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Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Has Upended the Lives of Afghan Refugees
When Hasib Satary and his family arrived in the United States on August 27, 2021—less than two weeks after the fall of Kabul—he was in dire need of resettlement services. It had been a stressful ten-day journey for Satary, a former U.S. embassy employee in the capital of Afghanistan. His travels took him from Kabul to Doha, Qatar, before finally landing at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia to begin a new life. To his relief, the anxiety of arrival was eased by the welcome Satary and his family received from the local community, as well as the assistance of the Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, or LSSNCA, a refugee resettlement agency offering services in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The organization helped Satary with finding a home and employment, and aided in enrolling his three children in school. The services were especially needed for his wife, who was pregnant at the time. 'I had no idea where to go, how to go when I was here. But these individuals in the LSSNCA were very supportive, helping me, showing me, taking me to the hospital, taking my wife to hospital,' Satary recalled. 'It could [have been] very difficult for me if I didn't have that support.' Now, nearly four years after arriving in the U.S., Satary works for LSSNCA as the director of employee services in its northern Virginia office. He helps fellow refugees of all backgrounds find employment, become self-sufficient and integrate into their communities. But the assistance that was so vital to Satary and his family in 2021 is no longer available to new arrivals in the United States. After taking office on January 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all refugee admissions. Refugees outside of the U.S. who had already received approval to enter the country were blocked from arriving. Shortly thereafter, the administration suspended federal funding for the ten national agencies that shoulder the burdens of refugee resettlement, most of which are faith-based. This severely disrupted these organizations' ability to provide services to already-arrived refugees. Kristyn Peck, the executive director of LSSNCA, recalled receiving the stop-work order from the federal government on January 24, ordering the halt of resettlement services. 'We had welcomed 369 individuals through the U.S. Refugee Assistance Program within the previous 90 days who were now immediately no longer eligible for those services,' Peck said. As a result, LSSNCA laid off 42 staff members the following Monday, primarily case management staff. These workers would have been the main point of contact for those recently arrived refugees—75 percent of whom were Afghan. The administration's actions have been devastating for the recently arrived Afghans. 'They heard the services that people like myself and people who came earlier received—services that they are not going to receive—which is threatening their morale,' Satary said. He recalled a recent meeting with an Afghan man with seven children, who was weeping because he did not receive the resettlement and placement services, as they had been eliminated by the Trump administration—a common source of despair for many new arrivals in the region. 'They are saying it is really an injustice and unfair, the way they are being treated here,' Satary said. For many of these newly arrived refugees, they are caught between a government in Afghanistan that could have them killed, and an American government that is suddenly uninterested in providing support. The Trump administration's actions on refugee resettlement were swiftly met by lawsuits, some of which are still wending their way through the court system. An appeals court ruled last month that the Trump administration could stop approving new refugees for entry, but needed to admit those who had already been conditionally accepted before the refugee system was suspended. (Despite the efforts to make it largely impossible for most refugees to enter the U.S., the Trump administration is working to fast-track the admittance of white Afrikaners from South Africa.) Separately, a district court judge ordered the Trump administration to resume contracts with nonprofits that conduct refugee resettlement. In a status report updating the court this week, the administration's lawyers said that the contracts would be reinstated and then immediately suspended. Tens of thousands of Afghans who were admitted to the U.S. in the immediate aftermath of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 were permitted to enter with humanitarian parole, allowing them to claim temporary residency status. In the years since then, many have traversed difficult legal pathways in an effort to obtain legal permanent residency. 'They've applied for asylum, which they were overwhelmingly granted due to the persecution they face back in Afghanistan, but it has been an enormous amount of, you know, time and languishing and legal limbo as those applications work their way through the court,' said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, the CEO and president of Global Refuge, the parent organization of LSSNCA and one of the 10 national agencies that has long partnered with the federal government to resettle refugees. Others who served with the U.S. military—such as Satary, who worked as an interpreter from 2003 through 2008—were able to apply for Special Immigrant Visas, or SIVs, allowing them and their spouses and young children to obtain permanent resident status. Some may have obtained their green cards, or still have their applications pending adjudication. Then there are those not eligible for SIVs who are still technically in the U.S. with temporary residency, putting them in a sort of legal purgatory—they could apply to renew their parole, or for temporary protected status. With the president's insistence on ending birthright citizenship, and the administration's willingness to detain and deport residents who were in the U.S. legally, the protections once offered by a green card may not seem so stable anymore. 