The immigration and refugee resettlement landscape is taking shape as President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House begins.
In Nebraska, several people and organizations are concerned with what the future holds for those seeking refuge across the state.
Jawad Lali and his daughter, Atia, are refugees from Afghanistan. They fled the country on an emergency flight in August 2021 when the Taliban came to power for the second time. Atia was 4 years old when they moved to the U.S. They live in Lincoln now.
Lali’s wife and his two sons lived in Iraq for five months, waiting for their cases to be approved by the U.S.
“Family’s separation is extremely depressing for children inside and outside the states and it will have huge mental consequences both on parents and children,” Lali said.
Family separation can be frightening, and advocates fear what refugee resettlement programs will look like under the new administration, especially for families like Lali’s who are still in limbo.
On the day of his inauguration, President Trump immediately brought changes to the refugee resettlement landscape. Through executive orders he halted all refugee admissions into the U.S. until late April. After that, the Trump administration will reconsider whether to resume refugee admissions.
The new suspension of refugee admissions went live early on Monday, Jan. 27.
Reports show about 1,660 Afghans approved by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S. had their flights canceled last week, as a result of the new executive order.
Tanyaradzwa DeWolf is the Director of Refugees’ Services at the Center for Immigrants and Refugees Advancement in Omaha.
“People are scared, even if you just look at my staff alone, they have been really scared and people who don't have their citizenship yet, what does that mean for them? They are scared about some of the things that were happening in the last administration,” DeWolf said. “And how free people who are xenophobic feel to be able to act against them when there is someone who is propagating it at the top.”
The organization has resettled 1,500 refugee-status individuals in the last two years. According to DeWolf, they have resettled more than 200 refugees from October to December 2024, many coming from Venezuela, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
DeWolf said some of the immigration reform that impacts refugee resettlement programs would render a complicated process even more stressful.
Lali agrees.
“To be honest, I really do not have a good feeling until they make it to the U.S., and I go to pick them up at the airport,” Lali said. “Every moment I feel like their cases/visa approval could be delayed or they don’t even get their flights scheduled.”
In the coming months, families sit and wait, hoping the government will approve their applications.
Lali's family was no different. They submitted their passports to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq for visas, but had no idea how long it would take to process.
Nizar Rasho is the Assistant Vice President for community services for the refugee department at Lutheran Family Services.
He said many of their clients have asked about their families’ cases – wondering how things will work for them under the second Trump administration.
“We have received a lot of inquiries from the community about their families,” he said. “I think the great fear is that people who have already been here have feared about family separation.”
According to LFS’s documentation, the restrictions to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program were significant under the previous Trump administration. Trump instituted a ban on most immigration from six majority-Muslim countries and slashed refugee admissions by more than half during his first year in office.
Despite all the changes looming for refugees looking to come to the United States, Jawad’s family flew into Nebraska on Jan. 25, two days before Trump’s policy took effect.
Jawad’s wife, Nasima Lali, said it’s a miracle they ended up in the U.S. just before the suspension took effect.
“Even though I left most of my family members behind, reuniting with my husband and daughter was worth it," Nasima said.
After years of fighting to reunite his family, Jawad Lali said he's overjoyed his family made it to Lincoln.
“I am extremely happy now," Jawad Lali said. "I still can't really believe that it came true. I am relieved.”
Hundreds of thousands weren’t as lucky and remain in the refugee camps around the world waiting for future direction from the U.S. Government.
But DeWolf isn't losing hope. She said people established in their communities can make a huge difference during times of change. And she encourages the community to raise their positive voice louder and be supportive to individuals who are different among them.
Despite the ongoing immigration talks, LFS and CIRA are still looking forward to resettling as many refugees as they can in the state.
The top five nationalities LFS has resettled in Lincoln in the last eight years are Iraqis, Afghans, Syrians, Ukrainian and Burmese. LFS expects to continue providing its normal services to refugees and immigrants throughout the remainder of the fiscal year.