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MAY 20 made it four months since US President Donald Trump decided to suspend refugee resettlement programmes in his country, affecting hundreds of thousands of would-be migrant families who had already made full preparations to go there.
The situation has also affected hundreds of refugee families currently staying in TT, the vast majority of whom had plans to travel to the US in October 2024. At the time, the expectant migrants each received a call suspending their trip from officials from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) with no further communication or context.
The IOM is in charge of transferring refugees to resettlement countries.
Eight months have since passed without these affected families receiving any call or notification from either the IOM or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the latter responsible for identifying cases for resettlement.
Several people who are in the process of resettlement to the United States spoke with Newsday on May 23. They said they were concerned about their legal status, protection needs, and legal situations.
Carlos Martinez (name changed for protection) said he, his wife, and their three children were scheduled to travel on October 16 and only received a suspension call ten days before that, after selling all their belongings, quitting their jobs, and not registering their children for school.
“No resettlement organisation has contacted us. No one has been concerned about us. We are living in the home of relatives, crammed into the living room, many days eating only two meals. It's desperate.”
Martinez said he tried to return to his job, but his former employers refused. Now he only does temporary work.
“I am worried my children are not studying. They could have started public school last September, but we didn't register them because of our plans to travel. Now we don't know what to do.”
Martinez said he had sent messages to both the IOM and the UNHCR, but they had gone unanswered.
“Two weeks ago, my family and I went to the UNHCR in Port of Spain, but they refused to see me because the people at the resettlement office were supposedly busy. There is a clear neglect of the refugees by those running the UNHCR and IOM right now.”
Another concern for refugees with designated travel to the United States is they have not been able to renew their TT work permits.
Several of the refugees told Newsday that immigration officers on Henry Street, Port of Spain, told them that since they were in an approved resettlement process, they could not renew their work permits.
“We are practically up in the air. We don't have work permits here, we don't have permanent jobs, our children aren't studying,” said José, another Venezuelan immigrant waiting to be resettled in the United States.
While refugees in TT continue to wait, legal disputes between resettlement agencies and the US government continue in the courts without decisions.
Last week, the Ninth Circuit authorised the Trump administration to resettle only 160 refugees in third countries around the world. The agencies said nearly 12,000 were ready to arrive in the United States.
The situation has prompted the UNHCR and IOM to take action in other countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, where those approved for resettlement to the United States are being relocated to other options such as Canada, Spain, or New Zealand.
Newsday understands in TT, the UNHCR continues to process new resettlement cases for Canada and Australia.
José said: “We don't understand why the UNHCR is calling new people to resettle them in Canada or Australia and not call those of us who have been waiting eight months for the United States. The most worrying thing is they don't send us a single call or message to inform us.”
Both José and Martinez said they, along with other families in the process of resettlement to the United States, had been considering protesting at the UNHCR or the IOM if they did not receive responses to their queries or concerns soon.
In an e-mail response to several questions from Newsday, UNHCR TT said it was aware of the difficult situations the refugees were facing.
“UNHCR is aware that this suspension has significantly impacted refugees who were being resettled to the United States and those awaiting interviews or decisions.
"Refugee resettlement is a life-saving solution for those most at risk, including survivors of violence or torture, women and children at risk, and individuals with legal or physical protection needs.
"UNHCR values the United States' longstanding commitment to provide protection and solutions for refugees and remains ready to continue our work with the new administration to find solutions for refugees in need of safety.”
UNHCR urged the refugees to turn to foreign agencies to try to resolve their legal status in TT.
“UNHCR acknowledges the impact of this situation on refugees who are facing challenges with renewing their work permits or MRF cards and encourages them to contact its legal partner, the Caribbean Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), for assistance and guidance on maintaining their legal status in TT.”
UNHCR said it was advocating for additional resettlement places, but that opportunities were limited and entirely dependent on quotas offered by resettlement countries.
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