Press & Media Coverage
Learn more about the impact and worth of Ithaca Welcomes Refugees through press coverage about our programs, volunteers, and staff.
Explore additional stories through our Blog and email Newsletters.
2026
PODCAST: Casey Verderosa – Guest on Human Rights & Social Justice Program w/ Ute Ritz-Deutch
Aired October 30 2026 – interviewer/host Ute Ritz-Deutch – WRFI Community Radio
Ithaca Immigrant Groups Demand End to ICE Vehicle Stops After Fatal Shootings
August 5 2026 – by Philip O’Dell – Ithaca Times
“Verderosa advised fearful residents to learn their constitutional rights through organizations like theImmigrant Legal Resource Center and to remain calm during interactions with immigration enforcement, even if subjected to unfair treatment.
“We are hopeful that our country will return to a place where shared humanity is valued and that immigrants affected by ICE will be able to gain their lives back,” Verderosa said.”
Tompkins County Leaders Defend Sanctuary Policies Following Trump’s State of the Union Threats
March 8 2026 – by Philip O’Dell – Ithaca Times
“Verderosa said IWR is concerned with a proposed federal rule to indefinitely pause applications for asylum-based work permits. She said the inability to work would make it impossible for individuals with valid asylum claims to survive nationwide. In response to the proposal, IWR urges the public to submit formal comments to the Federal Register to express opposition to the rule.
“The president’s anti-immigrant and anti-sanctuary city rhetoric has actually galvanized support for organizations like IWR,” Verderosa said. “This community has become defiant in the face of tyranny, rather than being intimidated into meekness, and on behalf of our refugee partners, I am so proud and so grateful.” “
2025
Resettling in Ithaca: How Ithaca Welcomes Refugees Supports our Refugee Community
June 2025 – by TIP Service Learning Chairs Calista Oria & Chloe Koo
“The Ithaca community — which, according to 2017-2021 U.S. Census Bureau Data, ranked 1st out of 385 metro areas in percentage of migrants represented in its overall population (Adams, 2023) — has spearheaded efforts to alleviate the adversities refugees and immigrants face. At the forefront of this movement is Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR). Founded in 2015, IWR stepped in as a non-profit to support refugee resettlement along with Catholic Charities, which was at the time a federally-designated refugee resettlement agency. Now IWR is the main organization helping refugees and immigrants in the Tompkins community resettle and rebuild their lives.”
2024
Nurturing New Roots: ICG’s Scholarships Cultivate Hope and Growth for Refugee Families
April 26 2024 – Ithaca Children’s Garden Blog
“One of our volunteers met one of our older families that way. She was driving and saw a family walking down the road after they first arrived in the country. It was raining and they were walking away from the developed area of town, pushing a stroller. This woman stopped and asked where they were going, and then drove them to their destination. They have now been friends for years.”
Killed on Route 13: The Unresolved Case of Afghan Refugee Rahman Nasiri
June 26 2024 – Matt Dougherty – Ithaca Times
“While Nasiri’s family continues to struggle with their loss and the complexities of their situation, they have been receiving support from IWR, which has provided financial assistance to the family. According Wallitt, “After Mr. Nasiri’s death, IWR created and raised money for a Crisis Fund [and] we are able to cover many incidental expenses for the family from that fund.” “
2023
Resettling in Ithaca: How Ithaca Welcomes Refugees Supports our Refugee Community
June 2025 – by TIP Service Learning Chairs Calista Oria & Chloe Koo
“The Ithaca community — which, according to 2017-2021 U.S. Census Bureau Data, ranked 1st out of 385 metro areas in percentage of migrants represented in its overall population (Adams, 2023) — has spearheaded efforts to alleviate the adversities refugees and immigrants face. At the forefront of this movement is Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR). Founded in 2015, IWR stepped in as a non-profit to support refugee resettlement along with Catholic Charities, which was at the time a federally-designated refugee resettlement agency. Now IWR is the main organization helping refugees and immigrants in the Tompkins community resettle and rebuild their lives.”
2022
Ithaca Welcomes Refugees
December 14 2022 – by Marjorie Olds – Ithaca Times
“From November 2021 until November 2022 IWR welcomed 33 people of all ages, most arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine. Before our new neighbors arrive in Ithaca, IWR begins preparing: Once IWR learns how many people are arriving, their ages and needs, IWR volunteers begin to search for the most difficult part of relocation: housing. IWR volunteers”
PODCAST – Ithaca isn’t just Gorges – it’s Welcoming!
February 2 2022 – by Only in America Podcast with Ali Noorani
“It’s another virtual road trip – this week to Ithaca. And don’t forget your mittens because it’s cold out there! This week we are joined by Casey Verderosa from Ithaca Welcomes Refugees. She details their origin story, the organization’s current challenges, and what she hopes for Ithaca and IWR in the future.“
IWR faces housing struggles for refugees
March 3 2022 – by Andres Rendon – IthacaWeek
“Until last summer, Catholic Charities of Tompkins Tioga oversaw housing assistance for refugees. The organization was designated by the federal government as a resettlement organization, but that designation was removed during former President Trump’s administration.”
“Their designation lapsed,” Verderosa says, “during the last few years through a combination of the Trump era slashes to the number of refugees that came into the country, and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Partner for Change: Ithaca Welcomes Refugees Reflects on a Significant Year
2022 – GreenStar Food Co+op Blog
“Although all applications IWR has funded are still pending due to slowdowns in refugee processing nationally, the organization still welcomed its largest-ever number of arrivals at the end of the year when Cornell University relocated nine students from the Asian University for Women to its Ithaca campus. The young Afghan women, whose university is located in Bangladesh, were studying remotely in Afghanistan due to the pandemic when the Taliban takeover occurred.”
2021
Ithaca welcomes 10 Afghan refugees
December 3 2021 – by Jimmy Jordan – The Ithaca Voice
“The resettlement of the 10 Afghan individuals to the city of gorges is the work of Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR), a non-profit organization which began in 2015 in an effort to help Syrian refugees relocate to the U.S..”
2015 - 2020
What does it take to come to Ithaca as a refugee?
August 20 2016 – by Melissa Whitworth – The Ithaca Voice
“During the initial discussion phase, as CCTT was putting together its application, it was decided refugees from eight countries could be placed here: Syria, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bhutan, Burma, Ukraine, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan. The list is based on languages already spoken within our community and current, settled, populations from those regions.”