International Refugee Assistance Project

What International Refugee Assistance Project does

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal aid and advocacy organization founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York. IRAP operates as a virtual public interest law firm delivering free direct legal services to refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons worldwide. The organization serves clients across multiple segments including asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, Afghan and Iraqi allies pursuing Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders facing status termination, and an emerging cohort of climate-displaced persons.

IRAP's service portfolio is organized around three operational pillars — Direct Legal Services, Litigation, and Policy — supported by a distributed delivery network spanning 26 countries and 58 U.S. law school chapters. The organization pairs direct casework with systemic litigation, having secured precedent-setting court victories in cases such as S.A. v. Trump (Central American Minors parole program), CASA v. Wolf/Mayorkas (asylum work authorization), and Pacito v. Trump (refugee admissions suspension). It co-litigates with elite pro bono partners including Arnold & Porter and Gibson Dunn and runs a dedicated U.S.-Mexico border program in partnership with DHIA in Ciudad Juárez/El Paso.

IRAP's business model is entirely donation-funded, with no fees charged to clients. Revenue streams consist of contributions from individuals, foundation grants, and institutional donors, augmented by selected government-funded initiatives such as the Equitable Resettlement Access Consortium (ERAC) with HIAS and RefugePoint under U.S. State Department funding. Distribution relies on a combination of multilingual self-help legal information portals, pro bono attorney networks, law school chapters, and field-based intake at strategic locations. Marketing and demand generation operate through content (legal resources, policy reports), earned media, and social channels rather than commercial lead capture, consistent with a nonprofit mission orientation.

Name

International Refugee Assistance Project

Legal name

International Refugee Assistance Project, Inc.

Website

https://refugeerights.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

IRAP is a 501(c)(3) legal aid nonprofit founded in 2008 that provides free direct legal services, systemic litigation, and policy advocacy to refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons across 26 countries, serving over 44,000 clients directly and benefiting hundreds of thousands more through court victories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices41 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, IRAP operates entirely on donated funds from individuals, foundations, and institutional donors. All legal services provided to clients are free of charge. The organization runs fundraising campaigns including peer-to-peer fundraising and the Partners in Refuge giving program.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IRAP is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that provides free direct legal services to refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons worldwide. The organization mobilizes volunteer legal resources across a network of offices in 26 countries and law school chapters in 58 U.S. cities to deliver casework, legal representation, and systemic litigation. It combines individual client services with policy advocacy and impact litigation to create pathways to safe resettlement.

Product overview

IRAP operates as a virtual public interest law firm offering a comprehensive suite of legal aid services for refugees and displaced persons globally. The organization's offerings span three core pillars: Direct Legal Services providing casework and representation, a Litigation Department bringing systemic court challenges, and a Policy Department advocating for systemic changes. These are supported by specialized programs including the U.S.-Mexico Border Program, Legal Resources for Afghans, Central American Minors Program Support, Climate Displacement Resources, and an IRAP Legal Information Website providing multilingual self-help resources. All services are delivered through a network of offices and pro bono partners worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct Legal Services IRAP's core legal services providing direct client services to refugees and displaced persons worldwide, including casework, legal representation, and assistance with immigration processes such as refugee resettlement, asylum applications, and family reunification.
• Litigation Department Services Systemic litigation to help refugees, asylum-seekers and others in need of a safe home, bringing court victories that opened and expedited pathways to safety in the U.S., including cases like S.A. v. Trump and CASA v. Wolf.
• Policy Department Advocacy Systemic advocacy utilizing lessons learned in individual casework to advocate for changes benefiting broader refugee populations through partnerships with broad coalitions to push for global refugee protections.
• U.S.-Mexico Border Program Legal services partnership with Derechos Humanos Integrales en Acción (DHIA) providing remote legal advice, community education, and legal representation to forcibly displaced people seeking asylum via Ciudad Juárez/El Paso port of entry.
• Climate Displacement Resources Program Publications, practice guides, questionnaires, and advocacy materials addressing climate-related displacement, including reports on environmental drivers of cross-border movement and legal action agendas.
• Equitable Resettlement Access Consortium (ERAC) A 3-year U.S. State Department-funded initiative designed to broaden access to resettlement for vulnerable populations, with IRAP leading work in the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region in partnership with HIAS and RefugePoint.

Quantifiable outcome

• 44,000+ displaced people provided with direct legal aid
• +4 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and secondary.

