Deplorable. What a bunch of BS:
More than 1,400 refugees expecting to reunite with family members and resettle in Iowa this year are now waiting indefinitely after refugee travel to the U.S. was canceled under President Donald Trump's executive order halting federal programs.
A little more than 10,000 refugees from around the world had already gone through the lengthy vetting process to come to the U.S. and had travel scheduled over the next few weeks, according to the Associated Press. That includes more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to resettle in the U.S. The number includes those who worked alongside U.S. troops during the war in Afghanistan as well as family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, the AP reported.
At least 162 refugees who had been screened and approved to come to the U.S. and had flights booked to arrive in Iowa over the next two months are now stranded, according to resettlement agencies in Iowa.
Overall, the agencies say at least 1,436 refugees were expected to resettle in Iowa this year before Trump’s executive order suspended the country’s refugee resettlement program.
Federal officials have 90 days to submit a report to the president about whether allowing people into the country through the U.S. refugee program "would be in the interests of the United States," according to the order.
“The President is suspending refugee resettlement, after communities were forced to house large and unsustainable populations of migrants, straining community safety and resources,” according to a statement from the White House.
The order says the United States “lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees.”
Trump’s order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney General, to examine granting states and cities greater involvement in the process of determining the placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions, “and shall devise a proposal to lawfully promote such involvement.”
Zia Zakhail, left, translates for refugee and immigrant services resource navigator Abby Freese, center, as she helps Gul Rahman Balooch update information for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Zakhail, who came to the United States as an Afghan parolee, works as a case manager of the Afghan Parolee Assistance Program at the center.
JIM SLOSIAREK, The Gazette
Each year, the United States sets a ceiling on the number of refugees it agrees to accept. The U.S. President establishes the number in consultation with Congress.
For the 2024 fiscal year, the federal ceiling was set at 125,000 refugees.
When he first took office in 2017, Trump initially paused the refugee program. He then sharply cut the number of refugees allowed into the country. By the end of his term, he proposed capping the number of refugees at 15,000, the lowest number in the more than 40-year history of the program.
Before 2017, the average annual admissions cap was 95,000 under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
The cuts decimated refugee resettlement in the United States, said Nick Wuertz, director of refugee services at Lutheran Services in Iowa. The network of organizations that support refugees when they first enter the country shrank by a third as a result.
Over the last three years, Lutheran Services in Iowa worked with local and state officials, local health care, education, housing, employment, and faith-based partners to reestablish resettlement services in the state.
In the last three years, LSI has resettled 1,741 people, including refugees and special immigrant visa holders. The latter are mostly Afghan or Iraqi nationals who worked as translators or drivers with U.S. armed forces.
Other immigrants resettled by LSI are from Congo, Syria, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Guatemala, Burma, Honduras and more.
“At its core, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is a humanitarian program designed to provide safety and security to the most vulnerable people in the world who have no other options for safety and permanency,” Wuertz said.
“Despite what is stated in the (executive order), state and local jurisdictions already play a very important role in the placement and resettlement within their communities,” he said.
Local stakeholders provided letters of support for LSI’s application to the U.S. Department of State, and resettlement agencies meet with these stakeholders on a quarterly basis to update them on services, assess community capacity and address service needs.
“It should also be stated that none of the communities in which we serve have declared states of emergency due to refugee resettlement as suggested” in Trump’s order, Wuertz said. “As an organization, 95 percent of the families we resettled are economically self-sufficient through employment income after eight months of arrival.”
He said the nonprofit was expecting to help resettle 800 refugees and immigrants this year. That includes about 100 people who were expected to arrive over the next several weeks and months at one of the nonprofit's three sites in Des Moines, Sioux City and Waterloo — where staff would help them adjust to life in the U.S. That includes help finding jobs, housing and child care, enrolling children in schools and adults in English language classes, using public transportation and accessing community resources.
A majority of the individuals from various countries were reuniting with family members who had resettled as refugees in the United States years ago.
“These are all people that were forced to leave their homes, their jobs, their schools, their businesses,” because of persecution, war or violence, Wuertz said.
Many have waited in refugee camps in neighboring countries for years — some a decade or more — hoping to be able to go back home, only to find that’s not possible, he said.
“And so we have all worked together collectively to kind of reestablish these programs, not only in Iowa but across the country, to be able to help resettle people and help them to become a part of our communities,” Wuertz said. “And so it’s really disheartening to sort of see, kind of again, all of that work and all of those efforts being sort of dismantled once again.”
nonpareilonline.com
More than 1,400 refugees expecting to reunite with family members and resettle in Iowa this year are now waiting indefinitely after refugee travel to the U.S. was canceled under President Donald Trump's executive order halting federal programs.
