USCIS Adjudication Pause for Nationals of 39 Countries Declared Unlawful!
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USCIS Adjudication Pause for Nationals of 39 Countries Declared Unlawful!

Earlier this year, Dorcas International, a non-profit refugee and immigrant assistance organization, sued USCIS to strike down the freeze on immigration benefits for members of 39 countries subject to the partial and full travel ban.  The freeze delayed many types of applications indefinitely, and Dorcas sought to remove that freeze and have the policies vacated.  
 
On June 5, 2026, Federal Court Justice John J. McConnell strongly agreed with Dorcas’ position in a 135-page decision, and declared several USCIS policies unlawful, restarting several USCIS processes that had been halted by executive order.
 
The government quickly moved to set that order aside, but on July 15th, the Court rejected that request.  As reported in the Providence Journal, The judge was unmoved by the government’s arguments that the June 5th ruling should be stayed pending its appeal because the scope of the ruling was too wide and/or had too big an effect or that it would expose the U.S. to increased security risks.
 
Judge McConnell, in this opinion, wrote that “[d]uring the more than six months that the Challenged Policies were in effect, countless immigrants living in the United States – solely by virtue of their nationalities and not because of anything they did wrong – lost jobs, lost legal status, and lost the ability to meaningfully plan for their futures. There is overwhelming evidence of harm suffered by these individuals in the record, and there is no doubt that further injury would result if a stay were to be granted. Quite tellingly, the Government has little to say about these harms and provides no evidence to the contrary.”
 
The government will undoubtedly appeal the decision, now final, to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.  Still, four material policies should be null and void unless or until the Appeals Court takes up the case:
 
  1. A hold on all asylum applications;
  2. A hold on the adjudication of other immigrant and non-immigrant applications from travel-ban countries;
  3. A re-review of approved immigration applications from travel-ban countries; and
  4. The use of country-specific factors when adjudicating immigration applications and considering travel-ban countries a “significant negative factor” when using discretion.

د امریکا د تابعیت او کډوالۍ خدمتونو محکمې د ۳۹ هېوادونو د اتباعو غوښتنلیکونو ته د د رسیدګۍ ځنډول غیرقانوني اعلان کړل

د ۲۰۲۶ کال د جولای ۱۵مه. د سږکال په پیل کې د پناه غوښتونکو او کډوالو یوې غیرانتفاعي موسسې، (Dorcas International) د امریکا د تابعیت او کډوالۍ خدومتونو ادارې پر ضد دعوه وکړه، ترڅو د هغو ۳۹ هېوادونو د اتباعو لپاره د کډوالۍ د امتیازاتو بندیز لغوه شي چې د بشپړ یا قسمي سفري تر  بندیز لاندې دي. یاد بندیز زیات شمېربېلابېل ډوله غوښتنلیکونه د نامعلومې مودې لپاره ځنډولي وو، او Dorcas) وغوښتل چې دا خنډ یا ځنډونه له منځه لاړه شي او دا پالیسۍ په بشپړ ډول لغوه شي. د ۲۰۲۶ کال د جون په ۵مه، فدرالي قاضي جان جې. مک‌کانل په یوه ۱۳۵ مخیزه پرېکړه کې د Dorcas موسسې له دریځ سره په کلکه هوکړه وکړه. هغه د امریکا د تابعیت او کډوالۍ خدمتونو ادارېUSCIS څو پالیسۍ غیرقانوني اعلان کړې، او په پایله کې د امریکا د تابعیت او کډوالۍ خدمتونو ادارې USCIS هغه څو بهیرونه بیا پیل شؤ چې د اجرایوي فرمان له مخې ځنډول شوي وو. حکومت ژر تر ژره وغوښتل چې دا پرېکړه وځنډول شي، خو محکمې د جولای په ۱۵مه دا غوښتنه رد کړه. د پرووېنشل ورځپاڼې (Providence Journal) د راپور له مخې، د حکومت استدلال چې د جون د ۵مې نېټې حکم دې د استیناف تر پایلې پورې وځنډول شي ځکه چې د دې حکم یا پرېکړې لمن ډېره پراخه ده یا اغېز یې ډېر لوی دی، او یا دا چې امریکا به له ډېرو امنیتي خطرونو سره مخ کړي، د قاضي دریځ ته بدلون ور نه کړ. پرته له شکه، حکومت به د دې پرېکړې پر وړاندې، چې اوس نهایي ده، د لومړۍ حوزې استیناف محکمې (1st Circuit Court of Appeals) ته د استیناف غوښتنه وکړي. سره له دې، څلور مهمې پالیسۍ باید باطلې وګڼل شي، مګر دا چې یا تر هغه وخته چې د استیناف محکمه قضیې ته رسیدګي وکړي: د پناه غوښتنې ( asylum applications) د ټولو غوښتنلیکونو ځنډول؛ د هغو هېوادونو چې دلته د سفر کولو بندیز پرې لګول شو دی، د نورو مهاجرتي او غیرمهاجرتي غوښتنلیکونو د رسیدګۍ ځنډول؛ د سفرتربندیز لاندې هېوادونو د هغو مهاجرتي غوښتنلیکونو بیاکتنه چې مخکې منظور شوي وو؛ او د مهاجرتي غوښتنلیکونو د پرېکړې پر مهال د غوښتونکي له هېواد پورې د اړوندو عاملونو کارول، او د واک د کارولو پرمهال د سفرتربندیز لاندې هېوادونو ته د «مهم منفي عامل» په توګه کتل