'This administration is obviously doing so many high profile anti-immigrant, anti-refugee actions for the purposes of spreading fear and intimidating people,' said Adam Bates, a supervising policy counsel at the International Refugee Assistance Project, which has brought some of the refugee-related lawsuits against the Trump administration. 'Even the people who have gone through the process and completed that process, I imagine there's palpable concern, and still just a real lack of certainty about what their status is [and] how secure their status is.' Although the SIV program has technically not been targeted by the Trump administration, it's unclear how applicants would be affected by a potential new travel ban reminiscent of the first Trump administration's partial prohibition on visitors from predominantly Muslim countries. Bates also noted that, despite being distinct from the refugee admissions program, the program relies on much of the same infrastructure, which has now been disrupted. Moreover, Afghans eligible for SIVs or asylum who remain in Afghanistan are now unsure whether they will be able to make it to the United States. 'People need to know what to expect so they can plan for their lives. And that's the big that's the big thing that the Trump administration is not allowing them to do at the moment,' said Shawn VanDiver, the founder and president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations working to relocate and resettle Afghans in the U.S. 'The concerns that we're seeing are presenting mostly in that vein. Like, 'Am I going to be able to get my family here, ever?' Satary also noted that many Afghans eligible for SIVs are women, who have very little rights under the Taliban government, and are unable to even visit a place where they can access the internet to inquire about their status. To many in Afghanistan, and their families in the U.S., it feels like a broken promise. 'I remember when talking to my family and friends in Afghanistan, they were very happy with President Trump coming to power, and they were saying like, 'Now is the time for us to become free, or at least make our way to the U.S.,'' Satary said. 'But now, some of them are sad when they are seeing he's not even talking about them, he's not even thinking about them.' Refugees may find integrating into a new community difficult even under the best of circumstances. There is the high cost of living in the D.C. metropolitan area; the need to obtain employment; the need to obtain transportation to get to that employment; the need for a good line of credit to finance the car they need for transportation to get to that employment. Because it is near impossible to support a family with one income in this area, Afghan women may need to find jobs for the first time in their lives, which could also prove to be a cultural adjustment. Then there is the emotional turmoil of leaving a country where their lives are at risk for one that no longer feels welcoming. 'So many of them experienced trauma in their home country, the anxiety induced by the evacuation, and then now the uncertain future they face. And so we just don't want to add insult to injury in terms of making their predicament even more precarious as a result of U.S. policy,' O'Mara Vignarajah said. Struggles relating to health care, employment, and housing are among those that are typically addressed with the assistance of a refugee resettlement agency. Even though a large portion of the federal funds that LSSNCA relies on have been unfrozen, the organization has been deeply impacted by the administration's actions—the team at LSSNCA has laid off around 75 people since last October, Peck said. 'Prior to January 20, we really had wrap-around support. We were able to provide families and individuals that were arriving through the refugee program, and we felt really good about the support we were able to provide folks to transition to a new community and new country,' she said. Amid the policy changes of the Trump administration, Peck said LSSNCA had focused on 'mobilizing volunteers and congregations and multi-faith coalitions to support refugees,' which in turn assist with the services that would normally be provided by a case-management team. The community-level work of volunteers echoes the longtime advocacy of U.S.-based organizations, many of which are veterans groups. Several veteran and faith-based organizations pushed for years for Congress to approve bipartisan legislation called the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would expand the number of people eligible for SIVs and create an easier pathway to residency for Afghans in the U.S. on humanitarian parole. Even prior to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, said Bates, 'there was so much advocacy to come up with a pathway or a process that will allow folks to enter the US on some kind of permanent pathway, instead of having to parole all these folks.' 'It's not as if folks didn't see this train wreck coming. I mean, there were years and years of runway. And so it's that much more frustrating and outrageous that we find ourselves here,' Bates continued. Satary thinks about some of the American soldiers that he served alongside when he was working as an interpreter with the U.S. military, friends whose deaths he witnessed firsthand when they were killed in action. Now that he lives in northern Virginia, he visits their graves when he goes to Arlington Cemetery. The failure to help Afghans is not just a betrayal of his people, Satary believes, but those soldiers he considered comrades. 'That's hurting me,' Satary said. 'We served alongside those individuals. But now [the] administration is forgetting us, and maybe that means they are not remembering those soldiers as well.'