• Derechos Humanos Integrales en Accion (DHIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021IRAP partners with DHIA, a Mexican human rights organization, to provide remote legal advice, community education, and legal representation to forcibly displaced people seeking asylum in the U.S. via Ciudad Juarez/El Paso. IRAP staff conduct in-person intakes at shelters across Ciudad Juarez and via telephone.
• Arnold & Porter LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArnold & Porter serves as co-counsel with IRAP in S.A. v. Trump litigation challenging the termination of the Central American Minors parole program. The firm has participated in oral arguments and helped secure a settlement agreement reopening processing for approximately 2,700 children.
• Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGibson, Dunn & Crutcher serves as co-counsel with IRAP in CASA de Maryland v. Wolf litigation challenging rules limiting asylum seekers' work permits. The firm participated in filing and briefing in federal court.
• Human Rights FirststrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRAP collaborated with Human Rights First to draft a white paper on key principles for designing and implementing a pilot private sponsorship program for refugees in the United States, published in October 2016.
• Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRAP partnered with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center to conduct interviews with 26 displaced individuals in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, producing joint reports on climate displacement impacts, including 'Danger by Design' (2025) and 'Enduring Change' (2024). Las Americas also conducted Know Your Rights trainings at shelters.
• Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRAP co-litigated with ASAP in CASA v. Wolf, a federal lawsuit challenging Trump-era rules limiting asylum seekers' work permits. IRAP and ASAP together filed the case in federal court with co-counsel Gibson Dunn. ASAP represents over 225,000 members and is the plaintiff class representative.
• CASA de MarylandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCASA de Maryland is co-plaintiff and organizational plaintiff in S.A. v. Trump and CASA v. Wolf litigation with IRAP. CASA represents immigrant communities in Maryland and beyond. The court order in CASA v. Wolf applies to CASA members.
• Centro Legal de la RazasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentro Legal de la Raza joined as co-plaintiff in CASA v. Wolf, contributing to litigation challenging work authorization restrictions for asylum seekers.
• Oasis Legal ServicessecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerOasis Legal Services joined as co-plaintiff in CASA v. Wolf, representing LGBTQ+ asylum seekers affected by work permit restrictions.
• Pangea Legal ServicessecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPangea Legal Services joined as co-plaintiff in CASA v. Wolf, contributing to litigation on behalf of asylum seekers facing barriers to work authorization.
• Haitian Bridge AlliancestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerHaitian Bridge Alliance joined IRAP and other organizations in submitting reports to the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights documenting systematic human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe International Rescue Committee operated the CAM Hotline for the Central American Minors program. The hotline went out of service indefinitely as of February 12, 2025.
• U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerUSCRI partnered with IRAP and HUMSI to produce 'Climate of Coercion: Environmental and Other Drivers of Cross-Border Displacement in Central America and Mexico' (2023), analyzing climate-related displacement drivers.
• HIAS and RefugePointcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRAP partnered with HIAS and RefugePoint to build the Equitable Resettlement Access Consortium (ERAC), a 3-year U.S. State Department-funded initiative designed to broaden access to resettlement for vulnerable populations. IRAP led ERAC's work in the Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region.
• Human Security Initiative (HUMSI)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerHUMSI partnered with IRAP and USCRI to conduct 38 interviews in Tijuana shelters with displaced individuals from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and El Salvador for the Climate of Coercion report (2023).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HIAS: HIAS is one of the oldest refugee resettlement and legal aid organizations in the U.S., providing direct legal services, resettlement support, and advocacy for refugees and asylum seekers. IRAP and HIAS are formal collaborators (Equitable Resettlement Access Consortium) and compete for the same donor base and policy influence in the refugee legal aid space.
• Human Rights First: Human Rights First is a U.S.-based legal and advocacy organization working on refugee protection, asylum rights, and anti-torture policy. IRAP co-authored a 2016 private sponsorship white paper with Human Rights First, and both organizations litigate and advocate in overlapping federal court dockets.
• National Immigration Law Center (NILC): NILC is a national legal advocacy organization dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of low-income immigrants. NILC focuses on impact litigation and policy advocacy similar to IRAP's model, with overlapping funding sources and federal court dockets on work authorization and asylum access.
• Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP): ASAP is a community-based asylum seeker membership organization representing 225,000+ members. IRAP and ASAP are co-plaintiffs in CASA v. Wolf and share a deeply intertwined litigation strategy on work authorization for asylum seekers.
• Kids in Need of Defense (KIND): KIND provides pro bono legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children in the U.S. KIND overlaps with IRAP's Central American Minors (CAM) parole work and broader children's immigration advocacy, sharing pro bono law firm partner networks and donor pools.
• Refugee Council USA: Refugee Council USA is a coalition of 30+ U.S. refugee advocacy and resettlement organizations. IRAP is a member and operates within this coalition structure, competing for policy influence on U.S. refugee admissions ceilings and resettlement funding.

Broad incumbents

• International Rescue Committee (IRC): IRC is a major global humanitarian organization providing refugee resettlement, health, education, and economic support services across 40+ countries. IRC is a broader incumbent that overlaps with IRAP on refugee resettlement casework and policy advocacy, with significantly larger operational scale.
• ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project: The ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project litigates high-impact immigration cases and runs advocacy campaigns across the U.S. IRAP joined forces with the ACLU on Guantánamo transfer litigation, and both organizations compete for major-impact litigation slots and foundation funding.
• Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC): CLINIC is the largest U.S. network of immigration legal services providers, affiliated with Catholic Charities, training thousands of immigration attorneys annually. CLINIC competes with IRAP for capacity-building influence and BIA-accredited attorney training, though with a broader faith-based resettlement footprint.
• Amnesty International USA: Amnesty International USA conducts human rights research, advocacy, and litigation on refugee and asylum issues. While much broader in scope than IRAP, Amnesty overlaps on asylum seeker rights, detention advocacy, and UN reporting — and IRAP has submitted joint UN reports alongside Amnesty.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IRAP
• Facebookfacebook.com/RefugeeAssist
• Instagraminstagram.com/RefugeeAssistance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Refugee Assistance Project