A little more than 10,000 refugees from around the world had already gone through the lengthy vetting process to come to the U.S. and had travel scheduled over the next few weeks, according to the Associated Press. That includes more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to resettle in the U.S. The number includes those who worked alongside U.S. troops during the war in Afghanistan as well as family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, the AP reported.
At least 162 refugees who had been screened and approved to come to the U.S. and had flights booked to arrive in Iowa over the next two months are now stranded, according to resettlement agencies in Iowa.
Overall, the agencies say at least 1,436 refugees were expected to resettle in Iowa this year before Trump’s executive order suspended the country’s refugee resettlement program.
Federal officials have 90 days to submit a report to the president about whether allowing people into the country through the U.S. refugee program "would be in the interests of the United States," according to the order.
“The President is suspending refugee resettlement, after communities were forced to house large and unsustainable populations of migrants, straining community safety and resources,” according to a statement from the White House.
The order says the United States “lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees.”
Trump’s order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the U.S. Attorney General, to examine granting states and cities greater involvement in the process of determining the placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions, “and shall devise a proposal to lawfully promote such involvement.”
Zia Zakhail, left, translates for refugee and immigrant services resource navigator Abby Freese, center, as she helps Gul Rahman Balooch update information for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday. Zakhail, who came to the United States as an Afghan parolee, works as a case manager of the Afghan Parolee Assistance Program at the center.
JIM SLOSIAREK, The Gazette
How many refugees come to the U.S. each year? Who decides?
There are 11 refugee resettlement agencies in Iowa. The nonprofits say Iowa communities have not been overburdened by refugees, and have worked closely with local and state officials, community partners, donors and volunteers in a nationwide rebuilding effort after Trump slashed the refugee program during his first term.Each year, the United States sets a ceiling on the number of refugees it agrees to accept. The U.S. President establishes the number in consultation with Congress.
For the 2024 fiscal year, the federal ceiling was set at 125,000 refugees.
When he first took office in 2017, Trump initially paused the refugee program. He then sharply cut the number of refugees allowed into the country. By the end of his term, he proposed capping the number of refugees at 15,000, the lowest number in the more than 40-year history of the program.
Before 2017, the average annual admissions cap was 95,000 under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
The cuts decimated refugee resettlement in the United States, said Nick Wuertz, director of refugee services at Lutheran Services in Iowa. The network of organizations that support refugees when they first enter the country shrank by a third as a result.
Over the last three years, Lutheran Services in Iowa worked with local and state officials, local health care, education, housing, employment, and faith-based partners to reestablish resettlement services in the state.
In the last three years, LSI has resettled 1,741 people, including refugees and special immigrant visa holders. The latter are mostly Afghan or Iraqi nationals who worked as translators or drivers with U.S. armed forces.
Other immigrants resettled by LSI are from Congo, Syria, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Guatemala, Burma, Honduras and more.
“At its core, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is a humanitarian program designed to provide safety and security to the most vulnerable people in the world who have no other options for safety and permanency,” Wuertz said.
“Despite what is stated in the (executive order), state and local jurisdictions already play a very important role in the placement and resettlement within their communities,” he said.
Local stakeholders provided letters of support for LSI’s application to the U.S. Department of State, and resettlement agencies meet with these stakeholders on a quarterly basis to update them on services, assess community capacity and address service needs.
“It should also be stated that none of the communities in which we serve have declared states of emergency due to refugee resettlement as suggested” in Trump’s order, Wuertz said. “As an organization, 95 percent of the families we resettled are economically self-sufficient through employment income after eight months of arrival.”
He said the nonprofit was expecting to help resettle 800 refugees and immigrants this year. That includes about 100 people who were expected to arrive over the next several weeks and months at one of the nonprofit's three sites in Des Moines, Sioux City and Waterloo — where staff would help them adjust to life in the U.S. That includes help finding jobs, housing and child care, enrolling children in schools and adults in English language classes, using public transportation and accessing community resources.
A majority of the individuals from various countries were reuniting with family members who had resettled as refugees in the United States years ago.
“These are all people that were forced to leave their homes, their jobs, their schools, their businesses,” because of persecution, war or violence, Wuertz said.
Many have waited in refugee camps in neighboring countries for years — some a decade or more — hoping to be able to go back home, only to find that’s not possible, he said.
“And so we have all worked together collectively to kind of reestablish these programs, not only in Iowa but across the country, to be able to help resettle people and help them to become a part of our communities,” Wuertz said. “And so it’s really disheartening to sort of see, kind of again, all of that work and all of those efforts being sort of dismantled once again.”
Refugees set to reunite with family in Iowa are now ‘stranded’ under Trump order
More than 1,400 refugees expecting to resettle in Iowa this year waiting ‘in limbo.’