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Takeaways from AP's reporting on U.S.-allied Afghan refugees struggling for basic support
LAUREL, Md. (AP) — Rahmani worked for a U.S.-backed organization in Kabul, which put him at risk of Taliban retribution. Now, the father of two is among thousands of newly arrived refugees who lost financial assistance when the Trump administration cut off funding for the federal refugee program in January. He moved here in November through the vetted form of legal migration. To fast-track self-sufficiency, it provides refugees with wraparound services for three months — help with housing, food and job placement — while other federal grants support their first five years. Instead, Rahmani's relocation services were largely halted after only two months, when the Trump administration upended the refugee program. He otherwise would have qualified for extended rental assistance for up to six months. He has spent weeks looking for work, with no luck. Unable to pay his rent, his anxiety mounts by the day. Here's a look at key elements of the plight he and his family face. Resettlement agencies are reeling from disruption of funding Rahmani is a client of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a local faith-based resettlement agency that is waiting on $3.7 million in federal funding for work it has already provided. LSSNCA has struggled to make payroll, and its support services have fallen like dominoes after it was forced to lay off 75 people and furlough seven others. Two-thirds of its clients are Afghan allies, who were offered visas and protection in the United States after the Taliban returned to power. These Afghans worked alongside U.S. troops or, like Rahmani, were employed by U.S.-backed organizations. Rahmani is identified using only one of his names because he still fears for his family's safety. The risk of widespread evictions By early March, at least 42 households under LSSNCA's care had received eviction notices, putting nearly 170 people in Virginia and Maryland on the edge of homelessness, with more — like Rahmani's family — at risk. The staff has been fundraising and negotiating with landlords to stave off evictions. The organization raised $500,000 in six weeks, but that doesn't fill the gap left by frozen government funds. Global Refuge is the parent organization of LSSNCA and has long served as one of 10 national agencies partnering with the federal government to resettle refugees. It has received no federal reimbursements for work done since Inauguration Day and has laid off hundreds of staff. Nearly 6,000 refugees in its care were within 90 days of arrival, the initial aid window, when it received a stop-work order from the Trump administration. Across resettlement agencies nationwide, support for at least 30,000 recent arrivals was affected. At LSSNCA, 369 people were within their first 90 days in the U.S., and another 850 clients were eligible for longer-term services. 'We're seeing the de facto wholesale destruction of a longstanding bipartisan program that saved millions of lives,' said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge. Refugees fled instability, only to find more of it in the U.S. LSSNCA's capacity has been stretched thin before. The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 led to a surge of Afghans being resettled in the U.S. LSSNCA went from serving 500 people a year to 500 people a month. They staffed up to deal with the influx of Afghans, with case managers working long hours. The quality of their work suffered: Federal reimbursements were often delayed, and they struggled to provide services. The difference then was they knew the federal government backed their work. Marjila Badakhsh came to the U.S. in December of 2021. A journalist who worked for a U.S.-funded Afghan media organization, she was evacuated from Kabul and resettled in Virginia. Once a LSSNCA client, she was later hired at the organization, only to be laid off in January when the agency received its stop-work order. 'After three years, with one policy I'm thinking that I'm back to the day that I came to the United States for the first time, and I should start again,' she said. She stays busy applying to jobs in Virginia and California, where her brother — who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan — was recently resettled. But her dreams of one day welcoming their parents and sister to the U.S. are on hold after the suspension of the U.S. refugee program. The courts are still weighing in Lawsuits against the Trump administration have been filed over its immigration policies, with one judge ruling in favor of three faith-based resettlement agencies. In a recent court filing, administration lawyers argued that initial refugee benefits are 'not required by law.' They indicated it would take months to comply with a court order to restart the program. This week, Global Refuge received some federal reimbursements for its work during the Biden administration. Those funds came through the Department of Health and Human Services. Global Refuge has not received federal payments for work done since late January, and it has not received reimbursements for the 90-day aid offered through the State Department, which did not respond to a request for comment. ___ Associated Press writer Gary Fields contributed to this report from Washington. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's funding freeze leaves US allied Afghan refugees struggling for the basics
