PITTSBURGH — Refugees are immigrants invited to this country by the United States government, but recent executive orders have banned them from entering the country and completely gutted funding for those already here.
Channel 11 News spoke with a local organization that told us decisions in Washington have placed a target on refugees’ livelihood and safety.
“We have never seen any administration cut funding to refugees who are already here in the country,” said Jordan Golin, the President & CEO of the Jewish Family and Community Services organization, a local non-profit.
In January, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders directly impacting the refugee population.
The first order prohibits any new refugees from entering the United States. The second cut all funding to support refugees who arrived in the country within the last 90 days.
“We thought that that directive was unethical and immoral, so we understand that the government is not going to pay us for that work, but we still need to do the work anyway,” Golin explained.
Golin added that he was also confused by the decision.
Refugees are immigrants invited to the country by the government because of fear of persecution in their own country. The program which has existed for decades has historically had bipartisan support. Refugees go through a rigorous screening process before entering the U.S. and often wait years before they can relocate.
“Typically, we have the Office of Homeland Security the State Department, and the FBI all conducting intensive screenings,” Golin said.
He added that refugees undergo more security checks than tourists, students, and other visa programs.
The Jewish Family and Community Service President and CEO told Channel 11 News their organization is one of four that do this work locally, and in the last 90 days, they have collectively relocated 500 refugees to the Pittsburgh region.
Refugees who will no longer receive federal support. All the financial costs will now depend on organizations like the Jewish Family and Community Service organization to supply housing, food, clothing, education enrollment, and workforce readiness.
“Without support, we know that they’ll become homeless and become a burden on the community because they won’t be bringing in enough money to take care of themselves,” he said.
But with support Golin shared that refugees often thrive, as does the Pittsburgh region: Refugees help to curb the steady population decline, add to the local workforce, open businesses, and add diversity to the community.
“They feel unwelcomed, like they are being vilified and looked at as criminal even though they followed the legal process they were told to follow,” Golin said.
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