Last week, an executive order from President Donald Trump suspended refugee admissions to the U.S. Now, a State Department memo that expands on that order is threatening resettlement services for refugees already in the country.
In central Ohio, hundreds of recently arrived refugees are served by Community Refugee and Immigration Services, or CRIS. The resettlement agency helps refugees find housing, enroll their kids in school and secure employment, with a mission of helping immigrants become self-sufficient and comfortable in the community.
The organization received a "stop work" order Friday afternoon, said CRIS Executive Director Angie Plummer.
“This executive order and memo, I think is designed to cause chaos and disruption. It certainly accomplished that,” Plummer said.
Some of CRIS’ funding comes from the State Department through the Population, Migration and Refugees Bureau. Plummer says the State Department memo calls into question whether CRIS can be reimbursed for providing its services, but CRIS' national affiliate, Church World Service, told CRIS to keep helping those already in the 90-day resettlement service period.
That means refugees who recently came to central Ohio will still get the help they need for now, but Plummer doesn’t know if she can pay her bills or her staff.
She said staff will be paid for this week, but after that, it's hard to say.
“It's very destabilizing for them as individuals. And they are the kind of people whose foremost concern is that our clients get served. Very close behind that is their own financial well-being,” Plummer said.
At the same time, Plummer worries that refugees who just arrived will get “stranded” without resettlement services.
Central Ohio refugees come from Afghanistan, Congo, Somalia, Venezuela and other countries, and all come through the legal refugee process.
"They entered lawfully, followed all of the rules and representations were made before they came here about what services would be provided,” Plummer said. She added that CRIS has a contractual and moral obligation to help.
Plummer said she hasn’t seen the State Department memo herself, but that it leaves questions. For example, she wonders whether CRIS can continue to pay rent for its refugee clients.
"These are people's lives that are being dramatically impacted, both those who have just arrived and, you know, our fantastic staff,” Plummer said. “That this new administration doesn't care is quite obvious."
Plummer said she knows of one family that has already been separated by the changes to refugee policy. She said two family members arrived last week, but the mother was delayed in travel. Now, she's stuck outside the U.S. indefinitely.
"So, there's so much uncertainty and heartbreak right now," Plummer said.