محکمه ی در امریکا توقف رسیدگی به درخواست‌های اتباع ۳۹ کشور توسط USCIS را غیرقانونی اعلام کرد!

۱۵ جولای ۲۰۲۶ در اوایل سال جاری، سازمان بین‌المللی Dorcas — یک سازمان غیرانتفاعی که در زمینهٔ کمک به پناهندگان و مهاجران فعالیت می‌کند — علیه USCIS (ادارهٔ خدمات شهروندی و مهاجرت ایالات متحده) دعوای حقوقی اقامه کرد تا توقف روند رسیدگی به درخواست‌های مربوط به امتیازات مهاجرتی برای اتباع ۳۹ کشوری که مشمول ممنوعیت کامل یا قسمی سفر بودند، لغو شود. این توقف باعث شده بود که رسیدگی به بسیاری از درخواست‌ها برای مدت نامعلوم به تأخیر بیفتد. Dorcas خواستار پایان دادن به این توقف و لغو این پالیسی‌ها شد. به تاریخ ۵ جون ۲۰۲۶، قاضی فدرال جان جی. مک‌کانل در یک فیصلهٔ ۱۳۵ صفحه‌ای به‌طور قاطع با موقف Dorcas موافقت کرد. او چندین پالیسی USCIS را غیرقانونی اعلام کرد و در نتیجه، چندین روند رسیدگی در USCIS که در پی یک فرمان اجرایی متوقف شده بودند، دوباره آغاز شدند. حکومت ایالات متحده به‌سرعت درخواست کرد که این فیصله معلق شود، اما محکمه به تاریخ ۱۵ جولای این درخواست را رد کرد. به گزارش روزنامهٔ Providence Journal، استدلال‌های حکومت قاضی را قانع نساخت؛ از جمله این ادعا که فیصلهٔ ۵ جون باید تا زمان رسیدگی به درخواست استیناف معلق بماند، زیرا دامنهٔ آن بسیار گسترده است، تأثیر بزرگی دارد، یا ممکن است خطرات امنیتی بیشتری برای ایالات متحده ایجاد کند. بدون شک، حکومت علیه این فیصله که اکنون نهایی شده است، به محکمهٔ استیناف حوزهٔ اول (First Circuit Court of Appeals) درخواست استیناف خواهد داد. با این حال، چهار پالیسی مهم باید لغو و بی‌اعتبار باقی بمانند، مگر این‌که — یا تا زمانی که — محکمهٔ استیناف این قضیه را بررسی و تصمیم دیگری اتخاذ کند:
  • توقف رسیدگی به تمام درخواست‌های پناهندگی؛
  • توقف بررسی و تصمیم‌گیری دربارهٔ سایر درخواست‌های مهاجرتی و غیرمهاجرتی اتباع کشورهای مشمول ممنوعیت سفر؛
  • بازبینی دوبارهٔ درخواست‌های مهاجرتی که قبلاً برای اتباع این کشورها تأیید شده بود؛ و
استفاده از عوامل خاص مربوط به کشور متقاضی هنگام بررسی درخواست‌های مهاجرتی، و در نظر گرفتن کشورهای مشمول ممنوعیت سفر به‌عنوان یک «عامل منفی مهم» هنگام استفاده از صلاحیت اختیاری در تصمیم‌گیری‌های مهاجرتی.

