World Relief office in Kent faces challenging refugee crisis

Tucked up on the West Hill of Kent near Highline College, World Relief Western Washington executive director Medard Ngueita says the nonprofit faces huge challenges because of one of the many executive orders recently signed by President Donald Trump.

Ngueita oversees the Kent regional office for Baltimore, Maryland-based World Relief, one of 10 refugee resettlement agencies that contracts with the federal government to help people in need of critical resources (housing, food, work) to become integrated members of America.

On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order to suspend refugee resettlement. The order temporarily (for 90 days) suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program starting from Jan. 27, “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.”

According to the order, “the United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security, and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees.”

That order canceled the travel of 72 refugees cleared to land in February or March in Seattle as part of the World Relief Western Washington program.

“The most vetted people ever are refugees,” Ngueita said during an interview Feb. 3 at his Kent office.

Refugees go through intensive screening that can take months and even years by the U.S. government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ngueita said.

“Once cleared, they are brought over by the government for resettlement,” said Ngueita, who has been executive director for three years. “They fly in and we pick them up at the airport. We assign caseworkers to them for the first 90 days. We provide housing, food, help enroll children in schools, help adults with employment programs and to put together resumes so then can integrate into their new community.”

What happens when the 90-day suspension is up remains to be seen.

“There will be a review of the process and if it should be lifted or not,” Ngueita said. “As of now, we are not seeing new refugees coming through. Everything has stopped.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will conduct the review and recommend next steps to Trump.

World Relief picked up a number of refugees at Sea-Tac Airport prior to the Jan. 27 deadline. But others who had flights booked saw their trips canceled.

“We have many families whose travel was canceled,” Ngueita said.

World Relief Western Washington, a nonprofit, helps resettle refugees from many countries across its offices in Kent, Olympia and Bellingham. Most of the refugees coming through the Kent office are from the war-torn countries of Afghanistan and Ukraine, Ngueita said. In Bellingham, most are from Afghanistan, South America and Central America. In Olympia, the refugees are from all over the globe, including Central America, South America, Syria, Iraq and African countries.

World Relief is a global Christian organization that was founded after World War II and partners with local churches and communities to provide humanitarian needs to people most in need around the globe. World Relief Western Washington, previously known as World Relief Seattle, opened in 1979, helping to resettle many refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand who were coming here after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975.

“Our mission is to engage in the world’s greatest crisis in partnership with the church,” Ngueita said. “We’ve been here 46 years working with churches to welcome refugees and immigrants. Our mission is to see every refugee and immigrant welcomed by the community and empowered by the community.”

Refugees are fleeing countries because of persecution for religious or political reasons. The U.S. limits how many refugees can enter the country each year. President Joe Biden had set limits of 125,000 per year for each of the past three years.

Loss of federal funds

In addition to suspension of the refugee resettlement program, the U.S. Department of State on Jan. 24 suspended funding to organizations that provide recently arrived refugees with assistance on housing, job placement and other needs during their first 90 days in America.

With World Relief Western Washington losing that funding from the U.S. Department of State, it has pleaded for more donations to fill the gap. Many refugees arrived less than 90 days ago and still need help to pay for housing, food and transportation.

“That’s where the community comes in and we are lucky to be in partnership with local churches and the community,” Ngueita said about the public/private partnership of World Relief.

“We are in a difficult place and space as we walk alongside these families,” he said.

Since Oct. 1, 2024, World Relief Western Washington has welcomed 523 people and 471 are still in their first 90 days after arriving.

“We rely on the community so they have clothing for the cold weather, case management and provide some basic services,” Ngueita said. “We count on the community to step up and help integrate families to make them feel welcome.”

After refugees are picked up the airport, World Relief helps find housing for them. Some stay at host homes with members from partner churches. The nonprofit also uses hotels as it tries to find permanent housing, which requires documentation and applications.

They have not had to live on the streets.

“So far, nobody has been kicked out,” Ngueita said. “But some are still in host homes or apartments. We are really stretching to do it.”

The challenges, really, have only just begun.

“Our first few weeks have been very difficult and I think it will continue to be difficult until we see changes,” Ngueita said. “Families need basic support and we have to figure this out. It’s a credit to the community in Western Washington for stepping up, the church leaders have responded positively. There’s still a lot of work to do. We are in a space where there’s an urgent need for people to give generously.”

World Relief won’t back down.

“We refuse to stand on the sideline and see people unsheltered or unclothed or go hungry,” Ngueita said. “We need the community to stand up more than they have before.”

The resettlement of refugees in the United States might be suspended, but the problem isn’t going away.

“It is a huge challenge at hand and given that our world is going from bad to worse with all the wars and persecutions, we are dealing with an unprecedented crisis when it comes to displacement,” Ngueita said. “We need to come around the table and talk about this. …refugees are the most vetted people coming into our community. We should be welcoming them.”

Donations

To donate to World Relief Western Washington, go to worldrelief.org/western-wa.