Dozens of Cubans and Haitians living in Bowling Green could be at risk of deportation following a new order from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The International Center of Kentucky based in Bowling Green has offered new information about the impact the federal order from the Trump administration could have on the local community.
At least 49 Cubans and ten Haitians in Bowling Green could have their legal parolee status revoked later this month under the policy. The move would impact over 500,000 natives of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela living in the U.S. through a humanitarian parole program put in place by the Biden administration.
According to the federal government, work permits and deportation protections will be terminated on April 24. The federal government has urged migrants to self-deport if their legal protections are revoked or risk becoming undocumented and being removed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Becky Jordan, Kentucky State Refugee Coordinator, said Kentucky's economy could be impacted by the potential deportations.
"One of the things they talked about with the Cubans that had that status that they're revoking is that they have homes, they've bought cars, they've started businesses and now what are they going to do," Jordan said.
Several Bowling Green businesses that employ Cubans and Haitians could lose staff if the legal status of their employees are revoked. Those businesses include Tyson Foods, Trace Die Cast, Nova Steel, Bowling Green KY Caregivers, and Cheetah Clean.
The order by the Trump administration is being challenged in federal court by dozens of migrants seeking to reinstate the program.
Second round of staff layoffs at International Center?
Director of the International Center, Albert Mbanfu, offered an update on the future of the Center following a funding freeze by the federal government. Last month, the Bowling Green-based agency was forced to lay 15% of staff due to an executive order by the Trump administration to pause funding for resettlement organizations.
According to Mbanfu, the International Center submits invoices at the end of every month to the federal government for expenses related to ongoing operations at the Center, such as rental assistance for newly arriving refugees, payments to staff and maintenance of the facilities and vehicles. Those invoices are going unpaid through the U.S. Department of State following a federal order that stopped refugee resettlement efforts abroad and halted funding to resettlement agencies, nonprofits and faith-based organizations.
"We've laid off some staff because of finance issues. The federal government is still owing us a lot of money that they've not paid," Mbanfu said. "We have to foot the bill upfront, we've spent quite a lot of money providing services to clients and we've submitted invoices but they've not paid."
A federal court in Washington has ruled the Department of State's policies to terminate its agreements with refugee-serving agencies to be unlawful.
Mbanfu said the center will continue to operate to the best of their ability with the resources they have been provided. However, he didn't rule out the possibility of a second round of staffing cuts.
"We are in a position where we are taking in one day at a time," Mbanfu said. "We cannot say that we definitely will not do a second round of layoffs which is something I really hate to do."