إيقاف تعليق البت في طلبات الهجرة لمواطني 39 دولة: المحكمة تقضي بعدم قانونيته 

15 يوليو 2026 

في وقت سابق من هذا العام، رفعت منظمة دوركاس الدولية، وهي منظمة غير ربحية تقدم المساعدة للاجئين والمهاجرين، دعوى قضائية ضد هيئة خدمات الجنسية والهجرة الأمريكية لإلغاء قرار تجميد مزايا الهجرة للأشخاص المنتمين إلى 39 دولة خاضعة لقيود السفر الجزئية أو الكاملة. وقد تسبب هذا التجميد في تأخير العديد من أنواع طلبات الهجرة إلى أجل غير مسمى، وسعت المنظمة إلى إنهاء هذا التجميد وإبطال السياسات المرتبطة به. 

في 5 يونيو 2026، أصدر القاضي الفيدرالي جون ج. ماكونيل قرارًا مفصلًا من 135 صفحة أيد فيه بقوة موقف منظمة دوركاس الدولية، وأعلن أن عدة سياسات لهيئة خدمات الجنسية والهجرة الأمريكية غير قانونية. ونتيجة لذلك، استؤنفت عدة إجراءات كانت الهيئة قد أوقفتها تنفيذًا لأوامر رئاسية. 

وسارعت الحكومة إلى طلب إلغاء ذلك القرار، إلا أن المحكمة رفضت هذا الطلب في 15 يوليو 2026. ووفقًا لما نقلته صحيفة بروفيدنس جورنال، لم تقتنع المحكمة بحجج الحكومة التي ادعت أن قرار 5 يونيو يجب تعليقه إلى حين انتهاء إجراءات الاستئناف، بحجة أن نطاق القرار واسع جدًا أو أن تأثيره كبير للغاية، أو أن تنفيذه قد يزيد من المخاطر الأمنية على الولايات المتحدة. 

ومن المتوقع أن تستأنف الحكومة هذا القرار أمام محكمة الاستئناف الفيدرالية للدائرة الأولى. ومع ذلك، فإن السياسات الأربع التالية تُعتبر ملغاة وغير قابلة للتنفيذ ما لم تقرر محكمة الاستئناف خلاف ذلك: 

  • تعليق جميع طلبات اللجوء.
  • تعليق البت في طلبات الهجرة وغير الهجرة الأخرى المقدمة من مواطني الدول الخاضعة لقيود السفر.
  • إعادة مراجعة طلبات الهجرة التي سبق اعتمادها لمقدمي الطلبات من الدول الخاضعة لقيود السفر.
  • استخدام عوامل مرتبطة بجنسية مقدم الطلب عند البت في طلبات الهجرة، واعتبار الانتماء إلى دولة خاضعة لقيود السفر عاملًا سلبيًا مهمًا عند ممارسة السلطة التقديرية في اتخاذ القرارات المتعلقة بالهجرة.

¡Declaran ilegal la suspensión de USCIS en los trámites de personas de 39 países!

15 de julio de 2026.

A principios de este año, Dorcas International, una organización sin fines de lucro que ayuda a refugiados e inmigrantes, demandó a USCIS (el Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos) para anular el congelamiento de los beneficios de inmigración para las personas de los 39 países sujetos a la prohibición de viaje, total o parcial. Ese congelamiento retrasó de manera indefinida muchos tipos de solicitudes. Dorcas pidió que se eliminara el congelamiento y que se anularan esas políticas.

El 5 de junio de 2026, el juez federal John J. McConnell fue muy firme y le otorgó la razón a Dorcas en una declaración de 135 páginas: consideró ilegales varias políticas de USCIS y reactivó varios procesos contra USCIS que habían sido detenidos por orden ejecutiva.

