Last month, President Donald Trump suspended some federal funding for refugee resettlement. His executive order said the nation lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of refugees without compromising resources and safety for Americans.
But an executive with a Detroit-based human services organization says that order is having a devastating effect in Michigan.
Kelli Dobner is Chief Growth Officer for Detroit-based Samaritas, which has operations in Lansing and dozens of other Michigan cities.
She said the suspension is not only keeping refugees from coming into the U.S. — it has cut off support for those who are already here, despite their need for the housing, transportation, and other services organizations like hers provide.
“You have people that might have arrived a day, two weeks, a month before that stop work order was issued,” said Dobner. “And they, all of the sudden, are finding themselves without resources.”
Dobner said organizations like hers have been struggling to find ways to serve their clients, and in some cases, to find ways to continue their operations.
“That impacts about 1,300 people most immediately, that have come to this country legally, as part of that resettlement journey, that are here right now without resources,” she said.
The executive order issued in January says federal resettlement programs will not be restarted until the president determines doing so is in the interests of the United States.
“It's leaving people in a state of chaos and trying to figure out how we can continue to fulfill our mission and best serve in new ways, until we figure out what is next and what is permanent,” Dobner said.
She said Michigan has always been a haven for refugees and immigrants, and a permanent ban on refugee programs would be, in her words, “very sad.”
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.