to end harmful deportation practices that separate families, undermine religious freedom, and violate human dignity.

Take action here: www.jrsusa.org/call-white-h...

“It is our duty to restore hope” - JRS As the Jubilee has drawn to a close we share the testimony of Wael, JRS staff, written on the occasion of the Jubilee of Migrants.

As the #Jubilee Year of Hope has drawn to a close, we share the testimony of Wael, JRS staff, written on the occasion of the Jubilee of Migrants.

His speech is a call to action, urging us to work together to build a more human world.
➡️ ow.ly/XBfO50XTqoT

Guiding young refugees towards hope and opportunities in Kenya - JRS In Kakuma refugee camp, Nawal, a young Sudanese woman, is guiding her fellow young people toward opportunities in Kenya.

Nawal saw how the lack of opportunities in Kakuma Refugee Camp holds young people back.

💡🙌To change that reality, she created a grassroots mentoring movement to inspire and support other young refugees to keep hope alive and build the life they want.

➡️ ow.ly/70ee50XZykb

Despite displacement, the people we accompany are shaping their futures.

From climate action in Indonesia to digital inclusion, these stories reflect courage across our global JRS community.

www.jrsusa.org/stories/

In a world that is turning away, don’t be afraid to be different and to make a difference.

Make a choice to stand with those forced to flee and build inclusive communities.

#MigrantsDay

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗡𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗶𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲: “I used to be afraid to speak English. Now I can and it’s opening new doors”. Nadiia Horovenko arrived in Bucharest from Odesa on March 7, 2022. Supported by EBRD with EU funding under InvestEU. Full story at: tinyurl.com/yx3azr2x #integration #refugeestories #inclusion

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

We must support funding for programs that support refugee women and girls.

#16Days #Refugees

Saint John Paul II, Pope, pray for us!

Jesuit Stories From the Middle East with Michael Petro, SJ On October 4 and 5, the Catholic Church will observe the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Today’s guest, who recently stopped by our studio in Washington, DC, is a perfect guest for the occa

Michael Petro, S.J., Project Director for JRS Lebanon, recently joined the AMDG Podcast while visiting the U.S. to share stories from his ministry in the Middle East.

🎧 Listen here: https://ow.ly/i87b50X7nEx

On #WorldTeachersDay, we honor the teachers in JRS classrooms who walk alongside displaced children and families every day.

They teach not only math or reading — but also courage, hope, and the belief that the future is still bright.

Even in the face of hardship, migrants bring resilience and hope. On this Jubilee, we celebrate migrants’ journeys, honor their dignity, and recommit to a future of solidarity and welcome.

#JubileeOfMigrants

Watch CFN Live | CFNtv CFN Live is a dynamic new program where we will be bringing you uplifting, inspiring stories as well as discussing the latest issues facing the church...

Michael Petro, S.J., Project Director for JRS Lebanon, joined Catholic Faith Network during his visit with JRS/USA to share about JRS’s work with displaced families in Lebanon.

📺 Watch here: https://www.catholicfaithnetwork.org/watchcfnlive

Pilgrims walk in solidarity and hope for migrants in Washington procession

We are grateful to all who walked in solidarity and hope alongside migrant and refugee communities.

Read more in the Catholic Standard: https://ow.ly/vm6H50X4Y3J

The 'complicated' path to spiritual care in ICE detention (RNS) — Immigrant detention centers across the country rely on a patchwork of volunteers, private contractors and rare church agreements to provide pastoral care, leaving detainees’ access to faith un...

“The goal is for people who are in these really difficult settings...to at least have some access to how they want to express and practice their faith,” said JRS/USA VP of Programs, Hilary Chester, in a recent article for the Religion News Service.

🔗 religionnews.com/2025/09/11/d...

YouTube video by Jesuit Refugee Service/USA From War to Welcome - Jesuit Refugee Service in Poland

JRS film on Ukrainian refugees wins "Best Video – Social Justice Issues" from Catholic Media Association! A powerful documentary that highlights the challenges faced by the displaced and the compassionate work of JRS.

youtu.be/dXU3OKUS29w

World Humanitarian Day: Why Humanitarian Aid Is Essential Humanitarian aid provides food, care, education, and hope to displaced communities worldwide. Learn why it is vital this World Humanitarian Day.

This year’s #WorldHumanitarianDay resonates more than ever.

US funding freeze and global budget reductions have impacted the entire humanitarian sector, affecting vulnerable communities worldwide.

➡️Learn why humanitarian aid matters: www.jrsusa.org/world-humani...

Why education is life-changing for girls in Kakuma refugee camp - JRS Access to quality education allows girls in Kakuma refugee camp to shape the lives they aspire to, enabling them to thrive and advocate for their rights.

📚Access to quality education allows young women and girls to shape the lives they aspire to, enabling them to thrive and advocate for their rights.

Meet Ruba Abas, who’s been at Kakuma camp since 2013 and studies at JRS’s Greenlight Secondary School.

➡️ ow.ly/Iagx50WFcrJ

Quote from Paul Frank, generous friend of JRS/USA

Paul Frank, a faithful and generous supporter of #JRS/USA, recently shared why he feels called to philanthropy and to stand with forcibly displaced people, particularly through the lens of his Catholic faith and Ignatian spirituality.

Read here: www.jrsusa.org/story/we-mus...

Thanks so much to @deaconspod.bsky.social for having JRS/USA VP of Program Operations on to discuss JRS's work in the wake of devastating cuts to US foreign aid.

Trump’s Foreign-Aid Cuts Are Ending Lives — and US Influence USAID and nonprofits have used government funding to exert soft power, and China is taking advantage of the vacuum.

Don Kerwin, JRS/USA’s VP of Advocacy, Research & Partnerships, writes in Bloomberg Opinion on how U.S. foreign aid cuts are costing lives & weakening global influence. “The impact… will be felt for generations,” he warns.

Read more: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

From an early age, Nyaneng Simon Tut has faced constant disruption. She was born in Kakuma refugee camp after her family fled South Sudan.

Today, she’s studying communications at university in Nairobi — making a living out of a passion. ow.ly/1F3K50Wg0iN

Rev. Michael Pham, the first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV is calling on faith leaders across the Diocese of San Diego to accompany asylum seekers to court this Friday, June 20, in honor of World Refugee Day.

JRS/USA applauds this call to solidarity and action.

Read more: ow.ly/nvQ150WbRgj

Praying for Refugees - This Is The Day - CatholicTV

On "This Is The Day," JRS International Director Br. Michael Schöpf, S.J., discussed JRS' work around the world.

🔗 ow.ly/rOON50W9hhY

Jesuits ready to work with Rep. Ciscomani, others on immigration policy - Daily Independent In 1687, Jesuits started establishing missions in the Sonoran Desert. The missions, including San Xavier del Bac, founded in 1700 by Father Eusebio Kino, S.J., were highly successful evangelically and...

In an op-ed in the Daily Independent, JRS/USA President Kelly Ryan calls for immigration policies that are both effective and rooted in dignity—aligned with Catholic social teaching and the Jesuit mission.

Read more: www.yourvalley.net/stories/jesu...

Today is the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.

Children forced to flee, to grieve, to survive—deserve more than our sympathy; they deserve safety, justice, and a future.

We cannot look away.

What happens when the food stops? Photo of Maban, South Sudan with overlaying text.

No food rations are reaching our communities in Maban, #SouthSudan.

Aid cuts and conflict have driven food prices.

Families are struggling. School and mental health programs are slowing or stopping.

Please keep JRS South Sudan in your prayers and give if you can: www.jrsusa.org?form=FUNJAEB...