New model to enlist regular Americans to resettle refugees

SAN DIEGO (AP) — With refugee resettlement agencies overwhelmed after being gutted by the Trump administration, thousands of Americans heeded the call to help Afghans restart their lives in far-flung towns across the United States with little to no immigrant populations.

Now the Biden administration is expected to turn the experiment into a permanent program that will allow everyday Americans to resettle people displaced from a slew of countries. Experts say the private sponsorship model could transform the way America resettles refugees and ensure the doors remain open no matter who is elected to office.

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