HIAS Immigration & Citizenship

When a Central African Republic family stepped off the plane at O’Hare Airport for the first time last year, Gail Nusekabel was there to greet them. She had never met this family of four before, but she was ready to help them as they embarked on a new life in the U.S.

Along with other members of her synagogue, Sukkat Shalom, Gail volunteers as a JCFS Chicago HIAS Immigration & Citizenship mentor, helping refugee families get acclimated to living in a new country.

The plight of refugees has been a constant life theme for retired attorney and former college educator Fred Wellisch, a JCFS Chicago HIAS Immigration & Citizenship volunteer.

For her bat mitzvah project, Ava Bednyak, 13, decided to raise funds to support a young family of three who recently moved to Chicago to escape the war in Ukraine. She connected with JCFS Chicago’s HIAS Immigration & Citizenship program to get started right away.

Bikes & Music was launched in 2020. They collect used bicycles and musical instruments, refurbish them, and get them to families via various nonprofits – including HIAS Immigration & Citizenship here at JCFS Chicago.

On November 1^st, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) came together in Chicago for the General Assembly (GA). The GA brings together Jewish leaders from across the country to explore major global and domestic issues affecting Jewish communities.

In partnership with the Jewish United Fund (JUF), JCFS Chicago’s Financial Assistance Program has issued $2.2 million to people in the community since May 2020. Clients typically receive food assistance and help paying utility bills and several months of rent. However, certain cases require JCFS’ dedicated caseworkers to go above and beyond simply providing financial relief and look at additional supports that could help people get to a better place in life.  

For over a century, HIAS Immigration & Citizenship has supported immigrants and refugees seeking a safe place to call home.

June celebrates National Immigrant Heritage Month. For more than 100 years, JCFS Chicago’s HIAS Immigration & Citizenship has proudly helped individuals and their families transition from strangers in a new land to proud American citizens.

Steve Krasner is a dedicated volunteer and the experienced instructor of HIAS's virtual U.S. Citizen Preparation Class. “My goal is to try and make the virtual class as much as I can like the actual classroom,” he shared. "Building a rapport with the students is so important to understand who they are, where they are from and what they hope to achieve."

HIAS Immigration & Citizenship recently celebrated the accomplishments of their 2020 scholarship recipients at the annual HIAS Scholarship Recognition Night last June.