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Bay Area among leading initial stops for people fleeing persecution
Edith and her three children relax at their home in Morgan Hill on Tuesday. She immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 2009. DAI SUGANO — BAY AREA NEWS GROUP
The Mercury News
BY JOVI DAI
Facing persecution in their native country for their Christian faith, Edith and her familyfound asylum in the United States in 2009.
As refugees, they received support throughout the process from Jewish Family ServicesSilicon Valley, a nonprofit that helps people arriving in the country get on their feet. Born and raised in Iran, Edith, who was 21 when she arrived with her parents and brother, asked that her last name not be used due to her former refugee status.
“Iran is a Muslim country, and there’s a lot of persecution for those who are not Muslims,”she said.
Her family is among thousands of refugees who found a safe haven in the U.S., including many in the Bay Area. Among the states, California has ranked second in accepting the most resettled refugees since 2012, trailing only Texas. Within the state, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties ranked in the top 10 of destinations for arriving refugees.
Now, however, those fleeing violence and persecution, and the organizations that support them, say the future of refugee resettlement is uncertain. President Donald Trump paused refugee resettlement shortly after taking office and halted funding for resettlement efforts.
“The new administration has stopped all refugees from coming into the country. I don’t know if that will change, but there are zero right now,” said Susan Frazer, CEO of Jewish Family Services Silicon Valley.
The organization was also told to stop supporting some existing clients.
“Some of them had only been here for a few days, and for us, that felt like abandonment,”she said.
Annual refugee approvals had fallen under President Barack Obama, fell further during Trump’s first term, then surged under President Biden. In his Jan. 20 executive order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 90 days starting Jan. 27, Trump cited complaints of migrants — legally admitted and otherwise — overwhelming communities from major cities — such as New York, Chicago and Denver — to small towns like Springfield, Ohio.
“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,” Trump said in his order. Trump’s suspension order allows the U.S. Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to jointly allow the admission of refugees on a case-by-case basis until the program is resumed, but in a way that admits
“only those refugees who can fully and appropriately assimilate.” It gives state and local authorities a say in resettlement decisions.
The refugee stoppage stands to have ripple effects across the world. In 2024, about 142,000 refugees were approved for entry to the U.S., which skyrocketed from about 92,000 in 2023, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
From 2012 to 2024, Texas received the most refugees — about 63,000 total — followed by California, which received 55,000, and New York, which took in 39,000. The numbers have fluctuated over the years, with California receiving hundreds in some years and thousands in other years, according to the federal Refugee Processing Center.
Among refugee arrivals in California between 2012 and 2022, most were from Iraq (14,707),followed by Iran (9,925) and Afghanistan (6,779), according to the California Immigrant Data Portal and the federal refugee center. Biden in 2022 announced a program to allow 100,000 Ukrainian refugees to come to the U.S., but it’s status is unclear.
The institute estimates that about 3,700 refugees arrived in the nine-county Bay Area from 2012 to 2022. Santa Clara County received nearly 1,580 arrivals during that time, with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan ranking as the top three countries of origin.
At the city level, Oakland had the largest number of refugee arrivals during that time, with more than 1,400, followed by San Jose with more than 800, Los Gatos with more than 600, and Walnut Creek with more than 260.
“I would say that Santa Clara County is a welcoming community for any refugees, and that’s really important to them that they can come to a place that welcomes them,” Frazer said.
Edith came to the Bay Area in 2009 at the peak of refugee arrivals, and says living in theU.S. has allowed her to break free of previous limitations.
“We wouldn’t be able to grow our careers, take care of our financial situation or practice our religion freely in Iran,” she said. “We just feel safe in the United States.”
They settled in San Jose, found jobs and Edith and her husband eventually purchased a home in Morgan Hill. Edith, now 37, is married, has three children and works in management at a bank.
“Refugees who come into this country are very motivated and grateful that they’re here, so they work hard to be contributors to our community,” Frazer said. “They are huge contributors to our economy. If we stop bringing in refugees, we’re also impacting our economy.”
Tomas Jimenez, a professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Advancing Just Societies at Stanford University, said refugees in the U.S. like Edith are legally living here and not at risk of deportation. But Jimenez expects the Trump administration to keep resettlement rates low, which will affect groups whose job is to help refugees build a life here.
“They rely on the federal government for funding to resettle refugees, and the funding comes with the refugee individuals themselves,” he said. “So if they are not receiving cases from the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the State Department, they’re going to lose a lot of funding.”
The crackdown on refugee resettlement worries refugees like Edith.
“I would beg President Trump to reconsider their refugee program when it comes down to religious persecution,” she said. “The religious part is very, very difficult for a lot of people, and a lot of Christians are coming out of Iran. That’s the reason why they’re coming out.”
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