Trump order halting refugee resettlement disrupting Minnesota agencies’ efforts

On his first day in office President Donald Trump signed an executive order which puts a halt on the Refugee Admissions Program.

It was one of 10 immigration-related actions Trump has promised to enact.

The order is set to begin on Jan. 27 and is part of Trump’s “America First” priorities which characterize the influx of migrants and refugees as a “strain on community safety and resources.”

Officials with refugee resettlement agencies in Minnesota say that action is disrupting efforts to bring people facing strife in their home countries to the U.S. and to the state.

Micaela Schuneman is senior director of Immigration and Refugee Services at the International Institute of Minnesota. She says the organization has already been preparing for major changes under the Trump administration.

“What we saw during the first Trump administration was when this program was put on hold, it had a very detrimental impact across the United States,” Schuneman said.

Schuneman says there are misconceptions about the Refugee Admissions Program – which was established in 1980 and has provided a legal pathway for people to immigrate. She says in Minnesota, resettlement agencies like the institute don’t feel strained, and are prepared to welcome refugees through the program, which is federally funded and has historically received bi-partisan support.

“People are not just showing up unannounced. There’s always lots of communication around when someone will be arriving. They’ve already gone through all of the processes that they need to do so when they enter the U.S., they already have an immigration status.”

Schuneman says the institute was expecting to welcome 800 refugees through the program to the state this year, and 221 have already arrived since October. But the remaining won’t be able to under Trump’s new order. Some may be able to enter the country on a case-by-case basis, but it’s so far unclear what those requirements will be. 

This wait and see period is keeping organizations like the Afghan Cultural Society wondering what’s next. 

Executive director of the Afghan Cultural Society Nasreen Sajady says the organization has helped resettle close to 1,000 Afghan families in the state last year. 

“People have a place to turn right when they get here. There’s people that speak their language, that they can communicate with easily, that have a shared experience of displacement, because many of the people that work for me are people who came in this arrival,” Sajady said.

Sajady says many of those people were waiting to reunite with their families. A suspension to the Refugee Admissions Program would keep them waiting. 

“One of my biggest concerns right now that I’m trying to juggle is how do I keep my staff going so they don’t lose their jobs, as well as, how do they continue being able to do the work they’re doing to support this community,” Sajady said.

At Arrive Ministries, program leaders are navigating similar challenges. 

“So, for some families who do have a U.S. tie is what it’s called, so a family or friend who’s here in the United States, we do a lot of calls prior to a family being scheduled for arrival, just to make sure that that connection is verified and that they’re prepared to assist. And there are obviously concerns in those communities about what will happen, and is that going to further delay their family’s arrival, many have been waiting decades,” said Ruth LePage, refugee resettlement program manager.

LePage says Arrive Ministries has resettled about 177 people out of the 550 refugees they were preparing to resettle this year. 

According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, more than 33,000 people moved to Minnesota with refugee status between 2005 and 2020.

The executive order requires a report to be submitted to the president within 90 days to determine whether to resume entry of refugees into the country.