Refugee arrivals down sharply nationwide

Resettlement of refugees to the United States has declined dramatically in the first months of 2017, even after a federal court blocked an executive order by President Donald Trump calling for just such a decrease.

And Pittsburgh-area resettlement agencies are seeing the impact firsthand.

Nationwide, the 3,316 refugees that were resettled in April 2017 amount to a third of the number that were resettled in October 2016, according to U.S. State Department figures compiled in a report released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.

A total of 112 refugees were resettled to Pennsylvania in April 2017, a drop of more than 40 percent from those resettled in October.

A federal court in Hawaii issued an injunction in March against Mr. Trump’s executive order that, among other things, called for sharp reductions in refugee resettlement, with the stated aim of “protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry.” The court said it found evidence the ban was motivated by anti-Muslim bias in violation of the constitutional protection against religious discrimination.

Nevertheless, the U.S. State Department, which handles approvals of refugee resettlement, confirmed Thursday that it has “adjusted the pace of refugee arrivals” but declined to give more specifics.

Mr. Trump, whose initial executive order limiting travel from some Muslimmajority nations was blocked in courts, issued a second one in March. It included: • Sharp restrictions on visas for travelers from six Muslim-majority countries.

• A limit of 50,000 refugees to be resettled in the federal calendar year of October 2016-September 2017. That is less than half the 110,000-refugee ceiling set by the outgoing Obama administration. Unlike Mr. Trump’s first order, the second did not explicitly block refugees from war-ravaged Syria, a Muslim-majority nation.

A federal court in Maryland blocked the first provision, a decision backed Thursday by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sits in Richmond, Va. The Maryland ruling applied only to the visas and not the refugee program, but the Hawaii ruling covered both, citing past calls by Mr. Trump and his surrogates to bar Muslims in general to combat terrorist risks.

But the executive branch has authority to determine how many refugees it will allow, and even though the Hawaii decision remains in force while under appeal, the Trump administration appears at least in the short term to be realizing its goals of reducing refugee flows, with just over 42,000 resettlements and more than half the fiscal year gone.

Thousands of refugees have arrived since October from Muslim-majority nations such as Syria, Iraq and Somalia, but their numbers have plummeted in recent months, according to State Department statistics.

The State Department said in a statement Thursday that the 110,000-refugee maximum set by the Obama administration “represents a ceiling on refugee admissions — it is not a mandatory target. We have adjusted the pace of refugee arrivals in conformity with (Department of Justice) guidance regarding the Hawaii court order and consistent with our operational capacity.”

Butthe department would not say what that guidance is, citing the pending litigation. The Department of Justice did not reply to a request for comment. The effects are felt locally. “We’re very disappointed about the drop in numbers across the country and in our region in particular, especially because it means the families of many of the refugees here already are not going to be able to join their loved ones and are still stuck in terrible conditions in refugee camps and other locations around the world,” said Jordan Golin, president of Jewish Family and Children’s Service.

The agency typically resettles just over 200 refugees but expects about half that number in the next year.

The Northern Area Multi Service Center in Sharpsburg is seeing similar declines.

“Usually every year, this is our busiest time of the year, in May, June and July,” said Kheir Mugwaneza, director of community assistance and resettlement for Northern Area. “Last year in May, we had more than 40 refugees. This year, we are between 20 and 30.”

And the months before that have also seen decreases.

Usually the agency resettles about 250 refugees per year. “I don’t even think we’re going to get to 200 this year,” Mr. Mugwaneza said.

Northern Area has had to lay off three workers, two of them full time. Revenues have declined because resettlement agencies are reimbursed by the federal government a certain amount for each new refugee. It currently has 12 employees.

Jewish Family and Children’s Service has left a vacant position unfilled but is trying to avoid layoffs despite funding cuts, Mr. Golin said. It currently has a staff of 10.

Workers have to develop multiple skills to help refugees, from providing housing to learning cross-cultural relations to helping enroll students in schools. The agency is reluctant to lose experienced staff if there’s a chance they will be needed later. But currently it’s dealing with the uncertainty of how many refugees to prepare for.

Refugees are resettled through a complex process that includes United Nations referrals and in-depth vetting by the Department of Homeland Security. Various national private agencies, with local affiliates such as the Jewish and Northern Area organizations, then manage individual cases.

Refugee families get initial financial assistance but are expected to be working and supporting themselves within three months.