Federal action suspending refugee arrivals into the United States has challenged a local coalition’s ability to support new refugees for more than a year.
The Otsego Refugee Resettlement Coalition is a volunteer group with a mission is to aid and support refugees coming into the local area. It has taken in seven families since 2023, though it first began its efforts in 2021. The coalition provides families with monetary support, while helping them to access medical care, learn English, navigate transportation and obtain housing, among other services.
Debra Marcus, who sits on the coalition’s steering committee, said Friday, April 17 that the Welcome Corps, a sponsorship initiative under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, offered a pathway for private sponsor groups like the coalition to welcome refugees into the country. It was ended by the federal administration early in 2025, after President Donald Trump took office.
Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20, 2025 indefinitely suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Marcus said the Welcome Corps had settled and welcomed thousands of people in the country, who were doing well and thriving.
“So many people had come,” Marcus said. “It had such positive impacts, not only on the refugees that came but on the communities.”
She added that there were guardrails in place for groups welcoming refugees through the Welcome Corps program. The coalition had to support the refugees for 90 days, but Marcus said in most cases this was unrealistic, as it will typically take more than 90 days to make this transition.
Most refugees come to the country with work authorization, the ability to get a social security number and with eligibility to apply for a permanent residency card, Marcus said. As of Jan. 20, the coalition had spent substantial time working to gather resources and work with local partners, like landlords and the Oneonta City School District, to support refugees.
The Otsego County coalition’s first family was a couple — Raphael Joseph, who worked as a tailor in his home country of Zimbabwe, and his wife, Ngongo Biohali, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After applying to take in another group, the coalition welcomed an individual from Venezuela.
It later received approval to take in a family of five, who were located in South Africa at the time, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their arrival date kept getting pushed back until Jan. 27, 2025. Marcus said this made her nervous because of the executive order that went into place on Jan. 20.
“This family never came,” Marcus said. “Never came, even though they had plane tickets. Everything was approved. They didn’t come.”
The WelcomeUS Community Sponsorship Hub later contacted the coalition, as it had previously been certified to accept refugees. Refugee status is a specific immigration category, Marcus said, separate from others like asylum seekers and humanitarian parolees. One remaining pathway for entry to the country was Special Immigrant Visa Holders — individuals who had assisted the American troops in Afghanistan and their families.
Instead of being provided the two-to six-month intermittent period the coalition was accustomed to for preparing for new arrivals, the hub notified the group that the first family would be coming in two weeks. Marcus said the father is now employed and the mother just had a “very promising interview.” Their children are enrolled in Head Start, run through Opportunities for Otsego, which provides home visiting services and center-based programs for children up to age 5.
“It was overwhelming,” Marcus said. “We have a small steering committee of anywhere from six to 12 people, it’s varied. There’s a lot of hand holding, a lot of getting people into medical care and dental care and helping them begin to learn English.”
The coalition took in its last family of five from Afghanistan in December. A couple of weeks later, Marcus said, the Trump administration blocked processing for special immigrant visas.
The Literacy Volunteers of Otsego and Delaware Counties, another coalition partner, provides individual tutoring to teach English. Patrice Macaluso, a volunteer for the Literacy Volunteers and the coalition, said at a Wednesday, April 15 coalition meeting that it is beneficial to use practical settings, like Walmart, when teaching English.
The Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce has been another great partner, Marcus said. It has helped refugees to draft a resume and apply for jobs.
Marcus said the coalition is actively supporting two families from Afghanistan, but it still helps others.
As the coalition is a private sponsor group, it has to raise at least $2,500 per person who comes over. Marcus said the community has been “so generous” in making this effort happen.
Jeff Katz, executive director of the Community Foundation of Otsego County, has worked to support the coalition in collecting donations. It has a fund at CFO, so people looking to donate can send the donation to the CFO online or by mail, including in the memo that the donation is for the coalition.
Marcus said she does not know exactly what the next steps are for the coalition under the suspension of these refugee programs, but other pathways could still emerge.
Immigrants have lower crime rates than native-born Americans, Marcus added, often starting new businesses and helping their children to be educated. Marcus called it a “win-win” for the community.
“I have lived my whole life with the maxim ‘think globally, act locally,’” Marcus said. “I can’t do anything about all of those people at the southern border or the composition of the Supreme Court. I can help individuals start a new life.”