Hello Neighbor Expands Refugee Resettlement Program in Pittsburgh, Amid Trump Administration Immigration Crackdown

The Refugee Resettlement Program was one of the most rigorously vetted legal pathways to immigration, says Sloane Davidson, founder of Hello Neighbor in Pennsylvania. 

La Prensa Publicado 3 de febrero de 2026 06:41 pm

With the tightening of federal policies under President Donald Trump’s administration, which presents a more challenging scenario in 2026, non-governmental organizations that support immigrants, as well as immigration lawyers, are joining forces and strategies to support the affected community.

The provision to thoroughly review and conduct a new interview for those who arrived between January 20, 2021, and February 20, 2025, under President Joe Biden’s administration, adds more unease for immigrants. 

This memorandum, signed on November 21, 2025, by the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Joseph Edlow, will apply to about 200,000 refugees.

In light of this situation, Hello Neighbor, a pro-immigrant organization in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will continue to focus on protecting immigrants.

Sloane Davidson, founder and executive director of the organization, said that Hello Neighbor is taking immediate and long-term action to protect the refugees and immigrant families who were legally welcomed through the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.

Immediate and long-term measures

“First, we are focused on stability and accurate information. When federal policy shifts quickly, fear and rumors spread faster than facts. We are communicating directly with impacted families to ensure they understand their rights, their current legal status, and what steps to take if they receive any notice from immigration authorities”, explained Davidson.

“Second, we are expanding our legal triage and support pathways. Refugees should not have to navigate complex new reviews or suspended processes alone. We are helping families gather documents, prepare for interviews, and access qualified legal representation when needed”, she said.

“Third, we are coordinating closely with state and national resettlement and legal partners to ensure that this is not just handled case-by-case, but addressed at a systems level through advocacy, oversight, and legal challenge where appropriate. Our mission is not simply to welcome families at the airport, it is to ensure they can move from arrival to   long-term belonging, even in an uncertain policy environment”, she emphasized.

Deporting refugees would be a devastating setback

Regarding whether thousands of refugee deportations are carried out and the hard work done by welcome agencies like Hello Neighbor would be undone, Davidson responded: “We want to be clear: deporting refugees who were legally admitted and thoroughly vetted would be a devastating reversal of the promise the United States made to those families. But Hello Neighbor will face this moment in two ways: protecting people and protecting the system. On the human level, we will do everything possible to ensure families are not isolated or defenseless, connecting them to legal counsel, helping them understand their rights, and ensuring they remain supported through housing, schools, healthcare, and community networks”.

She revealed that “On the systems level, we will work alongside national partners to resist policies that treat refugees as disposable or retroactively suspect. Resettlement is not a short-term act of charity, it is a legal humanitarian commitment. The reality is that local nonprofits cannot control federal enforcement but we can reduce harm, strengthen defense, document impacts, and stand with families who have already begun rebuilding their lives here”.

Serious legal and humanitarian concerns

Regarding the USCIS memo that suspended green card approvals for refugees and calls for a review even of those who have already obtained permanent residency, Davidson stated that this provision raises serious legal and humanitarian concerns, because it places refugees into prolonged uncertainty even after they followed every required legal pathway.

Hello Neighbor’s role is twofold, she said. “First, we will ensure refugees receive direct support and legal navigation: document preparation, interpretation, interview readiness, referrals to experienced immigration attorneys, and ongoing case management. Second, we will support broader legal remedies through national advocacy and litigation efforts. Many of these actions may be challengeable under the Administrative Procedure Act and due process protections, particularly if broad categories of refugees are subjected to blanket re-review without individualized cause”.

She indicated that Hello Neighbor is not approaching this as a political issue, it is a rule-of-law issue. Refugees were admitted legally, and it is unacceptable to destabilize families through sweeping retroactive scrutiny. Even as litigation and policy fights unfold, our commitment on the ground remains: families will not be left to face this alone.

When asked whether the underlying purpose of this provision is to dismantle the refugee system and reduce it to a minimum, prioritizing certain groups aligned with President Trump’s ideology, the founder of Hello Neighbor said: “We cannot claim to know intent beyond what policymakers say publicly, but we can look honestly at patterns and outcomes. What we are seeing is not targeted reform. It is a broader effort to make the refugee pathway smaller, slower, and more fragile”.

Davidson stated that when resettlement is treated as a threat instead of a humanitarian commitment, the result is predictable: fewer admissions, greater suspicion toward nonwhite and non-English-speaking populations, and increased deterrence for people fleeing war and persecution.

Refugee resettlement –she continued– has always been one of the most heavily vetted legal immigration pathways. Policies that retroactively question refugees after admission are not strengthening integrity, they are undermining trust in the entire system.

The work of Hello Neighbor

Hello Neighbor believes the United States can have both secure processes and moral leadership. Dismantling refuge does not make the country safer, it makes it smaller, Davidson highlighted.

Between January 2021 and February 2025, Hello Neighbor supported refugees and immigrant families from across the world, particularly from regions experiencing active conflict, displacement, and humanitarian crisis.

“Since our founding in 2017, we have welcomed neighbors from more than 65 countries of origin. But specifically hrough the Refugee Resettlement Program, Hello Neighbor resettled over 850 refugees between January 2022 and January 2025”, Davidson said.

These arrivals came primarily from: The Middle East and South Asia, including Afghan and Syrian refugees. Sub-Saharan Africa, including Congolese, Somali, Eritrean, and Sudanese families. Latin America and the Caribbean, including Venezuelan and Haitian humanitarian arrivals. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Ukrainians and others fleeing conflict.

These numbers represent not just arrivals, but lives rebuilt, children enrolled in school, parents employed, families stabilized, and communities strengthened.

Hello Neighbor’s work reflects the best of what refugee resettlement is meant to be: a lawful pathway to safety, dignity, and belonging.