LAUREL, Md. (AP) — The rent is due, but Rahmani has no money to pay it. The Afghan father of two worked for a U.S.-backed organization in Kabul, which put him at risk of Taliban retribution. Now he is among thousands of newly arrived refugees who lost financial assistance when the Trump administration cut off funding for the federal refugee program in January. His family's monthly rent and utilities total nearly $1,850, an unfathomable amount compared to what he once paid in Kabul. He has spent weeks looking for work, walking along the suburban highway across from his family's apartment, inquiring at small markets and big box stores. So far, there are no job leads. He moved here in November with the federal refugee program, a vetted form of legal migration to the U.S. for those fleeing persecution. To fast-track self-sufficiency, it provides refugees with wraparound services for three months — help with housing, food and job placement — while other federal grants support their first five years. Instead, Rahmani's relocation services were largely halted after only two months, when the Trump administration upended the refugee program. He otherwise would have qualified for extended rental assistance for up to six months. Still jobless and unable to make ends meet, his anxiety mounts by the day. For the stress, a doctor prescribed medication. 'Without it,' he said, 'the negative talk comes.' Rahmani is a client of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a local faith-based resettlement agency also in disarray. The organization is waiting on $3.7 million in federal reimbursements for work it has already provided. LSSNCA has struggled to make payroll, and its support services have fallen like dominoes after it was forced to lay off 75 people and furlough seven others. Nearly a third of its staff is now gone, with its case management team hit the hardest, leaving many refugees without a steady presence as they navigate their new lives. Two-thirds of its clients are Afghan allies, who were offered visas and protection in the United States after the Taliban returned to power. These Afghans worked alongside U.S. troops or, like Rahmani, were employed by U.S.-backed organizations. Rahmani worked in information technology in Afghanistan for a large Afghan media organization, which the U.S. helped fund as part of its democracy-building efforts. He is identified using only one of his names because he still fears for his family's safety. Sitting in his spartan apartment, he gestured to his daughter, a bright-eyed, dark-haired toddler in Hello Kitty leggings. She just turned 2; a 'happy birthday' banner still hangs on the wall. Rahmani came here for the futures of both his daughter and 7-year-old son. 'Because in my own country, girls are not allowed to go to school.' Now he wonders if coming here was a mistake. 'If they kick me out from the apartment, where should I stay?' he asked. 'Should I stay with my family in the road?' The risk of widespread evictions Covering the rental assistance promised to new refugees is LSSNCA's most pressing concern. By early March, at least 42 households under its care had received eviction notices, putting nearly 170 people in Virginia and Maryland on the edge of homelessness, with more — like Rahmani's family — at risk. The staff has been negotiating with landlords and fundraising to stave off evictions. 'It is like a daily conversation about how much money came in today,' said Kristyn Peck, CEO of LSSNCA. 'OK, who's most at risk of eviction out of all these people? ... Whose rent can we pay first? And they're just kind of impossible choices.' The organization raised $500,000 in six weeks, but that doesn't fill the gap left by frozen government funds. LSSNCA had expected President Donald Trump to lower refugee admissions, as he did during his first term, but they didn't anticipate losing funds for refugees already in the U.S. The Rev. Rachel Vaagenes, pastor of Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., started a GoFundMe for LSSNCA in February and quickly raised $25,000 to cover rent for three families in Maryland for three months. 