Texas leads the US in welcoming refugees. Here’s why that might soon change.
In a refugee camp in Namibia, Innocent Bugingo focused on survival.
It’s a feeling he grew to know well, resettling in Austin as a refugee in 2015. When he first came to the United States, he worked two jobs and drove for ride-sharing companies on the weekends to make enough to support his family.
The work was hard, but for Bugingo it was a chance to plan for a future. In the refugee camp he said he could barely think about how he would get through another day.
“Now, I am OK,” Bugingo said. “I can make my own decisions. I can think about my future.”
Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bugingo now works at Refugee Services of Texas as a resettlement support specialist, where he’s able to assist refugees who are going through a similar experience of resettlement like he did a few years ago.
But others may not get that chance.
Last month, the Trump administration mulled slashing the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. for the upcoming fiscal year to between 3,000 and 10,000, and one official suggested virtually eliminating the program by dropping the number to zero, according to Politico.
Bugingo said the news broke his heart.
Erica Schmidt, senior programs director at Refugee Services of Texas in Austin, said if carried out, the cuts would be the most extreme action taken since the since the Refugee Act of 1980 was established.
“I think a presidential determination of zero would almost decimate the program,” Schmidt said. “It’s not a program that gets up and running overnight. It takes years.”
Refugee resettlement agencies receive funding from the U.S. State Department. Fewer refugees means less funding to continue services, like English classes or counseling, and less funding to retain staff that may be able to speak to refugees in their native language.
The cap on the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. was already set at a historic low of 30,000 for fiscal year 2019. The suggestion of an even lower threshold, and possible reduction to zero, comes at a time when there are about 25.9 million refugees worldwide — some of the highest numbers the world has ever seen — according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“We are at risk of setting a new norm for the world in terms of what the global response should be to this humanitarian crisis,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said the volume of immigrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border is one of the reasons cited for lowering the refugee admissions cap for the upcoming fiscal year. President Donald Trump’s policy that aimed to bar migrants from requesting asylum at the border was recently blocked by a federal judge.
At a press conference Thursday at Refugee Services of Texas’ Austin office, Pastor Brad Fuerst of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America said a reduction to zero would be “an abdication of our moral leadership.”
From October through the end of June, 21,260 refugees were resettled in the U.S., according to federal figures. Texas has the largest share, with 1,801 refugees resettled in the state, or about 8.47% of all refugees resettled in the U.S. during that time.
While Texas has the highest number of refugees resettled nationwide, it’s a sharp decline from just a few years ago.
In fiscal year 2016, 7,802 refugees resettled in Texas, and at its peak, 8,212 refugees resettled in the state in fiscal year 2009.
Nationwide, refugee admissions have been on the decline. In 2016, the U.S. resettled about 97,000 refugees. That number dropped sharply to roughly 33,000 in 2017 — the first year the U.S. has ever resettled fewer refugees than rest of the world — according to the Pew Research Center.
The decline has resulted in dozens of resettlement agencies across the country forced to close their doors or scale back on services. And the effects have been felt in Fort Worth, where plans are underway for the school district to scale back on the number of language centers for the upcoming school year.
“Let us ask ourselves, for whom is the American Dream relevant?” Rabbi Neil Blumofe of Congregation Agudas Achim said at Thursday’s press conference.
According to an analysis by New American Economy, an advocacy organization that researches how immigration effects the economy, 234 refugees were resettled in Fort Worth in 2018, an 84% decrease from the city’s peak of 1,497 in 2016.
Fewer refugees being resettled will be felt in communities, said Nan Wu, New American Economy’s deputy director of quantitative research. In 2017, refugee households earned more than $86.2 billion in income, paid almost $23.3 billion in taxes and held nearly $62.9 billion in spending power, according to New American Economy.
Refugees, “settle their roots in new homes in the United States, as workers, as taxpayers, as entrepreneurs and as homeowners. So they are contributing a lot to the local workforce, and also helping the local businesses grow,” Nan said.
In 2016, Gov. Greg Abbott removed the state from participating in the federal resettlement program.
The state stopped participating after the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement didn’t approve a state plan that would have required national security officials to ensure that refugees don’t “pose a security threat” — part of the state’s efforts to keep out Syrian refugees.
While the state previously acted as a middle man, refugees are still resettled in Texas, because the program is funded by the federal government.
New Jersey also withdrew from its role overseeing the state’s resettlement program in 2016, but last month Gov. Phil Murphy said the state intends to reassume that role.
Schmidt said she would welcome the support of state government in the future. Advocates, faith leaders and refugees plan to bring the issue to lawmakers’ front door at an 11 a.m. rally Saturday on the south steps of the Texas Capitol.
“Those of us here today have a voice. Refugees who have not been resettled and families seeking asylum, do not,” Schmidt said. “I ask you to please stand up for what is right.”
This story was originally published August 2, 2019 at 5:45 PM.
