Refugee advocates in Rhode Island on Wednesday condemned both the recent shooting of two National Guard members in Washington D.C. and the Trump administration’s response to the shootings.
In the wake of the shootings in D.C. that left one Guard member dead, the administration placed new restrictions on Afghans in the U.S. and paused all decisions on asylum claims.
Amin Faquiry, a Providence Afghan community leader, called the national anti-immigrant rhetoric accompanying the policy changes disturbing.
“Let me remind you that Afghans in this country have arrived legally through the Operation Allies Welcome, which was the biggest airlift operation in United States history,” Faquiry said. “Every Afghan that is here has papers.”
Omar Bah, founder and executive director of the Providence-based Refugee Dream Center, also stated that he was deeply troubled by the changes to the immigration system made by the Trump administration in reaction to the shootings.
“I call this not anti-immigration. It’s anti non-white,” Bah said. “So we want to call on every American to speak out to condemn this racist action of what is happening.”
Prior to the start of the second Trump Administration, the Refugee Dream Center resettled thousands of immigrant families and other refugees in the region. But following federal funding cuts, the RDC reduced its staff and halted the majority of its resettlement efforts.
“No family has come since January,” Bah said. “We are working with people who are already here, which will continue to the best of our ability.”
Andrew Kanter, an attorney and board member at the Refugee Dream Center, said in a written statement that ICE’s recent actions have “traumatized our community.”
“ICE has seemingly targeted people solely because they look to be immigrants and without knowing their actual immigration status,” Kanter wrote. “This raises serious concerns about racial profiling, a lack of due process, and other violations of our law and constitution.”
