Two Years After Trump’s Travel Ban, Faith-Based Refugee Groups Struggle
Religion News Service’s Emily McFarlan Miller and Jack Jenkins write that faith-based refugee groups are struggling in the wake of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration measures. Khadra Abdo, a 40-year-old Muslim mother of seven who fled civil wars in Somalia and Libya, is still waiting for her family to join her through the World Relief program. But the office that once helped her was forced to close in 2017, leaving her with little hope. Jen Smyers, director of policy and advocacy for the immigration and refugee program with Church World Service, said, “You’re not just changing policy for a couple of years; you’re dismantling decades of work and relationships that will be nearly impossible to rebuild.”