El gobierno pidió rápidamente que se suspendiera esa orden, pero el 15 de julio el tribunal rechazó la solicitud. Según informó el periódico Providence Journal, al juez no lo convencieron los argumentos del gobierno de que la decisión del 5 de junio debía suspenderse mientras se resuelve la apelación, ya sea porque su alcance era demasiado amplio, porque tenía un efecto demasiado grande, o porque expondría a Estados Unidos a mayores riesgos de seguridad.

Sin duda, el gobierno apelará la decisión, que ahora es definitiva, ante la Corte de Apelaciones del Primer Circuito (1st Circuit Court of Appeals). Aun así, cuatro políticas importantes deberían quedar sin efecto, a menos que la Corte de Apelaciones tome el caso, o hasta que lo haga:

  • La suspensión de todas las solicitudes de asilo;
  • La suspensión del trámite de otras solicitudes de inmigrantes y de no inmigrantes de los países con prohibición de viaje;
  • La revisión adicional de solicitudes de inmigración ya aprobadas de esos países; y
  • El uso de factores basados en el país de origen al decidir solicitudes de inmigración, y la práctica de considerar a los países con prohibición de viaje como un “factor negativo importante” al tomar decisiones discrecionales.

Tribinal deklare sispansyon USCIS te mete sou dosye moun 39 peyi yo ilegal!

15 jiyè 2026.

Nan kòmansman ane sa a, Dorcas International, yon òganizasyon san bi likratif k ap ede refijye ak imigran, te pote yon pwosè kont USCIS (ajans imigrasyon Etazini ki trete demann imigrasyon yo). Objektif la se te fè anile jèl ki te sispann benefis imigrasyon pou sitwayen 39 peyi ki anba entèdiksyon vwayaj total oswa pasyèl la. Jèl sa a te fè anpil kalite demann rete bloke san okenn dat. Dorcas te mande pou yo retire jèl la epi pou yo anile règleman sa yo nèt.

Nan dat 5 jen 2026, jij federal John J. McConnell te dakò nèt ak pozisyon Dorcas la nan yon desizyon 135 paj. Li te deklare plizyè règleman USCIS ilegal, epi sa te fè plizyè pwosesis USCIS yon dekrè prezidansyèl te kanpe rekòmanse ankò.

Gouvènman an te kouri mande tribinal la pou l sispann desizyon sa a, men nan dat 15 jiyè, Tribinal la te rejte demann lan. Dapre jounal Providence Journal, agiman gouvènman yo pa t konvenk jij la. Gouvènman an te di yo te dwe sispann desizyon 5 jen an pandan apèl la, paske desizyon an te twò laj oswa li te gen twòp konsekans, oswa paske li t ap ekspoze Etazini a plis risk sekirite. Jij la pa t dakò.

Pa gen dout, gouvènman an pral fè apèl kont desizyon an, ki final kounye a, devan Tribinal Apèl Premye Sikui a (1st Circuit Court of Appeals). Men kanmenm, kat gwo règleman sa yo ta dwe rete anile, sof si oswa jiskaske Tribinal Apèl la pran ka a:

  • Sispansyon tout demann azil yo;
  • Sispansyon tretman lòt demann imigran ak non-imigran ki soti nan peyi ki anba entèdiksyon vwayaj la;
  • Re-egzamen demann imigrasyon ki te deja apwouve pou moun peyi sa yo; epi
  • Itilizasyon kritè ki baze sou peyi moun nan lè y ap deside sou demann imigrasyon, ansanm ak pratik pou konsidere peyi ki anba entèdiksyon vwayaj la kòm yon « gwo faktè negatif » lè y ap pran desizyon diskresyonè.

Mahakama Imetangaza Kuwa Usitishaji wa USCIS wa Kushughulikia Maombi ya Raia wa Nchi 39 ni Kinyume cha Sheria!

Julai 15, 2026.

Mwanzoni mwa mwaka huu, Dorcas International, shirika lisilo la kibiashara linalosaidia wakimbizi na wahamiaji, lilishtaki USCIS (idara ya uraia na uhamiaji ya Marekani) ili kufuta uamuzi wa kusitisha manufaa ya uhamiaji kwa raia wa nchi 39 zilizowekewa marufuku ya usafiri, kamili au ya sehemu. Usitishaji huo ulichelewesha aina nyingi za maombi bila kikomo. Dorcas liliomba usitishaji huo uondolewe na sera hizo zifutwe kabisa.

