About Us
The New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research (NAAPR) is a nonprofit, multi-ethnic organization dedicated to building the prosperity, influence, and inclusion of refugees and immigrants. Our mission is realized through policy advocacy, education, research, and community-driven programs. Advocacy forms the backbone of our work, as policy reform and participatory research are vital for designing responsive and impactful services that address the unique needs of refugees and immigrants.
Our Story
Founded in 2022, NAAPR is dedicated to empowering New Americans by leveraging their power, talents, and activism to advance prosperity, influence, and inclusion. Through advocacy, education, participatory research, and innovative community-driven programs, we equip New Americans with essential tools to thrive, participate meaningfully in civic discourse, shape public policy, and champion services and programs that celebrate their strengths and address the unique linguistic, cultural, and systemic challenges they face.
We are committed to building lasting partnerships with refugee and immigrant organizations, legislators, media, academia, and community members to transform prevailing misconceptions about refugees and immigrants. Our efforts aim to elevate the voices of our communities and ensure their needs are addressed with dignity and urgency.
A Note From Our Founder
Dear Friends,
Although I didn’t arrive in the U.S. as a refugee, I consider myself a displaced person. While Iran was once called an “island of stability,” under the pressure of President Carter’s inconsistent international policy, the Iranian Revolution occurred. Thousands of Iranians were imprisoned or killed by the new regime, while the lives of those who fled were changed forever, including mine. I vividly remember the anxious days and restless nights while my family and I waited helplessly to hear the fate of our country. When the revolution threatened the lives of Americans in Iran, concerned American friends told us to hide our nationality. At university, I remember immigration officers interviewing Iranian students so they could identify and deport Khomeini sympathizers. Overnight, it felt like my identity had become a threat. It was only many years later that I started to understand the consequences of U.S. foreign policy on the lives of millions of people living in sovereign nations.
NAAPR founder Someireh Amirfaiz at the Refugee and Immigrant Legislative Day in Olympia, WA.
After September 11, 2001, three transformative events occurred in my life. First, an employment case manager at the agency I was leading asked me to meet with a group of Somali women she had taken to a potential hiring company. With tears in her eyes, one of the women said, “We’re Muslim, and nobody wants us here.” The case manager filled me in: the hiring agency threw their employment applications in the trash in front of them, declaring they had no jobs available.
The second inflection point was when a Nepalese mother with three children took her own life. Despite arriving in the U.S. with hopes of a better future for herself and her children, her resettlement benefits focused on finding employment, rather than language classes or vocational training. No effort was spent helping her process the trauma of fleeing her home, living in a refugee camp, or adjusting to a new culture. I often think about her, sure that her story would have ended differently if her resettlement benefits were focused on holistic wellness rather than economic self-sufficiency.
Third, despite my two sons being born in the U.S. and unbeknownst to me, they were called “terrorists,” “camel jockeys,” and other derogatory names at school. As boys, they put up with it because they wanted to act tough, but as a mother, I saw their emotional hurt and confusion. I vowed to make sure we, as refugees and immigrants, would be recognized as the courageous people we are.
These experiences showed me the damage caused by portraying refugees and immigrants as traumatized, powerless individuals of color who are detrimental to society. In particular, the media profoundly impacts the public’s view on who is deserving, determining who receives support from public policy and who does not. Americans, and the rest of the world, use this image to justify the need to keep displaced people away by any means: refugee admission quotas, questioning the legitimacy of asylum seekers, building a wall, and the Muslim ban, among others.
We cannot ignore how racist assumptions undermine our rights. The visual images of us, as depicted by the media and exploited by some politicians, show individuals with darker skin, without personal or political agency, devoid of valued skills, who seek to inflict harm on the U.S. and drain its resources. In reality, when we flee our homelands, we forfeit much: life-sustaining resources, social support, jobs, self-identity, culture, and statehood. Despite these profound losses, we are determined to succeed and to contribute to our adoptive homeland. We deserve a government that sees, hears, counts, and includes us in the policymaking that affects our lives, including refugee admission and immigration policies.
We are forming the New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research to use science and facts to collectively change public discourse, in turn shaping public policy. Our goal is to secure the prosperity, inclusion, and influence of all who call the U.S. home. How well we achieve our goal and how seriously we take this initiative will have a lasting impact on us, our children, all future refugees and immigrants, and our democracy.
In hope and gratitude,
Someireh Amirfaiz, Ed.D.
How We Approach Our Work
Share NAAPR’s data and research to drive better outcomes for refugees and immigrants.
Highlight the root causes of forced migration, the global refugee crisis, and the impact of U.S. immigration and refugee policies. Through this work, we strive to promote more equitable immigration and resettlement policies.
Serve as a leading voice on U.S. refugee resettlement, championing responsible management and advocating for the resources refugees need to succeed.
Provide services informed by our community members
Why Our Work Matters
The figure of the refugee has long carried significant political and policy implications. Before and during the Cold War, the United States viewed refugees and immigrants as courageous dissidents, celebrating them as heroes worthy of resettlement.
Today, narratives often falsely portray refugees and immigrants as lacking agency and valued skills, while casting them as threats who seek to harm and exploit the United States.
Neither narrative captures the full reality.
Our work is dedicated to reshaping the dominant narrative of refugees and immigrants with a fundamental belief in them as courageous defenders of freedom who contribute to the well-being and strength of the United States in multiple ways. It will take time, but we have to start now.
How We Are Different
Our mission focuses on advocacy, education, policy, and research as the primary means to advance the interest and influence of New Americans.
We energize New Americans to get engaged in policy discussions and offer solutions.
We work with New Americans to reshape the dominant narrative that refugees and immigrants are individuals without any personal or political agency, devoid of valued skills, who seek a home in the United States in order to inflict harm and drain its resources.
We highlight the factors contributing to forced migration, the world-wide refugee crisis, and U.S. immigration and refugee admission policies.
Our Core Values
Value Life and Human Potential
We believe in the dignity and equality of all humans. We fiercely hold onto the belief that all those who have been forced to flee their homelands are courageous and successful individuals temporarily without financial resources and opportunities.
Community First
We are committed to amplifying the voices of New Americans and changing current narratives depicting them as a burden to society and a threat to U.S. national security.
The Power of Many
Transformation and change are only possible when we unite to overcome imbalances in power, resources, or opportunities.
Challenge the Status Quo
Questioning why and how things are done is in our DNA. We don't accept answers and solutions that are not informed by and applicable to New Americans' lived experiences.
Leadership of New Americans
We embrace the leadership of New Americans and believe in their ability to mobilize others in a positive way. Only they can create different visions of what is possible and necessary for an inclusive society.
Tenacious Hope
Creating different visions for what is possible and desirable takes time and courage. We are committed to working with New Americans to affect change and to highlight the importance of their contributions to the success of the United States.
Our Team
Board of Directors
Our Partners
Our partners join us in catalyzing change for refugees and immigrants by providing financial capital and supporting our work in systems advocacy, innovative services, and research grounded in lived experiences of refugees and immigrants. We’re proud to partner with:
