legal services to the world’s mostvulnerable and persecuted individualswhile empowering the next generationof human rights advocates andleaders. As a result of their impact, inrecent years, the demand for IRAPservices in the Middle East and NorthAfrica has risen dramatically.

IRAP overseas fields a staff oflawyers, case managers, andinterpreters who work in cooperationwith non-governmental organiza-tions,international governmentorganizations and governmentalpartners to swiftly identify refugees indire need of assistance. IRAP’scaseload expansion is frequentlydriven by the emerging needs ofhighly vulnerable populations in thecountries in which they operate. Theirpresence on the ground coupled withtheir legal expertise and knowledge oflocal cultural norms, uniquelypositions them to respond to emergingcrises effectively and in real time.

The demographic groups that IRAPserves the most often include themost vulnerable, at-risk refugeewomen who have become the victimof gender violence, Iraqis andAfghanis targeted by militia groups,LBGTs who are targeted for theirlifestyle, and any person whose safetyand lives are in danger.

As the only organization that guidesrefugees through every step of theresettlement process, IRAP is oftenable to identify obstacles of whichother institutional players areunaware. Their unique model utilizeslessons learned in individual caseworkto advocate for systemic changes thatbenefit broader refugee populations.While they never turn away an urgentcase that has merit, they look forcases where legal work can createprecedents that will benefit the widerrefugee community.

IRAP builds untraditional, nonpar-tisan coalitions to advocate for therights of refugees, ranging fromveterans to religious groups tocorporate attorneys. They also play amajor role in including refugees in U.S.immigration legislation, draftinglegislative language around issuessuch as access to counsel and formalappeals processes, special proceduresfor LGBT refugees, and expansions ofthe U.S. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV)programs for Iraqi and Afghan wartimeallies.

The ProcessWhen refugees arrive in our country,we only witness the very last step inthe very arduous process of qualifying