Tarehe 5 Juni 2026, Jaji wa shirikisho John J. McConnell alikubaliana kabisa na msimamo wa Dorcas katika uamuzi wa kurasa 135. Alitangaza kuwa sera kadhaa za USCIS ni kinyume cha sheria, na hivyo kurejesha michakato kadhaa ya USCIS iliyokuwa imesimamishwa kwa amri ya rais.

Serikali iliomba haraka uamuzi huo usitishwe, lakini tarehe 15 Julai, Mahakama ilikataa ombi hilo. Kama lilivyoripoti gazeti la Providence Journal, jaji hakushawishiwa na hoja za serikali kwamba uamuzi wa tarehe 5 Juni unapaswa kusitishwa hadi rufaa itakapoamuliwa — eti kwa sababu uamuzi huo ulikuwa mpana mno au ulikuwa na athari kubwa mno, au kwamba ungeiweka Marekani katika hatari zaidi za kiusalama.

Bila shaka serikali itakata rufaa dhidi ya uamuzi huo, ambao sasa ni wa mwisho, katika Mahakama ya Rufaa ya Mzunguko wa Kwanza (1st Circuit Court of Appeals). Hata hivyo, sera nne muhimu zinapaswa kuwa batili, isipokuwa au mpaka Mahakama ya Rufaa itakapolichukua shauri hilo:

  • Usitishaji wa maombi yote ya hifadhi;
  • Usitishaji wa kushughulikiwa kwa maombi mengine ya wahamiaji na wasio wahamiaji kutoka nchi zilizowekewa marufuku ya usafiri;
  • Ukaguzi upya wa maombi ya uhamiaji yaliyokwisha kuidhinishwa kutoka nchi hizo; na
  • Matumizi ya vigezo vinavyohusiana na nchi ya mwombaji wakati wa kuamua maombi ya uhamiaji, pamoja na kuzichukulia nchi zilizowekewa marufuku ya usafiri kama “kigezo hasi kikubwa” wakati wa kutumia uamuzi wa hiari.

Суд визнав незаконним призупинення USCIS розгляду справ громадян 39 країн! 

15 липня 2026 року. 

На початку цього року Dorcas International — неприбуткова організація, що допомагає біженцям та іммігрантам, — подала до суду на USCIS (Службу громадянства та імміграції США), щоб скасувати заморожування імміграційних пільг для громадян 39 країн, на які поширюється повна або часткова заборона на в’їзд. Через це заморожування розгляд багатьох типів заяв було відкладено на невизначений термін. Dorcas вимагала зняти заморожування та скасувати відповідні правила. 

5 червня 2026 року федеральний суддя Джон Дж. Макконнелл (John J. McConnell) у рішенні на 135 сторінок рішуче підтримав позицію Dorcas: він визнав низку правил USCIS незаконними, і завдяки цьому відновилися кілька процесів USCIS, зупинених указом президента. 

Уряд швидко подав клопотання про призупинення цього рішення, але 15 липня суд його відхилив. Як повідомляє газета Providence Journal, суддю не переконали аргументи уряду про те, що дію рішення від 5 червня слід призупинити до розгляду апеляції — нібито через занадто широкий обсяг рішення чи занадто великий його вплив, або через те, що воно наражає США на підвищені ризики для безпеки. 

Уряд, безумовно, оскаржить це рішення, яке тепер є остаточним, в Апеляційному суді першого округу (1st Circuit Court of Appeals). Проте, якщо апеляційний суд не візьметься за цю справу — або доки він цього не зробить, — чотири ключові правила мають вважатися недійсними:  

  • призупинення розгляду всіх заяв про надання притулку; 

  • призупинення розгляду інших імміграційних та неімміграційних заяв від громадян країн, на які поширюється заборона на в’їзд; 

  • повторна перевірка вже схвалених імміграційних заяв із цих країн; 

  • використання чинників, пов’язаних із країною походження, під час розгляду імміграційних заяв, а також практика розглядати країни, на які поширюється заборона на в’їзд, як «суттєвий негативний чинник» під час ухвалення дискреційних рішень. 