'It's a drop in the bucket, right? Even if there were a thousand churches doing this, we still couldn't do what the U.S. government does,' Vaagenes said. 'We cannot make up the gap, no matter how much we want to as individual congregations.' Global Refuge is the parent organization of LSSNCA and has long served as one of 10 national agencies partnering with the federal government to resettle refugees. The vast majority of Global Refuge's funding comes from state and federal dollars, which accounted for more than 95% of its 2023 budget. It has received no federal reimbursements for work done since Inauguration Day and has laid off hundreds of staff. Nearly 6,000 refugees in its care were within 90 days of arrival, the initial aid window, when it received a stop-work order from the Trump administration. Across resettlement agencies nationwide, support for at least 30,000 recent arrivals was affected. At LSSNCA, 369 people were within their first 90 days in the U.S.; 850 more clients were eligible for longer-term services. 'We're seeing the de facto wholesale destruction of a longstanding bipartisan program that saved millions of lives,' said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge. Refugees fled instability, only to find more of it in the U.S. LSSNCA's capacity has been stretched thin before. The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 led to a surge of Afghans being resettled in the U.S. LSSNCA went from serving 500 people a year to 500 a month. They staffed up to deal with the influx of Afghans, with case managers working late into the night. The quality of their work suffered: Federal reimbursements were often delayed, and they struggled to provide services. The difference then was they knew the federal government backed their work. Marjila Badakhsh came to the U.S. in December of 2021. A journalist who worked for a U.S.-funded Afghan media organization, she was evacuated from Kabul, eventually landing at a military base in New Jersey before LSSNCA took her case and she was resettled in Virginia. She was later hired at LSSNCA, putting her language skills to use with Afghan clients. Though recently promoted, she was among those laid off in January when the agency received its stop-work order. 'I was thinking that I'm stable at this job, and I'm building my career here,' she said. 'But right now, after three years, with one policy I'm thinking that I'm back to the day that I came to the United States for the first time, and I should start again.' She stays busy applying to jobs in Virginia and California, where her brother — who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan — was recently resettled. But her dreams of one day welcoming their parents and sister to the U.S. are on hold after Trump suspended most of the refugee program. Other LSSNCA clients remain in limbo. Anastasiia De Zoysa fled war-torn Ukraine and received temporary legal status in the U.S. She and her family settled near relatives in Frederick, Maryland, where her husband got a job in his field. But now she worries their status will be revoked. 'I'm willing to go home when it's safe,' she said, noting her former city is under Russian control. 'I have nothing in Ukraine now if I go back.' The courts are still weighing in Lawsuits against the Trump administration have been filed over its immigration policies, with one judge ruling in favor of three faith-based resettlement agencies. In a recent court filing, administration lawyers argued that initial refugee benefits are 'not required by law.' They indicated it would take months to comply with a court order to restart the program. This week, Global Refuge received some federal reimbursements for its work during the Biden administration. Those funds came through the Department of Health and Human Services. Global Refuge has not received federal payments for work done since late January, and it has not received reimbursements for the 90-day aid offered through the State Department, which did not respond to a request for comment. Resettlement can be difficult under any circumstances. Rahmani remembers the first lonely weeks in his new town, when he spotted another Afghan man. He called out to him in Dari, his own language, and cried when they hugged. He now knows of at least 10 recently arrived Afghan families living nearby, and many are also struggling. With his English skills, he often serves as their translator, helping them at appointments. More and more, Rahmani thinks he will have to go back to Afghanistan, despite the danger. 'If I don't have the home rent, then I don't have any other choice,' he said. At least if something happened to him in Afghanistan, his relatives would be there to care for his wife and children. 'But in the United States,' he said, 'there is nobody who would take care of my family.' ___ Associated Press journalist Gary Fields contributed from Washington. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Independent
