NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — No more refugees will be coming to Nashville for the foreseeable future after a local nonprofit that helps resettle refugees received an email saying the Department of State terminated all its agreements for the program.
At the Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE), the nonprofit works to resettle refugees who were cleared to move to Nashville legally. Last year, NICE helped resettle about 500 people in Middle Tennessee.
“They undergo several years of vetting, of security screenings, both by U.S. agencies and by international agencies,” Max Rykov, director of development and communications at NICE, said.
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) has been in place since 1980.
“Sometimes people can be living in refugee camps for up to two decades before they even get invited to interview with the United States,” Rykov said.
However, Rykov told News 2 the program is terminated. NICE’s partner, the Ethiopian Community Development Council, was notified through email by the State Department that it will no longer receive funding.
Back in January, President Donald Trump originally ordered a 90-day review process on the program.
“Essentially what this memorandum does is it ends that review process, so as far we understand, there will be no refugees coming into the United States for the foreseeable future,” Rykov said.
Federal funding to help refugees get on their feet when they first arrive in the U.S. is also in limbo. The State Department supplies about $1,600 per person to last 90 days while they search for housing and a job. That federal funding was frozen back in January.
“There was a lot of confusion of freezing and unfreezing of funds, but the freeze of federal funding for refugees has not been unfrozen yet,” Rykov said.
Without the federal funding, Rykov fears the nonprofit will be dismantled, which is why people are urged to consider donating to the emergency fund.
“It’s a feeling of devastation all around. I have coworkers and friends who have been waiting for years, trying to be reunited with their family members,” Rykov said.
NICE is in need of volunteer help and asking Nashvillians to consider helping refugees who are already in Middle Tennessee.
The nonprofit also encourages community members to contact their elected officials and recommend to reinstating the USRAP and unfreezing federal funding.
