Constituent Leadership
Expanding opportunities for people with lived experience to lead in national and international policy setting.
Forcibly displaced people have too often been provided limited opportunities to directly influence national and international policy for humanitarian protection. RCUSA is using its network of experts to set a new standard around constituent leadership - because forcibly displaced people are in the best position to make decisions about programmatic and policy change.
RCUSA's coalition represents hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced people (FDPs) and their millions of supporters across the US. RCUSA leverages its expertise and position to build and sustain new opportunities for FDPs to shape national and international humanitarian protection policy. This has included collaborative efforts such as the:
US Refugee Advisory Board
Launched in partnership with Refugee Congress and Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM), USRAB serves to channel the participation of current and former forcibly displaced populations in the US to relevant regional and international policy bodies, thus providing a mechanism to ensure there is meaningful engagement in policies affecting them. Learn More
Refugee Storytellers Collective
Individuals from across the US with lived expertise in forced displacement share their stories and perspectives, speaking to the challenges refugees and asylum seekers face and the contributions they make to our society. Learn More
Annual RCUSA Advocacy Days
Each year, RCUSA and partner organizations bring to Washington over 150 advocates from across the country, many with lived experience of forced displacement, to speak with Congressional offices about the importance of maintaining protection, welcome, and opportunity for forcibly displaced people. Expanding and supporting constituent leadership is built into RCUSA's mission and vision, and is reflected in the method and outcomes of our working groups and committees.
Related Committees & Working Groups
Advocacy Committee
RCUSA’s Advocacy Committee serves as the hub for the strategic policy work of the coalition’s member organizations, and coordinates advocacy engagement with Congress, the Administration, and across a network of grassroots advocates.
Anti-Racism
The Anti-Racism Working Group endeavors to create a space to critically engage with issues of anti-Blackness, racism, and inequity within RCUSA’s spaces and issue areas, and the immigration field at-large.
Resettlement Committee
Reserved for the 10 national resettlement agencies, RCUSA’s Resettlement Committee and subcommittees provide resettlement agencies with a platform for sharing programmatic updates, coordinating services, and promoting excellence throughout the US resettlement program.