18-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Takeaways from AP's reporting on U.S.-allied Afghan refugees struggling for basic support
Rahmani worked for a U.S.-backed organization in Kabul, which put him at risk of Taliban retribution. Now, the father of two is among thousands of newly arrived refugees who lost financial assistance when the Trump administration cut off funding for the federal refugee program in January. He moved here in November through the vetted form of legal migration. To fast-track self-sufficiency, it provides refugees with wraparound services for three months — help with housing, food and job placement — while other federal grants support their first five years. Instead, Rahmani's relocation services were largely halted after only two months, when the Trump administration upended the refugee program. He otherwise would have qualified for extended rental assistance for up to six months. He has spent weeks looking for work, with no luck. Unable to pay his rent, his anxiety mounts by the day. Here's a look at key elements of the plight he and his family face. Resettlement agencies are reeling from disruption of funding Rahmani is a client of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a local faith-based resettlement agency that is waiting on $3.7 million in federal funding for work it has already provided. LSSNCA has struggled to make payroll, and its support services have fallen like dominoes after it was forced to lay off 75 people and furlough seven others. Two-thirds of its clients are Afghan allies, who were offered visas and protection in the United States after the Taliban returned to power. These Afghans worked alongside U.S. troops or, like Rahmani, were employed by U.S.-backed organizations. Rahmani is identified using only one of his names because he still fears for his family's safety. The risk of widespread evictions By early March, at least 42 households under LSSNCA's care had received eviction notices, putting nearly 170 people in Virginia and Maryland on the edge of homelessness, with more — like Rahmani's family — at risk. The staff has been fundraising and negotiating with landlords to stave off evictions. The organization raised $500,000 in six weeks, but that doesn't fill the gap left by frozen government funds. Global Refuge is the parent organization of LSSNCA and has long served as one of 10 national agencies partnering with the federal government to resettle refugees. It has received no federal reimbursements for work done since Inauguration Day and has laid off hundreds of staff. Nearly 6,000 refugees in its care were within 90 days of arrival, the initial aid window, when it received a stop-work order from the Trump administration. Across resettlement agencies nationwide, support for at least 30,000 recent arrivals was affected. At LSSNCA, 369 people were within their first 90 days in the U.S., and another 850 clients were eligible for longer-term services. 'We're seeing the de facto wholesale destruction of a longstanding bipartisan program that saved millions of lives,' said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge. Refugees fled instability, only to find more of it in the U.S. LSSNCA's capacity has been stretched thin before. The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 led to a surge of Afghans being resettled in the U.S. LSSNCA went from serving 500 people a year to 500 people a month. They staffed up to deal with the influx of Afghans, with case managers working long hours. The quality of their work suffered: Federal reimbursements were often delayed, and they struggled to provide services. The difference then was they knew the federal government backed their work. Marjila Badakhsh came to the U.S. in December of 2021. A journalist who worked for a U.S.-funded Afghan media organization, she was evacuated from Kabul and resettled in Virginia. Once a LSSNCA client, she was later hired at the organization, only to be laid off in January when the agency received its stop-work order. 'After three years, with one policy I'm thinking that I'm back to the day that I came to the United States for the first time, and I should start again,' she said. She stays busy applying to jobs in Virginia and California, where her brother — who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan — was recently resettled. But her dreams of one day welcoming their parents and sister to the U.S. are on hold after the suspension of the U.S. refugee program. The courts are still weighing in Lawsuits against the Trump administration have been filed over its immigration policies, with one judge ruling in favor of three faith-based resettlement agencies. In a recent court filing, administration lawyers argued that initial refugee benefits are 'not required by law.' They indicated it would take months to comply with a court order to restart the program. This week, Global Refuge received some federal reimbursements for its work during the Biden administration. Those funds came through the Department of Health and Human Services. Global Refuge has not received federal payments for work done since late January, and it has not received reimbursements for the 90-day aid offered through the State Department, which did not respond to a request for comment. ___ ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
