Editor’s note: This press release was provided by Hearts & Homes for Refugees.

Pelham, NY (February 2021) –  Hearts & Homes for Refugees (https://www.heartsandhomesforrefugees.org) – Westchester’s leading grassroots humanitarian organization partnering with U.S. State Department-designated agencies to welcome, assist, and advocate for refugees, celebrates the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to restoring and strengthening the U.S. refugee resettlement program through the executive order announced on February 4, 2021. This is an important opportunity to support refugee agencies in rebuilding and increasing the infrastructure to welcome a higher number of refugees in the coming years. We will work to welcome and encourage newly arriving refugees and are encouraged by the administration’s inclusion of important advancements to enhance the resettlement program’s ability to reunify families and assist with long term integration. Additionally, we encourage the Biden administration and Congress to work together to introduce and pass the Refugee Protection Act to improve access and protection for refugees and asylum seekers.

“Hearts & Homes for Refugees envisions a country of tolerance and inclusion, one that offers compassionate, moral and lawful welcoming of refugees,” said Kathie O’Callaghan president and founder of Hearts & Homes for Refugees. “We are thrilled to once again be in the company of a kind, welcoming, and humane administration that supports the reinstatement of the U.S. refugee resettlement program and are grateful to all of our supporters who stood with us for the past four years as the previous administration worked to completely dismantle it.”

“When I was granted a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) and arrived safely in the United States from Afghanistan I felt a deep sense of commitment to reach out to the countless others from around the world who are fleeing violence and persecution from their home countries,” said Reshad Ahmadi a Hearts & Homes for Refugees ambassador. “The Biden-Harris executive order opens the pipeline for thousands of refugees like me who are seeking a new secure life here in America. I’m looking forward to helping them get here and welcoming them when they arrive.”

Hearts & Homes for Refugees Welcomes New Board Member Saadia Khan

On the heels of the encouraging and historic announcement from the Biden-Harris administration, Hearts & Homes for Refugees is pleased to announce the appointment of new board member Saadia Khan. Khan is the founder, producer, and host of the Immigrantly podcast. She reflects on her own experiences as an immigrant and a human rights activist exploring intersectionality between different cultures, racial and ethnic backgrounds to form the basis of many of the discussions in the podcast.

“As a naturalized American citizen, an immigrant, and a human rights activist, I believe in promoting the idiosyncratic beauty of America’s diverse communities and seek a greater understanding of the environment we live in by having conversations around topics that unite or divide us,” said Khan. I joined Hearts & Homes for Refugees because of its firm commitment to helping vulnerable populations and re-creating narratives around refugees through shared human experiences.”

Khan holds an MBA from Lahore University and a MA in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University. She has worked with UN Women and other UN entities as part of her work at a small Civil Society Organization focused on women’s rights.