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Miliyon Ethiopis, co-founder of United Stateless, writes about the urgent need for a legal framework in the U.S. to address the statelessness crisis, highlighting the severe challenges faced by over 200,000 stateless individuals in the country.

Congress has written to ICE, which needs to move more quickly to get on the same page with USCIS guidance on statelessness.

It's worrying when a government agency appears to go its own way over the stated commitments of the person in charge of overseeing it. Right now, Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs to do more to comply with the commitments of its leader, Homeland Security Security Alejandro Mayorkas, to help stateless people in America.

United Stateless, along with 75 other groups advocating for refugees and immigrants, is addressing a critical issue: the legal status of stateless people in the United States. We have sent a letter (see below) to The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, urging immediate action from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to fulfill the commitment made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in December 2021.

United Stateless commends the reintroduction of the "Stateless Protection Act," the first U.S. legislation aimed at granting stateless people their human right to a nationality. With 218,000 stateless individuals living in the U.S., this bill seeks to end their suffering related to identity, travel documents, employment barriers, detention, and more. The act is backed by key legislators, including Senators Dick Durbin and Alex Padilla, and Congressman Gerry Connolly.

In a significant move towards addressing statelessness in the U.S., Congress has passed an appropriations bill with measures to highlight the plight of stateless individuals and improve visa processing for them.

"Painted Borders: Portraits of the Stateless Sojourner" opens on Saturday, March 23, from 4 pm to 8:30 pm at 173 Elizabeth Street, NY, NY 10012. A portion of the proceeds will support United Stateless.

Statelessness affects 4 to 10 million people globally, denying them basic rights despite the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Organizations like United Stateless, led by those with lived experience, advocate for solutions and highlight the need for inclusive philanthropy that addresses the unique challenges stateless people face.