Local immigration attorney reacts to Trump executive orders
Jan. 28—Dayton-area organizations that work with refugees and people of other immigration statuses report anxiety among their clients as they assess the impact of executive orders passed down by the new presidential administration.
President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order that suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) "until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States."
Katie Kersh, senior attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) said the executive order to eliminate the refugee resettlement program, among other orders issued by Trump during the first week of his presidency, is not the end of changes to federal policy surrounding immigration.
"Certainly as it stands, that broad-sweeping cessation of refugee resettlement in the United States, that will impact so many people, including a lot of people in the Dayton area," she said.
She and her organization are still determining what impact these rules will have on their clients, and they're fielding numerous questions from immigrant communities.
"There's a tremendous amount of fear," said Kersh. "We're not only getting calls from people who are undocumented but from folks who have Green Cards or who are even naturalized U.S. citizens, asking 'Am I safe?'"
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has brought in people from other nations since Congress created it in 1980 for refugees fearing persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group and more.
Refugee resettlement in the Dayton region is operated through Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley. Outside of this effort, ABLE provides some legal services to immigrants and refugees making a home in the region.
Clients come from all over: Ukraine, Haiti, Iraq, Nigeria, Cameroon, Colombia, Venezuela, Nigeria and other nations in Africa, to name a few.
The disruption of the resettlement program, for many, could mean prolonged separation from their families, Kersh said.
"The refugee process is extremely slow. There are lots of people in this community who are still waiting on their family members to join them," Kersh said.
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Hamilton Spectator
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He was arrested while trying to join an oversight tour of a 1,000-bed immigrant detention center. A trespass charge was later dropped, but he sued interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba over the dropped prosecution last week. 'I think all this stuff is designed to be a distraction,' he said recently. 'But I also think that us not responding is consent. Our silence is consent. If we continue to allow these people to do these things and get away with it, right, they will continue to do them over and over and over again.' In one of his final campaign ads in Spanish, he used footage from the arrest and the demonstrations to cast himself as a reluctant warrior, with text over the images saying he is 'El Único,' Spanish for 'the only one,' who confronts Trump. Confident Republicans Former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is making his third bid for governor, and Trump's backing may help. 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There's nobody that has an absolute inside track.' —- Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