18-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Trump's funding freeze leaves US allied Afghan refugees struggling for the basics
LAUREL, Md. (AP) — The rent is due, but Rahmani has no money to pay it. The Afghan father of two worked for a U.S.-backed organization in Kabul, which put him at risk of Taliban retribution. Now he is among thousands of newly arrived refugees who lost financial assistance when the Trump administration cut off funding for the federal refugee program in January. His family's monthly rent and utilities total nearly $1,850, an unfathomable amount compared to what he once paid in Kabul. He has spent weeks looking for work, walking along the suburban highway across from his family's apartment, inquiring at small markets and big box stores. So far, there are no job leads. He moved here in November with the federal refugee program, a vetted form of legal migration to the U.S. for those fleeing persecution. To fast-track self-sufficiency, it provides refugees with wraparound services for three months — help with housing, food and job placement — while other federal grants support their first five years. Instead, Rahmani's relocation services were largely halted after only two months, when the Trump administration upended the refugee program. He otherwise would have qualified for extended rental assistance for up to six months. Still jobless and unable to make ends meet, his anxiety mounts by the day. For the stress, a doctor prescribed medication. 'Without it,' he said, 'the negative talk comes.' Rahmani is a client of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, a local faith-based resettlement agency also in disarray. The organization is waiting on $3.7 million in federal reimbursements for work it has already provided. LSSNCA has struggled to make payroll, and its support services have fallen like dominoes after it was forced to lay off 75 people and furlough seven others. Nearly a third of its staff is now gone, with its case management team hit the hardest, leaving many refugees without a steady presence as they navigate their new lives. Two-thirds of its clients are Afghan allies, who were offered visas and protection in the United States after the Taliban returned to power. These Afghans worked alongside U.S. troops or, like Rahmani, were employed by U.S.-backed organizations. Rahmani worked in information technology in Afghanistan for a large Afghan media organization, which the U.S. helped fund as part of its democracy-building efforts. He is identified using only one of his names because he still fears for his family's safety. Sitting in his spartan apartment, he gestured to his daughter, a bright-eyed, dark-haired toddler in Hello Kitty leggings. She just turned 2; a 'happy birthday' banner still hangs on the wall. Rahmani came here for the futures of both his daughter and 7-year-old son. 'Because in my own country, girls are not allowed to go to school.' Now he wonders if coming here was a mistake. 'If they kick me out from the apartment, where should I stay?' he asked. 'Should I stay with my family in the road?' The risk of widespread evictions Covering the rental assistance promised to new refugees is LSSNCA's most pressing concern. By early March, at least 42 households under its care had received eviction notices, putting nearly 170 people in Virginia and Maryland on the edge of homelessness, with more — like Rahmani's family — at risk. The staff has been negotiating with landlords and fundraising to stave off evictions. 'It is like a daily conversation about how much money came in today,' said Kristyn Peck, CEO of LSSNCA. 'OK, who's most at risk of eviction out of all these people? ... Whose rent can we pay first? And they're just kind of impossible choices.' The organization raised $500,000 in six weeks, but that doesn't fill the gap left by frozen government funds. LSSNCA had expected President Donald Trump to lower refugee admissions, as he did during his first term, but they didn't anticipate losing funds for refugees already in the U.S. The Rev. Rachel Vaagenes, pastor of Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., started a GoFundMe for LSSNCA in February and quickly raised $25,000 to cover rent for three families in Maryland for three months. 