Refugees in Greeley react to President Donald Trump's executive order with fear, confusion
Local | January 29, 2017
Nate Miller
nmiller@greeleytribune.com
The Global Refugee Center
The center was launched in 2008 when five members of Greeley's burgeoning East African refugee community saw the need for a center that could help refugees adjust to life in the United States and build bridges between refugees and the broader Greeley community. The center offers education and help for refugees, as well as culturally relevant programs for the Weld County community. For more, go to www.grccolorado.org.
Many members of Greeley's refugee community reacted to President Donald's Trump executive order suspending the refugee program with fear and confusion.
"People don't even know what it is," said Mohamed Muhumed on Saturday. "They just hear 'executive order,' and they're afraid of the unknown."
Trump signed the sweeping executive order Friday, billing it as necessary to stop "radical Islamic terrorists" from coming to the U.S. It includes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program.
A judge Saturday night issued an emergency stay allowing travelers stranded by the order who already landed with visas to stay in the U.S.
Even with the stay, foreign-born U.S. residents traveling outside the U.S. could have trouble getting back into the country despite holding permanent residency "green cards" or other visas. And some foreign nationals who were allowed to board flights before the order was signed Friday were detained at U.S. airports on Saturday.
Dozens of people showed up at Denver International Airport to show support for refugees. Standing in the main terminal where people wait for travelers arriving by train from the airport's concourses, they sang "Refugees are welcome here."
Muhumed came to the United States from Somalia as a young child with his parents. The family came to New York, and then moved to the Denver area. Muhumed, who became a citizen as a child when his parents were naturalized, moved to Greeley about two years ago to study at the University of Northern Colorado. He also works as a community navigator at the Global Refugee Center, 917 10th Ave. He helps new-arriving refugees do things such as get a green card, apply for citizenship or event get a driver's license.
Greeley's refugee community is predominantly made up of Somali and East African refugees.
He said his phone has been ringing since the news of the executive order broke, with refugees asking questions and seeking advice.
"My biggest advice was don't leave right now," he said. "The second piece of advice I gave was: Apply for citizenship as soon as you can."
He said it's not easy to become a citizen, and many refugees wait until they've earned enough money. Now, he said, they may need to move faster because no one knows what will come next.
Eric Strehl is the director of the Global Refugee Center. He has been traveling and has not had a chance to talk to Greeley refugees since the order was signed. Still, he said, the uncertainty among refugee isn't new.
"There was a general concern and even fear leading up to the potential of Trump's election, and then when he was elected over what exactly he was going to do regarding the refugee resettlement program," Strehl said. "Some of it is warranted and some of it might not be."
Muhumed said the fallout from the order hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for his adopted homeland.
"I love the opportunities America gave me and my family," he said. "I'm never going to take that for granted."
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.