The Hill’s Changemakers: Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, 44, leads the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), one of the nation’s largest refugee resettlement agencies responsible for aiding the transition for those fleeing danger and persecution. 

Vignarajah came to the U.S. as an infant; her Sri Lankan parents were concerned about rising violence for the Tamil minority. 

“There wasn’t as much of an emphasis on being an immigrant and investing as much time in reflecting on our personal family journey. And I think that it was actually in the last several years and this war on immigration and immigrants intensified that I felt forced to recognize how important it is to me,” she told The Hill. 

“I think that has made this role feel like a chance to pay it forward.” 

Vignarajah grew up in Baltimore, graduating from one of the state’s lowest-ranked high schools before attending Yale University and later the University of Oxford before returning to Yale for a law degree. 

After school, Vignarajah had a “decade of dabbling,” working as an attorney, an adviser at the State Department, and later as a policy director for then-first lady Michelle Obama, before entering the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Maryland. 

Since landing at LIRS in 2019, she’s become a leading voice for refugees and immigrants amid a surge in anti-immigrant sentiments. 

“How do we communicate to the American public that immigration is not just the right thing to do, it’s a smart thing to do? How do we make people understand that America has an immigration crisis, but it’s not the one you hear about when you turn on the news?” she asked. 

“It’s about the fact that we have an inverted pyramid when it comes to our demographics. And if we want to limit inflation, if we want to keep Medicare and Social Security afloat, we’ve got to be thoughtful in our need for a vibrant workforce and the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit that immigrants bring.”