New program will allow private citizens to sponsor refugees

Ordinary Americans will soon be able to directly sponsor refugees entering the U.S. through a new policy the State Department announced Thursday.

Under the new program, called the “Welcome Corps,” private citizens can volunteer to support refugees with everything from finances to finding a place to live.

“The Welcome Corps will build on Americans’ generosity of spirit by creating a durable program for Americans in communities across the country to privately sponsor refugees from around the world,” the State Department said in a statement, calling the program “the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades.”