A Pair Of Longtime Nebraska Nonprofits Serving Refugees And Immigrants Join As One Legal Entity

By Cindy Gonzalez, Nebraska Examiner:

October 5, 2022

OMAHA — Two Nebraska nonprofits known widely for providing support services to newcomers from other countries have officially joined forces as one organization.

The Immigrant Legal Center has absorbed the Refugee Empowerment Center as a program, officials announced Wednesday. The move will not prompt any layoffs, according to a media release, and current services offered in Nebraska and southwest Iowa are to remain intact.

“Our passion is to help our clients in the entirety of their needs, to set them up for success and a life without fear,” said Erik Omar, executive director. “With the merger, we are building a unified organizational culture as the only agency of its kind that serves the legal and transitional needs of immigrants in the Heartland.”

He said clients and partners should continue to see the same legal services and refugee settlement services they have known. “Our services and processes remain unchanged.”

The merger announcement comes about a year after the refugee center’s former executive director left and the Immigrant Legal Center leadership took on management of the refugee center’s operations and administration.

At that time, November 2021, the refugee center’s board asked the Immigrant Legal Center to step in. The leadership change coincided with the largest period of resettlement in recent history, said Anne Meysenburg, former chair of the refugee center’s governing board.

Together, this past year, the organizations have resettled nearly 600 newcomers, “meeting the high standards that REC is known for,” she said.

“We are excited that our two organizations are combining to build on our shared legacy of welcoming to our community,” said Meysenburg.

The combined organizations represent more than 50 years of service to the area and serve people from over 60 countries with legal representation, social work and resettlement.

The Immigrant Legal Center, started in 1999 as Justice For Our Neighbors, has 10 offices with a reach across Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

Roots of the Refugee Empowerment Center go back to the Southern Sudan Community Association that started in 1997. Staff has resettled refugees from multiple countries, most recently including Afghanistan and Ukraine. A spokesperson says its services, for now, are to remain focused on the Omaha area.

Boards of directors for both agencies voted unanimously earlier this month for the merger.

The nonprofit status of the refugee center has been dissolved, and its programming now is within the immigrant center.

“We are raising the bar for ourselves to support our clients at a deeper, broader level, especially during a time of high resettlement and global migration,” said Tom Simms, board chair of the Immigrant Legal Center.

Nebraskans want accountability from their elected officials and government. They want to know whether their tax dollars are being well-spent, whether state agencies and local governments are responsive to the people and whether officials, programs and policies are working for the common good. The Nebraska Examiner is a nonprofit, independent news source committed to providing news, scoops and reports important to our state.