Dear IWR Supporters and Friends, 

Today marks one week since the new presidential administration’s tenure began. It is remarkable how much damage has been done to our country’s refugee resettlement and immigration systems in such a short period of time. Ithaca Welcomes Refugees rejects all notions that refugees and immigrants are invaders, criminals, or other disparaging names; we believe that all people have inherent value and know firsthand how diverse voices and perspectives can strengthen a community.  

We know the warm hospitality so many of our Afghan community members show when IWR volunteers visit their homes, sharing trays of food and cups of green tea, even when the families have very little. We know how hardworking a local Nicaraguan family is, with the father driving his wife to work in the predawn hours, dropping off their child at daycare, driving back to his wife’s place of employment to leave her with their only car, riding his bicycle to English classes before heading to work himself, and making deliveries to pick up some extra income. Several IWR individuals have become volunteer translators, helping others in the midst of rebuilding their own lives.  

It is dismaying, then, to witness this gross mischaracterization and worse, to know that harm is being done to good people. IWR had been preparing for this time and although the speed with which these changes have come is surprising, we have been doing what we can to equip our new neighbors with the tools they need. IWR has paid legal fees on behalf of some of our refugee partners to file their asylum claims. We conducted a Know Your Rights presentation at the beginning of the month so people know what to do if they are targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And at every opportunity we extend this sentiment: We are glad to be your friends and neighbors; we want you to be safe and we want you to be able to stay. 

The new realities IWR is operating under are the following:  

Refugee Resettlement Paused Indefinitely 

IWR had put together a group of community members who volunteered to sponsor three South Sudanese women, but on January 22^nd, the day our first meeting was to be held, refugee resettlement in the US abruptly stopped. The refugee resettlement system has been paused indefinitely and all those who had scheduled flights after undergoing a years-long vetting process have seen those flights canceled, 5 days earlier than even the administration indicated they would through Executive Order. This includes two Burmese families IWR had been planning to welcome in February. 

Temporary Humanitarian Programs Ended 

Humanitarian parole programs, which allowed temporary legal entry to the US from certain countries, have been ended. People who entered the country through those programs and who do not have a pending asylum claim may become deportation targets under the new administration, re-exposing them to the instability and hardship which led them to seek refuge in the US in the first place. 

Potential Change to Work Authorization Issuance 

IWR is keeping an eye on the results of a memo from the new administration to the Department of Homeland Security, in which they are instructed to ensure that work permits are not given to people without other legal status, even if they have a pending immigration application. Since it often takes years for people to receive their asylum office date, lacking permission to work puts new arrivals in very tenuous positions as they have no way to support themselves and working “off the books” can harm one’s claim to permanent status. 

I have often felt motivated by the phrase “All it takes for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing.” It feels like an appropriate expression for this point in American history. Please join me in calling your representatives today to affirm your support of refugees and immigrants. If you cannot make a call, consider signing this petition, although please prioritize a call if you can as this is the most effective action you can take. Have hard (but civil) conversations with your neighbors and friends. Do your best to extend welcome wherever you can. 

We will keep the community updated as developments unfold, both nationally and as IWR’s operations locally adapt to this new landscape. 

In Community, 

Casey Verderosa 

Executive Director 

Ithaca Welcomes Refugees