We Don’t Put Politics Before People

At a time when policies are freezing green card applications, stalling asylum decisions, and throwing long-settled families into uncertainty, IRIS is staying focused on what matters: safety, stability, and real community for newcomers.

PUBLISHED BY THE DAY Oct 29, 2025

AG Tong, talking immigration in New London: 'They will make it if we fight for them'

 
tong-speaking-on-immigration

Attorney General William Tong speaks at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Congregation in New London on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The event by Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services focused on the impact of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. (Alison Cross/The Day)

By Alison Cross
Day Staff Writer
 
New London — State Attorney General William Tong visited the city Monday evening to share a message of hope and resistance amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The event at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Congregation was organized by Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, the New Haven-based nonprofit known as IRIS.
Since 1982, IRIS has welcomed and resettled thousands of refugees and immigrants within the state, but Maggie Mitchell Salem, the organization’s executive director, said new federal policies have upended longstanding pathways to legal immigration.
As a result of these changes, Mitchell Salem said IRIS will not participate in the U.S. government-supported refugee admissions program for the first time in the nonprofit’s history, starting on Jan. 1. Mitchell Salem said IRIS will continue to resettle refugees from Afghanistan and other countries without federal funding.
During his speech, Tong described the Trump administration’s policies and actions over the last nine months as “awful, brutal, (and) painful.” Tong spoke about lawsuits he has filed against the federal government to block the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship and coercing states into following the administration’s immigration agenda.
Tong said people often put refugees and immigrants into separate categories but “very often they’re one and the same.”
“My grandparents and my dad ran for their lives (from China),” Tong said. “I’m a kid that comes from refugees and immigrants. I grew up in a Chinese restaurant. … If you go to a takeout joint around here and you see a high schooler ring up your Tuesday night takeout, that was me.”
“In one generation, I went from that hot Chinese restaurant kitchen in the state of Connecticut in Wethersfield, to being the 25th attorney general of the state,” Tong continued. “I don’t tell you that story because it’s a good story, I tell you that story because it is an unremarkable story. It is a story shared by so many people. And there are kids right now, our kids in this city, the sons and daughters and grandchildren of refugees and immigrants who are just like us … and I know they will make it if we fight for them right now.”
Maryam Elahi, the president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, said that right now, children are not getting an education because “so many parents are terrified to take their kids to school (and) pick them up.”
“This is not acceptable,” Elahi said.
Elahi encouraged people to reframe the way they speak about immigrants.
“Unless you’re a Native American, you’re an immigrant in this country,” she said. “Some of us came earlier on boats. Some of us came later by foot or plane or both, but the end result is the same. It’s really important for all of us to change the narrative, to talk about immigrants as all of us, to talk about immigrants as people who bring so much richness to our community and to put our arms around them.”
Jeanne Milstein, the human services director for the city, said that New London’s history is rooted in immigrant communities who have made the city stronger.
“It is our diversity which is our strength. New London is a seaport town. It has always been a rich mix of people. It is a community where everyone is welcome,” Milstein said. “The feds may be trying to kill the American dream, but here in New London, it is alive and well.”

PUBLISHED BY THE HARTFORD COURANT

After four decades, CT organization won’t resettle refugees this year. Here’s why

