LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (OSV News) — The federal government has spent the past four months tapering off travel, statuses and paperwork for immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, and some of the latest changes have Catholic groups across Arkansas eager to do more to support the most vulnerable.
As of March 25, the federal government has paused the permanent residency process for certain migrants, refugees and asylees who applied for green card status in recent years.
The decision followed President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and the termination of the cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of State with several refugee resettlement agencies, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Feb. 26.
Impact on Agency’s Clients
Matthew Phillips, an immigration specialist with Catholic Immigration Services in Little Rock, told Arkansas Catholic, Little Rock’s diocesan newspaper, that the government’s decision has had an impact on the clients he serves.
“As part of the current administration’s ongoing fight against legal immigration, it has indefinitely halted the adjudication of green cards for refugees and asylees,” he said. “On Inauguration Day, an executive order halted all new refugee arrivals to the United States. The order was immediately litigated, and a preliminary injunction was granted on Feb. 25, requiring the government to continue admitting refugees.”
The next day, Phillips said, “the Department of State sent out termination notices to the main agencies responsible for refugee resettlement,” including the USCCB, “so that agencies could no longer receive refugees.
According to Phillips, the administration implemented an indefinite pause on refugees and asylees applying to adjust status for green cards “under the guise of ‘additional screening and vetting to identify potential fraud, public safety or national security concerns.’”
Refugee and Asylum Status
“In truth,” he said, “refugee and asylum statuses have always been subject to the most scrutiny of any immigration process. They must undergo thorough background checks and interviews prior to approval and must continue to show good moral character while in the United States or risk deportation.”
Phillips said all of this puts refugees and asylees at greater risk than before.
“Refugees and asylees may continue to file applications for adjustment of status; in fact, refugees are legally obligated to submit the application after one year’s presence in the United States. Unfortunately, they may have to wait for years to receive their green cards,” he said.
“This puts many people on precarious ground, because both refugee and asylum status only remain valid as long as the government maintains that there is a finding of credible fear preventing a return to the country of origin,” Phillips explained.
Blocked From Becoming Citizens
“Green cards may be renewed continuously as long as the immigrant does nothing that would warrant a loss of status,” he said. “Also, since only legal permanent residents may become citizens, all refugees and asylees have been blocked indefinitely from ever becoming citizens.”
Refugee Basira Faizy escaped Afghanistan with her family when the Taliban attacked in August of 2021. Faizy settled in Arkansas, resuming schooling at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and learning English as a second language. She was hired by Catholic Charities of Arkansas to help other refugees just like her do the same.
Now, she’s worried about what this means for her and her community.
“These changes have created a lot of confusion and concern in our community. Many refugees we serve at Catholic Charities of Arkansas are unsure about their future. The idea of freezing statuses and eliminating green cards makes the path to citizenship feel more uncertain and out of reach for them. It’s causing stress, especially for families who have been working toward stability and permanent residency,” she told Arkansas Catholic.
Educating Clients About Their Rights
Faizy said Catholic Charities is spending more time educating clients about their rights, which.
“impacts both our work and our clients deeply. We now spend more time helping people understand what these changes mean, and many are fearful of what will happen next.”
“It’s emotionally and mentally taxing for them, especially for those who have already faced so much trauma,” she continued. “Personally, as someone from a refugee background, I can relate to their worries. It’s hard to focus on rebuilding your life when your legal status feels fragile. There’s a lot of anxiety around whether they’ll be able to stay long-term or ever become citizens.”
Pax Christi Little Rock is also worried about the impact of Trump administration policies, including the potential effect on Afghan refugees. Four years ago Pax Christi sponsored families of Afghan refugees — families that worked with the American government in Afghanistan.
Worries About Afghan Returnees
If those families are sent back to Afghanistan, they will be targeted by the Taliban for their cooperation with the U.S. government, said Sherry Simon, a founding member of Pax Christi Little Rock and chair of Pax Christi USA National Council.
“Some of the funds that these families were getting for support are also frozen,” she said, “and they have great fears that they could potentially be sent back, despite promises made under the Biden administration, despite this being something that was done to help them because they’d spent years helping the American military in Afghanistan.
“The only thing that I know to do is continue doing everything you can. Pray. Contact your representatives, folks in Congress as well as the Senate, and to detail the specifics as to what this means and how this reflects a huge shift in our values, from helping our allies to betraying them.”
Halt on Green Cards Is Saddening
Jennifer Verkamp-Ruthven, director of Catholic Immigration Services, said the halt to green cards for refugees is “one of the saddest things to come out since the inauguration.”
“Those that are refugees or asylees have status. First of all, it’s a lawful, legal status, giving certain protections, and the only way you can become a refugee or asylee is through a very long process of proving that you have a well-founded fear of being persecuted,” she said.
“When the inauguration first happened and everyone was fearful, those were the people to whom we were confidently able to say, ‘Don’t worry. You’re fine. You’ve got status and maybe you already have a pending application for your green card or you’re about to.’ And now we can’t say that with confidence,” Verkamp-Ruthven said. “These people are already some of the most vulnerable. They’ve fled their countries for a reason, often because their lives are at risk.”
Continuing to Work on Applications
“Our specialists that are working on these applications, they’ll continue to work on them,” she said.
Dennis Lee, executive director of Catholic Charities of Arkansas, said the agency’s staff is “dealing with a lot of people in difficult circumstances.”
Little Rock Bishop Anthony B. Taylor “has asked us to be ‘Christ for others’ in the way we relate to our brothers and sisters who are living in fear under the current immigration policies and practices of the new administration,” Lee said.
“As best we can, we are providing our services with an openness to God using us, in the words of Bishop Taylor, to be ‘a source of love, love that banishes fear, love that brings hope and healing,” he added.
This story was originally published by Arkansas Catholic, the news outlet of the Diocese of Little Rock, and distributed through a partnership with OSV News. Katie Zakrzewski is associate editor of the Arkansas Catholic, newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock.
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