'It's a drop in the bucket, right? Even if there were a thousand churches doing this, we still couldn't do what the U.S. government does,' Vaagenes said. 'We cannot make up the gap, no matter how much we want to as individual congregations.' Global Refuge is the parent organization of LSSNCA and has long served as one of 10 national agencies partnering with the federal government to resettle refugees. The vast majority of Global Refuge's funding comes from state and federal dollars, which accounted for more than 95% of its 2023 budget. It has received no federal reimbursements for work done since Inauguration Day and has laid off hundreds of staff. Nearly 6,000 refugees in its care were within 90 days of arrival, the initial aid window, when it received a stop-work order from the Trump administration. Across resettlement agencies nationwide, support for at least 30,000 recent arrivals was affected. At LSSNCA, 369 people were within their first 90 days in the U.S.; 850 more clients were eligible for longer-term services. 'We're seeing the de facto wholesale destruction of a longstanding bipartisan program that saved millions of lives,' said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge. Refugees fled instability, only to find more of it in the U.S. LSSNCA's capacity has been stretched thin before. The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 led to a surge of Afghans being resettled in the U.S. LSSNCA went from serving 500 people a year to 500 a month. They staffed up to deal with the influx of Afghans, with case managers working late into the night. The quality of their work suffered: Federal reimbursements were often delayed, and they struggled to provide services. The difference then was they knew the federal government backed their work. Marjila Badakhsh came to the U.S. in December of 2021. A journalist who worked for a U.S.-funded Afghan media organization, she was evacuated from Kabul, eventually landing at a military base in New Jersey before LSSNCA took her case and she was resettled in Virginia. She was later hired at LSSNCA, putting her language skills to use with Afghan clients. Though recently promoted, she was among those laid off in January when the agency received its stop-work order. 'I was thinking that I'm stable at this job, and I'm building my career here,' she said. 'But right now, after three years, with one policy I'm thinking that I'm back to the day that I came to the United States for the first time, and I should start again.' She stays busy applying to jobs in Virginia and California, where her brother — who worked as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan — was recently resettled. But her dreams of one day welcoming their parents and sister to the U.S. are on hold after Trump suspended most of the refugee program. Other LSSNCA clients remain in limbo. Anastasiia De Zoysa fled war-torn Ukraine and received temporary legal status in the U.S. She and her family settled near relatives in Frederick, Maryland, where her husband got a job in his field. But now she worries their status will be revoked. 'I'm willing to go home when it's safe,' she said, noting her former city is under Russian control. 'I have nothing in Ukraine now if I go back.' The courts are still weighing in Lawsuits against the Trump administration have been filed over its immigration policies, with one judge ruling in favor of three faith-based resettlement agencies. In a recent court filing, administration lawyers argued that initial refugee benefits are 'not required by law.' They indicated it would take months to comply with a court order to restart the program. This week, Global Refuge received some federal reimbursements for its work during the Biden administration. Those funds came through the Department of Health and Human Services. Global Refuge has not received federal payments for work done since late January, and it has not received reimbursements for the 90-day aid offered through the State Department, which did not respond to a request for comment. Resettlement can be difficult under any circumstances. Rahmani remembers the first lonely weeks in his new town, when he spotted another Afghan man. He called out to him in Dari, his own language, and cried when they hugged. He now knows of at least 10 recently arrived Afghan families living nearby, and many are also struggling. With his English skills, he often serves as their translator, helping them at appointments. More and more, Rahmani thinks he will have to go back to Afghanistan, despite the danger. 'If I don't have the home rent, then I don't have any other choice,' he said. At least if something happened to him in Afghanistan, his relatives would be there to care for his wife and children. 'But in the United States,' he said, 'there is nobody who would take care of my family.' ___
