I am troubled by the news story Reuters just published. A leaked memo from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says that the Trump administration has ordered a broad review of all refugees who entered under Biden. This order applies to over 230,000 refugees who entered the country between 2021 and 2025 and halts all processing of permanent residence applications for refugees who entered under the Biden administration. This kind of “re-adjudication” means that some or many refugees who came through the national resettlement program could potentially have their humanitarian legal status revoked. 

Refugees entering the United States are some of the most vetted groups in the world, undergoing years of thorough background checks, health screenings, etc., by thousands of apolitical civil servants. This is an unconscionable act that unnecessarily retraumatizes a persecuted population by making them endure a process they’ve already completed for what seems to be political purposes.  

In other news, after the government shutdown ended, the Trump administration posted its Presidential Determination (PD) for refugee admissions in The Federal Register. This year, the president set that number to a historically low 7,500. The cohort consists primarily of Afrikaners, white South African nationals who are leaving their country because of racially motivated discrimination and violence towards them, in addition to government land seizures.

I am not saying that they don’t deserve refugee status. However, I am concerned that the government is prioritizing this group and putting them ahead of the line over others who “did it the right way” and waded through the laborious, time-consuming process to come to our country and who are still awaiting admittance.

Between this Afrikaner prioritization and the current travel ban of people from mainly African and West Asian countries, there are over 100,000 Burmese, Congolese, Iraqi, Syrian, and refugees from many other countries, waiting indefinitely overseas, many of whom remain separated from family members who are here in the United States.   

I am not one to jump to conclusions, but this is disturbing in the context of all of the other concerning government activities against foreign-born people over the last 10 months, regardless of their legal status or criminal record. Our representative in Congress, Tim Kennedy, recently spoke to this point at a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security.  

If these concerns matter to you, please contact your political representatives to share your thoughts.

Jennifer Rizzo-Choi, 
Executive Director

Counterbalance consumerism with generosity by donating to your favorite causes. Giving Tuesday happens the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and it is your chance to help with a cash donation if you find us worthy.

‘Tis the season for a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in holiday cheer while shopping for artisanal products and handmade crafts with an international flair!  Click here for more details!

Model United Nations is a life-changing experience for many of the high school students who participate. For decades, this has been one of our marquee programs, so we have expanded its presence on our website. Please take a look and pass it along to any high school students, teachers, or Model UN alums you know.

Incidentally, we are gearing up for Model UN 2026 on Tuesday, March 17! This year’s conference will feature two new committees, bringing the total to nine, to accommodate the increasing number of students and schools participating!

Please get in touch with [email protected] for more information or take a look at its new place on our website.

For the foreseeable future, Western New York will be in “winter weather mode.” We have preparedness information in 13 languages that will help us all get through the potentially hazardous winter season more safely.

Please take a look and share with anyone who might need it. We encourage you to post this information everywhere, including at your work, school, library, and places of worship.

For a fourth year, our team members and volunteers joined Parkside Lutheran Church in Buffalo to provide the first Thanksgiving meal for 65 refugees. They were originally from Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Syria, and Ukraine.

The meal featured traditional American Thanksgiving foods, including turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, corn, and rolls with butter. Dessert included apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies.

In a departure from previous years, a symbolic set table will remain empty as a poignant reminder of the refugees and other immigrants who have been shut out, summarily detained, or removed, despite legal authorization to be in the country.

Click here for more details.

Reviewing non-partisan data to educate yourself on the issues is the best way to get a clear understanding of refugee resettlement and the value of having foreign-born people live in America.

One step might be going to our Know the Value or Dispelling the Myths pages on our website. Another resource for vital data is The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) -- a data-gathering, research, and distribution organization founded in 1989 at Syracuse University.

We could not make Western New York a better place for, and because of, immigrants and refugees without the help of fabulous people. We honor some of them monthly. Here is who we recently featured.

Executive Director Jennifer Rizzo-Choi was on local media explaining the repercussions if the Trump administration moves forward with the re-examination of already-vetted refugees who came in under the Biden administration and are already living in our country legally. 

Also, our 4th Annual Refugee Thanksgiving dinner at Parkside Lutheran Church made it to the airwaves. 

