Rabi Gurang holds the Bhutanese flag as he marches in Pittsburgh’s first International Day Parade and Festival on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Growing refugee communities have propped up Pittsburgh’s population, fed its economy and enriched its cultural makeup, advocates say. But a presidential order will halt new arrivals to the city.
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Pittsburgh is home to burgeoning Burmese, Bhutanese and Congolese communities, among others, thanks to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program — a path to entry that will be indefinitely suspended by one of President Donald Trump’s post-inauguration decrees.
Thousands of refugees who were slated to travel to the United States in the coming weeks, capping yearslong admissions processes, had their hopes dashed last week when Trump ordered the program halted for at least 90 days, with no definite end date. Some of those were slated to land in Pittsburgh, local advocates say.
Trump initially halted the refugee program when he began his first term in 2017, ultimately resuming it at a much smaller scale than prior administrations. His new order calls for a re-evaluation after 90 days.
Khara Timsina, who came to the country as a refugee in 2009 and now serves as the director of the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh, said the move will bring “a hopelessness” to many who have long viewed the U.S. as a humanitarian beacon, and it could also spell difficulty for local industries that benefit from refugees’ contributions to the workforce.
“The world first looks at the United States to come forward in supporting humanitarian [needs], providing refuge,” Timsina said. “Many of the countries in the Asian and African continents, they always hope America opens up.”
Timsina said the U.S. should have consistent protocols when it comes to immigration, but “America should be a leader on humanitarian grounds, not only in things like space or wars.”
In Pittsburgh, organizations tasked with helping refugees settle into their new lives say the sudden halt could make their work unmanageable.
“The system can’t have this yo-yo back and forth where you have funding some years and you’re at the whim of an administration,” said Sloane Davidson, founder of local refugee resettlement agency Hello Neighbor. “It causes short- and long-term damage” to agencies’ ability to serve the community, she said.
Timsina said Trump’s 2017 refugee pause delayed refugees in Pittsburgh from reuniting with relatives still in overseas refugee camps. He knows of at least one such case now; a set of parents that previously resettled in Pittsburgh is waiting to be reunited with their adult daughter, who has been resettled in Australia instead, he said.
Trump cites resources and safety
Trump signed an executive order halting the refugee program just hours after he was sworn in as the 47th president. It was one of dozens of orders aimed at rapidly enacting parts of Trump’s agenda on immigration, the economy and reshaping the federal government.
“The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees,” the order said.
The White House did not respond to PublicSource’s request for comment.
Pittsburgh-area leaders in the refugee resettlement space took issue with Trump’s claims that the program soaks up resources from American citizens or poses a security risk.
Timsina, who went through the resettlement process himself more than a decade ago, said refugees are required to begin repaying travel costs into the country within six months of arrival. They are given assistance for rent, utilities and food for up to 90 days, with food stamps expiring as soon as they find work.
“I do not see that there are any unnecessary or huge expenses on the government,” Timsina said.
The order comes after Trump frequently railed against immigrants on the campaign trail, claiming that other nations were sending criminals to the U.S. and vowing to conduct sweeping mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and to deploy the military to secure the borders. Refugees, though, have legal status to reside in the U.S. and are not a security concern, according to advocates.
Davidson said the refugee program is among the most closely vetted and secure pathways to entering the U.S.
“When people denounce immigration and say ‘wait your turn and do it in the proper channels’, this is a proper channel,” Davidson said. “The refugee program should continue, and be looked at as a shining light for how legal pathways to citizenship work.”
Dana Gold, the COO of Jewish Family and Community Services [JFCS], which has a resettlement arm, said refugees go through rounds of interviews and background checks, provide personal references, submit to health screenings and undergo cultural orientation. Many quit their jobs and sell belongings in anticipation of a scheduled resettlement, making a delay related to Trump’s suspension a destabilizing event, Gold said.
Thousands in limbo
While Trump’s order did not officially go into effect until Jan. 27, local resettlement agencies said they were not expecting any arrivals in the week between Trump’s swearing in and the deadline, and the Associated Press reported that thousands of refugees who were slated to travel last week had their flights canceled.
Gold of JFCS said her agency had confirmed some arrivals for February prior to Trump’s inauguration; those people will instead continue to wait in refugee camps around the globe.
“Refugees are sometimes in camps for decades, sometimes longer,” Gold said. “And those individuals have gone through a very, very strict vetting process. … When you change the arrival date, all those things lapse, and they will have to start again with many of these processes.”
“America should be a leader on humanitarian grounds, not only in things like space or wars.”
For those who have resettled in Pittsburgh, Trump’s rhetoric can inspire fear even though they have legal status to live here, Davidson said.
The sudden lack of arrivals to the Pittsburgh region also brings uncertainty to the people who work for organizations that help the refugees.
“Between all the agencies and organizations that support [refugees’] children, all these different experts with all this wisdom and experience, we can’t keep our staff employed,” Gold said. “So they have to go find other jobs.”
Pauline Spring, director of THRIVE Pittsburgh, which provides assistance to recent arrivals, said the pause means “we’re not going to have much to do.”
What’s at risk for Pittsburgh?
Timsina said the local refugee community has become a net positive for the region’s economy, mostly finding work within three months of arrival, paying taxes, buying homes and filling vital jobs in the construction and healthcare industries.
National studies have found that refugees pay tens of billions of dollars in taxes annually, and at least one study found that refugees become entrepreneurs at a slightly higher rate than U.S.-born people.
Timsina referenced a string of restaurants, grocery stores and clothing stores that have sprung up along the Route 51 corridor that serve the growing refugee population, and introduce Himalayan cuisine to the broader Pittsburgh community.
In a statement responding to PublicSource questions, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said he is “deeply disappointed” in Trump’s decision. Gainey has often called for Pittsburgh to welcome more immigrants as a means to bolster the city’s population and economy, which has been steadily sinking for decades.
“We proudly embrace immigrants as neighbors who contribute to the fabric of our community and drive our economy forward,” Gainey said.
Davidson added that refugees almost universally use and support the public transit system, often pay with cash and frequent small businesses, and enroll their kids in public schools, many of which are suffering from flagging enrollment numbers.
“They’re helping our region grow by bringing diversity and culture, and resiliency,” Davidson said. “You can teach people digital skills and a lot of things, but you can’t teach the resilience it takes to rebuild your life from scratch. I would place a bet on that person any day of the week.”
Charlie Wolfson is PublicSource’s local government reporter. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
This story was fact-checked by Rich Lord.
This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
