Daily political changes continue to make front page news. It can be a lot for anyone.
For me, it’s a time to take a moment, step back and ground myself in the values that have guided my life and career for almost 50 years: Repairing the World and Welcoming the Stranger.
These core concepts are rooted in my Jewish beliefs, but they are also universal values held by many.
Immigration is a controversial topic these days, but let’s break it down to the human level. Specifically, I’d like to talk about refugees, who are the most vetted group of displaced people allowed into the U.S. with a clear legal pathway to citizenship.
Refugees, half of whom are children, have been forced to flee their home country because of persecution, war or violence. Their lives are at risk, and they have nowhere else to turn.
In Afghanistan, tens of thousands of refugees risked their lives to work for the U.S. military. Ahmad was among them.
Ahmad, his wife Khadija, and their four children (ages 11, seven, four and three months) fled, were approved to become refugees by the U.S. Department of State and were welcomed to San Diego on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. One day later, the federal administration’s executive order cut off the funding to provide Ahmad and his family resettlement assistance — that they’d previously qualified for — to help them acclimate to America and set them up for success in San Diego.
Refugees often arrive with very little money, except for a one-time payment of $1,650 per person from the Department of State when they first arrive to help offset their expenses during their first 90 days. These funds are used for food and rent while families register for school, take English-as-a-Second Language classes and look for work.
The organization I run, Jewish Family Service of San Diego, is designated by the U.S. Department of State as one of four official refugee resettlement agencies in the county to provide refugees of all faiths and backgrounds with the support they need to become self-reliant. We welcomed Ahmad and his family to our community.
However, now, we don’t know if federal funds will be sent to Ahmad’s family or if JFS will receive federal funding to provide the family resettlement services during their first 90 days. They may be safe in the U.S., but their lives remain in limbo. This is also the case for 21 more recently arrived families that we welcomed on behalf of the federal government.
Other refugees who JFS was scheduled to receive in the coming months have now been notified that their long-awaited refugee status in the U.S. has been revoked. In addition to leaving families and individuals in life-threatening situations, this abrupt halt to the long-standing U.S. refugee program is also separating families, like Nasrin’s.
Nasrin is a 37-year-old Afghan woman with a business degree who was approved to travel to the U.S. as a refugee in November 2024. Her sickly father and two brothers, one of whom has Down’s Syndrome and developmental delays and depended on Nasrin for everyday care, were scheduled to arrive in February 2025.
We had to tell Nasrin that her family’s travel was cancelled. She is devastated not knowing when, if ever, they will be able to reunite.
These are real people with hopes, dreams and very real fears.
I am reminded that the U.S. refugee program was established by Congress in 1948 because of the atrocities of the Holocaust and the knowledge that everyone deserved a place to live in safety and dignity. Even farther back, in 1918, JFS was founded to help Jewish immigrants who sought refuge in the U.S. after World War I. “Welcoming the Stranger” is core to who we are as an organization.
It is also core to who we are as San Diegans and Californians. San Diego has and always will be a binational region that thrives because of our cross-border collaboration. In California, more than one in four residents were born in another country.
At JFS, we have seen firsthand how refugees strengthen our social fabric and make San Diego — and our country — more prosperous and resilient. This is who we are. Refugees are our neighbors, friends, co-workers, essential service providers and so much more.
Our values are unwavering. We know that assisting families like Ahmad’s and the 21 others in our care is the right thing to do. JFS will continue to meet the moment in partnership with the community.
Throughout 107 years, JFS has remained committed to responding to emergent and urgent community needs through wars, pandemics, economic crashes, government shutdowns, wildfires and more.
There have been many horrors in our past, but we can take action now toward a future that focuses on providing safety and dignity, as our country has done for hundreds of years.
We can repair the world if we work together.
Michael Hopkins is chief executive officer of Jewish Family Service on San Diego.
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