In 1975, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) contacted LFSRM to begin resettlement of refugees. Since that time, the LFSRM Refugee & Asylee Programs have helped people who have been uprooted by persecution and violence work towards self-sufficiency through essential resettlement services, including: housing, employment, English language, and cultural orientation. Some locations have other grant-funded programs. School programs are available in our Colorado Springs, Greeley, and Albuquerque locations.
LFSRM works together with LIRS, and other churches, organizations, community groups, businesses, and individuals to provide the services and supplies necessary for refugees to become self-sufficient and integrate into their new communities.
Refugees are individuals who are forced to flee their countries of origin because of a well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social or political group.
Asylees are people already in the United States who receive protected status and are unable to return home for the same reasons that refugees are unable to return home.
Victims of Trafficking are people who have been forced, deceived, or coerced to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers may lure individuals with false promises of employment and a better life. Immigration relief is provided to eligible victims.
Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Holders are those individuals who have been granted special immigrant status on account of their service to US military and/or contractors abroad. Individuals are granted SIV status for their support of the United States government and its affiliates.
Humanitarian Parole allows an individual, who may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible for admission into the United States, to be paroled into the United States for a temporary period for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
LFSRM serves refugees in the Rocky Mountain Region with offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Greeley, Albuquerque, and Las Cruces.
At LFSRM, we have a variety of opportunities that allow you to assist and engage with refugees. Volunteer your time, donate needed items and monetary donations, or become a refugee employer.