In early 2025, the roof fell in on refugee resettlement in the US.
Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the roof was deliberately blown up and the wreckage left to fall in on all of us working in resettlement. And thousands of vulnerable waiting at the door were left outside in the elements.
I, like many others working in this field, found myself suddenly, stunningly out of a job mere weeks after the new Administration had begun. But it was more than that. This was my career, my passion. Losing my job was more than just the end of a paycheck. It was a cutting off from my calling.
But it’s so much bigger than that too.
The new Administration had moved fast to dismantle the resettlement program, preventing new refugee arrivals, cutting off funding, terminating contracts. We had all expected a reduction in our work, given the blueprint from the last time this occupant of the White House had been in charge. But none of us could have expected the speed and widespread impact of decisions made by the White House during those first few months of the year.
I wasn’t leaving resettlement due to a funding shortfall, and the program was continuing on without me. I was losing my job due to a funding shortfall and because the program wasn’t there anymore. And that doesn’t feel like job loss or a passion with no outlet. That feels like true existential crisis.
Executive order by memo by official notification, refugee services in the US are ceasing to exist.
So why this blog?
I can’t make the President change his mind. God alone can do that. But I can carve out a little space to remember my work in refugee resettlement during this time when I can’t work in it. And I can remind other why it matters and maybe inspire some to consider anew opening the door for newcomers.
This is going to be a long painful process to clear the wreckage and rebuild the roof. But I will be here for each step along the way. I hope you will join me too.
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