Nicole Adams of Harris Hill Elementary (pictured left with fellow teacher, Jake Huber) recently dropped off 40 fleece blankets handmade by her class of 5th-grade students! As we enter another cold Buffalo winter, these blankets will bring additional comfort to our youngest New Americans.

We also received a truckload of winter coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots from Colvin Cleaners! Colvin Cleaners has been a tremendously valued partner of the Institute for years – consistently keeping refugee families warm in a climate that is likely entirely new for them.

Please get in touch with us if you would like to donate something. 

As you read above, our volunteers were instrumental in making a success of our Refugee Thanksgiving Dinner with Parkside Lutheran Church. They cooked, cleaned, engaged with the adults, and minded the kids with crafts at the play area. 

We are always looking for volunteers in various capacities, so if you are interested in volunteering at IIB, please let us know.

Ten clients successfully graduated from the most recent round of Job Club, which helps foreign-born job seekers on their career journeys by preparing them to work in the American workforce.

Additionally, our Professional Pathways Team participated in Upwardly Global’s Employer Connect Pilot, a national initiative connecting skilled immigrants and refugees with top U.S. employers. This program provides job seekers with direct visibility to recruiters from companies such as Pfizer, AbbVie, Wells Fargo, and leading organizations in healthcare, IT, finance, and manufacturing.

Through this partnership, participants can access weekly job digests, be automatically matched with open positions, and connect with employers actively recruiting diverse talent. Eligible job seekers must have U.S. work authorization, business-level English, a strong resume, and be interview-ready. Coaches and job developers will guide candidates through the referral process.

This collaboration connects skilled newcomers with meaningful career opportunities and promotes inclusion in the American workforce.

We are planning a job fair in collaboration with the New York Department of Labor in January 2026. We will share more details about this event soon.

Get more information if you are a foreign-born job seeker or know someone who is, we are happy to assist and are currently welcoming walk-in clients.

Our case managers have been hard at work preparing families for the winter season and helping them navigate challenges during the government shutdown. Many of the households we serve rely on programs such as SNAP and HEAP, and our team has been supporting clients by connecting them to available resources, reviewing budgets, and helping set realistic expectations during this challenging period.

As temperatures drop, many of our clients — who often live in older, drafty Buffalo homes — are worried about rising utility costs and staying warm. We are always grateful for donations of weather-proofing items, such as winter window kits, door sweeps, and warm blankets, which make a significant difference for families during the coldest months. Please contact our donations team to help out.

Learn more about how our New American Integration team helps support our newest neighbors.

Earlier this month, Buffalo Public Schools Adult Learning Center welcomed us to provide an information session for adult English language learners on the importance of oral health — many thanks to the Ellis Foundation for their support.

We facilitated the Alzheimer’s Association Refugee Health Promotion session for IIB’s Job Club participants on supporting brain health in our community. These sessions provide resources to local refugees and immigrants to navigate the American health system and to encourage everyday wellness.

Also, we are expanding our network of local home hosts and professional resources to improve our welcoming of international leader groups. If you or someone you know is interested in connecting professionally and/or personally with future visiting professionals, please get in touch with [email protected].

Recently, the Interpreting & Translation team received 1,166 requests for interpreting services in 48 languages and completed 89 separate translation projects. The most requested languages were Arabic, Bengali, Burmese, Dari, Pashto, Rohingya, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili. 

We had two large translation projects of note. One was for informational packets and brochures for a regional utility company, translating them into Arabic, Bengali, French, Spanish, and Swahili. We also worked on translating a student guide and a recruiting brochure into Spanish for a public research university in Connecticut.

We continue to support Buffalo Sewer Authority’s “Queen City Clean Waters Initiative” with translation and interpretation services and provide ongoing translation for Albany’s “Downtown Revitalization Initiative.”

Are you multilingual and interested in joining our team of linguists? Right now, we are looking for interpreters of Afar, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Tigrinya, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. We are also looking for a Pashto translator. Click to apply.

Our next training is for legal linguists on Saturday, December 6, if you want to learn legal interpreting for our courts. Here is the link to Introduction to Court Interpretation.

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