For the first time in more than four decades Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services made the decision to not resettle refugees through the United States Refugee Admissions program, due to the Trump administration’s intent to shift the program’s focus.
“We will not resettle populations that aren’t refugees,” said Maggie Mitchell Salem, director of IRIS. “That is basically the point. This is not about Afrikaners or right wing groups in Europe. This is not about ideology or politics. This is about our mission. Our mission is to resettle the world’s most vulnerable people who have been screened for the credible fear they possess which keeps them from going home.”
Mitchell Salem added: “We are not a relocation service. We work with and for a very specific population and as part of the humanitarian pathway within this immigration system.”
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the Trump administration “is considering a radical overhaul of the U.S. refugee system that would slash the program to its bare bones while giving preference to English speakers, white South Africans and Europeans who oppose migration.” 
The Trump administration has said that white South African farmers face discrimination and violence at home, which the country’s government strongly denies.
The IRIS board made the decision last month to change course after learning about the Trump’s administration’s plans to change the refugee program, including limiting the number of refugees to 30,000 to 40,000, Mitchell Salem said.
“That only reinforced that decision,” Mitchell said. “We have never had to question the U.S. government’s decision. This is not about who is in charge of our government. We have supported refugee resettlement in Republican administrations, and Democratic administrations without fail. We had to do some critical thinking about whether based on what we understood to be the administration’s policy on the U.S. refugee program, whether there was an alignment between our mission and how they were implementing the program.”
The Church World Service, which IRIS is an affiliate of, and contracts with the State Department to help refugees “expressed its dismay and deep concern in response to the Trump administration’s plans to reduce the refugee admissions’ goal “to the lowest level in history,” according to a press release from the agency.
New numbers reported from the Associated Press suggest the Trump administration is considering admitting far fewer refugees than IRIS had initially learned, with just 7,500 admitted.
Dana Bucin, an immigration attorney and partner with Harris Beach Murtha in Hartford, said the administration’s ban against refugees at the beginning of 2025 is not advisable.
“The entire policy that is against refugees in particular is harmful at a time when the world is seeing a record number of refugees due to wars, civil wars, famine, climate change and a bunch of other factors,” she said. “We have never had so many refugees as we do now and so few tools to deal with them and so definitely in general an anti-refugee policy is not conducive to humanitarian endeavors.”
Bucin said she does not believe that all Afrikaners qualify as a group for refugee status.
“But as attorneys we are open to hearing of any individualized case of persecution for Afrikaners, much like anyone else,” she said.
Since the Trump administration suspended the refugee program in January, IRIS relocated its New Haven office and had to shut its Hartford office.
In fiscal year 2024, IRIS served more than 2,000 people and resettled 900 refugees.
In fiscal year 2025 they were planning to resettle 800 refugees but have only been able to settle 241 refugees as many were denied entry or delayed.
As a result of the suspension of the refugee program, IRIS lost about $4 million in funding and had to lay off employees.
In the United States, some 128,000 refugees have currently been approved for resettlement in the United States and are now stuck in limbo, said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, the Jewish refugee resettlement agency. In addition, 14,000 Jews, Christians and other religious minorities in Iran have long been registered with the refugee program.
New vision
IRIS is not suspending its activities though. The organization is realigning its focus to help refugees and immigrants with assistance securing housing, food, addressing health issues and advocating for more English Language Learning programs to help them succeed in the workforce, Mitchell Salem said.
Mitchell Salem said she is concerned about provisions in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill particularly eliminating SNAP for refugees. She said IRIS needs more support to provide basic proteins for refugees in its food pantry.
Targeting ELL programs aligned to workforce development programs is critical, she said, so “people are getting the right vocational training and entering these programs successfully and entering higher paying jobs in the healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing sector. This is a win for the state. The state has to become more competitive.”
Mitchell Salem said IRIS will focus on deepening partnerships with the Chambers of Commerce and workforce boards and adult literacy organizations that exist in every town and city in the state.
In addition to those being barred from entering the country, Mitchell Salem said immigrants who are here are being terrorized. Calling it inhumane, Mitchell Salem said rounding up of people in the community at their place of employment is having an impact on everyone.
“It is going to impact the price of food and whether your grandmother is being taken care of in an assisted living community,” she said. “It is impacting employers. It is impacting tax bases. You don’t remove this significant number of people from our community and have no impact.”
With ICE arrests continuing in Connecticut and immigrant advocates calling for state officials to act, lawmakers are in discussions about increasing legal protections during an upcoming special session.
ICE agents stormed a Hamden car wash Wednesday and detained and took away eight people including a husband and wife and a customer, according to information from state Sen. Jorge Cabrera’s office.
“Since we passed the TRUST Act a decade ago, Connecticut has always carved out exceptions for dangerous felons,” Cabrera said in a statement. ”Democrats don’t have a problem with that. Neither does the governor. What we do have a problem with is Donald Trump and ICE telling us that they are arresting the scum of the Earth – murderers and gang members and pedophiles. And then who do they arrest? Landscapers. Dishwashers. High school kids. People working at car washes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Originally Published: 

October 17, 2025 at 5:37 AM ED