For Aroza Hussaini, the biggest culture shock when she moved to Austin wasn’t how big the supermarkets are or even the language. It was how free everyone seemed.
Hussaini grew up in Afghanistan, where there are barriers to girls receiving an education beyond primary school. As a young teenager, she went to school anyway.
“I was so excited to go to school every day,” she said. “We didn’t have a lot of supplies for school, like computers or something. We had just a paper and pencil to write [with] every day.”
But in 2021, when U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban regained control, going to school became life threatening, and Hussaini’s family fled to the U.S.
Like thousands of refugees, they relied on nonprofit services to resettle in Austin. Hussaini took English classes and got help enrolling in school; now she’s on track to graduate high school this spring.
A policy letter released last month by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, however, has put the future of local refugee services in limbo.
The letter states nonprofits that provide refugee services will no longer receive federal funding come Oct. 1. In Texas, nonprofits have been handling these services since 2016, when the state withdrew from the nation’s resettlement program. These organizations help refugees pay for rent and groceries, land jobs, sign up for medical benefits and enroll in school.
The end of federal funding could mean many services virtually disappear in Austin. After a seven-week pause on federal funds in February and early March, some already have.
Catholic Charities of Central Texas, which provided resettlement services to about 700 refugees last year, indefinitely suspended its refugee program and laid off 30 employees last month.
Global Impact Initiative, which served about 800 refugees last year, was forced to shut down its program and furlough staff in early February. Executive Director Anjum Malik said the decision was “extremely painful.”
“You don’t want to leave your staff hanging on a string,” she said. “You have to be cognizant of them, and so I was actively helping them look for other jobs, assisting them, writing them letters of recommendation, calling places to see who could employ them.”
Malik said GII started offering services again once federal funding resumed in late March, but she's unsure if its refugee program will be able to continue in the fall.
Interfaith Action of Central Texas, which helped Hussaini find her place in Austin — and her freedom — was able to stay open thanks to private donations.
“I mean it’s terrible for us. The uncertainty is awful to work with," Chad Pevateaux, director of the refugee program at iACT, said. "But it’s even worse for the refugees themselves.”
“It’s important to know refugees are not here seeking a better life; they are here for their lives. They’ve fled persecution. They’ve fled violence.” Chad Pevateaux, Interfaith Action of Central Texas
During that seven-week funding freeze, about 15,000 refugees legally resettled in Texas stopped receiving cash assistance, he said.
“We were on the brink of people being homeless, people being hungry,” he said. “It’s important to know refugees are not here seeking a better life; they are here for their lives. They’ve fled persecution. They’ve fled violence.”
Pevateaux said he didn’t even know a funding freeze like this could happen; the U.S. has been funding refugee services since the end of World War II.
Tahaguas Abraha escaped war in Eritrea and spent seven years in a refugee camp before coming to Austin in 2019. When she arrived, she had no family with her and knew no English.
“A lot of people don’t know what refugees went through,” she said. “People … living in refugee camps, they can’t see any bright future for themselves. Because they are in a camp that is closed without any job opportunities, any growing opportunities. What keeps them [moving] is the hope that they are going to be resettled to other countries, such as the United States.”
She said iACT helped her become nearly fluent and enroll in school — she’s now a junior nursing student at UT.
As a mentor with iACT, Abraha helps newcomers resettle in Austin, something she worries she won't be able to continue doing if the program shuts down.
Pevateaux said he's committed to serving refugees in Austin even after the nonprofit loses federal funding — whether it stays open through private donations or another funding source. Closing down wouldn't just hurt refugees, he said, it would hurt Austin, too.
“Refugees are just the most resilient people you would ever meet,” he said. “These are people who make Austin better. And I think we owe them.”
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