Turmoil and uncertainty fueled by rapid changes in federal immigration policies are causing waves at the local level and has one nonprofit organization seeking help from the community.
In a Facebook post, the director of Kewanee Welcomes, Bobi Throneburg, asked the public to reach out to their congressional representatives.
“The mission of Kewanee Welcomes is to welcome refugees into our community. A refugee is one that has been forced to flee their country due to war, persecution or natural disaster,” said Throneburg.
The organization that sponsors refugee families in the community started in the fall of 2021.
“The United States was evacuating thousands of Afghan soldiers-and their families- that worked alongside our military. I began to research what we could do to help and discovered an initiative called private sponsorship,” she said.
A private sponsor group is made up of at least four to five individuals that are committed to working together to raise funds from donations and organize to prepare to welcome a family, she said.
The welcoming part of Kewanee Welcomes includes securing housing and basic necessities, assisting with job searches, conducting community and cultural orientation, providing ESL support and getting the children enrolled in school. Other duties include scheduling medical check ups, providing transportation and assistance with acquiring a driver’s license.
“As I began to talk to others in the community, I found there was not only an interest to learn how to help, but many were moved with compassion and a sense of justice regarding Afghanistan, and immigrants in general. A group of us attended an event held by World Relief in the Quad Cities, where we learned in great detail how welcoming refugees benefits a community,” said Throneburg.
A team was put together and they greeted their first round of families, three Afghan families, in February of 2022. They have sponsored a total of six families, including three families from Ukraine and have assisted another family from Iraq “as they started their settlement journey in Kewanee.”
“Currently living in town are the Iraqi family and two Ukrainian families. Our role has evolved from caseworkers to friends and neighbors,” she said.
But now, she said, their work has been put on hold.
The administration, she said, has canceled the process to welcome Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, ( CHNV) and suspended (paused) the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) and the Refugee Assistance Program (RAP).
“To be clear, RAP doesn’t fall under the humanitarian parole umbrella, it’s a different visa status all on its own. Those currently here under the RAP will not be affected,” she said.
According to Welcome.US, “on Feb. 14, the Department of Homeland Security issued an internal memo suspending decision-making on all immigration applications filed by individuals who arrived in the United States through several sponsorship programs, including Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) and the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV).
“The directive indicates [that] the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will not approve any alternative forms of legal status many sponsored individuals are seeking while this pause is in place. This includes applications filed for asylum, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), advance parole travel, adjustment of status to permanent residence, naturalization, and all other applications filed to USCIS.”
No new applications will be processed through any of these programs, including those that are currently in the U.S. or here legally under humanitarian parole by a private sponsor group and attempting to seek alternative forms of legal status, such as asylum and Temporary Protected Status, Throneburg said.
The administration has talked about not renewing the Ukrainians here with U4U work authorization cards or allowing them to apply for re-parole, forcing them to have to leave the country because their visa would expire.
There are several of the group’s applications that they have in through USCIS and the RAP that are now archived. This fall, KW was matched with a refugee family through its umbrella organization Welcome Corps.
“We began to prepare housing for them and got to the point where we were move-in ready. When the new administration suspended the RAP, this family’s case was archived,” she said.
Now Kewanee Welcomes is asking the community to help by reaching out and contacting lawmakers on behalf of the families. They are requesting residents voice their support of private sponsorship and share how these families are making a positive impact on our community. You can access the link here.
There is a sample message people can submit on the form or if community members have had personal interactions with the Kewanee Welcomes family, Throneburg highly recommends they share their own stories.
The form takes about five minutes to fill out, Throneburg said, and will show support for the Kewanee families in need.
