About US

OUR MISSION

JRS seeks to accompany, serve, and advocate the cause of refugees and other forcibly displaced people, that they may heal, learn and determine their own future.

Our work expresses the commitment of the Society of Jesus  (the Jesuits) to stand with refugees around the world.

JRS programs are currently found in 58 countries, serving refugees and other forcibly displaced persons in conflict zones and detention centers, on remote borders and in busy cities. We run pastoral care and psychosocial support programs in detention centers and refugee camps, and provide humanitarian relief in emergency displacement situations. Education and livelihoods programs provide skill development and opportunities for integration into host communities.  We never cease to advocate for the rights of refugees, and to articulate the obligation to protect the most vulnerable among us.

Our JRS teams are made up of people from diverse faith traditions, or of no religious faith, but all united by belief in the dignity of every person and our world as the common home of all. Whether in detention centers, border settings, urban centers, or refugee camps, we live and work alongside refugees of all religions and faith traditions.

JRS/USA

Jesuit Refugee Service/USA is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, DC that provides support – through funding, oversight, monitoring, and evaluation – to JRS projects and programming throughout the world.

JRS/USA also serves forcibly displaced migrants in the U.S. through Caminar Contigo and the Detention Chaplaincy Program. Within Caminar Contigo is the Migrant Accompaniment Network, a program of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA (JRS/USA) in collaboration with the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) and the Jesuit Community of El Paso. The Migrant Accompaniment Network is an integral part of the JRS/USA Binational Border Program. The network engages volunteers across the U.S. and collaborates with partners in Mexico border cities, as well as throughout Mexico and Central America.

It seeks to secure support and assistance for recently arrived asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants in their process of integration into their receiving communities across the U.S. The Jesuit Refugee Service/USA chaplaincy programs provide pastoral and religious assistance to meet the needs of non-citizens detained by the Department of Homeland Security in five US federal detention centers. 

JRS/USA also advocates to defend and protect refugees at home and abroad by representing them to Congress and U.S. Government officials. JRS/USA also organizes supporters to raise awareness and advocate on refugees’ behalf.

Read JRS/USA’s Strategic Framework (2019-2023).

Our Vision

A world where refugees and other forcibly displaced people attain protection, opportunity, and participation.

Our Way

JRS believes that to journey with refugees is the most important way for us to express solidarity with them and our concern for their well-being. In a world where refugees are more than ever in need of welcome, protection, and justice, and yet are increasingly rejected, demonized, and denied their fundamental human rights, JRS offers accompaniment to refugees as a sign of hope and a way towards healing.  In even the most desperate of situations, we remain with refugees to assure them that the world has not forgotten them, and that they are not alone.