/ Modified mar 6, 2020 3:31 p.m.

Tucson nonprofit finds itself on sidelines amid ongoing crisis in Syria

The Tucson Refugee Ministry says Trump administration policies have drastically cut down on the number of Syrian refugees it can resettle.

Ongoing war in Syria has led to a humanitarian crisis that has displaced millions of Syrians. From 2015-2017, several hundred refugees were resettled in Arizona, according to a refugee arrivals report from the Arizona Department of Economic Security. In recent years, those numbers have fallen drastically. Previously, nongovernmental organizations like the Tucson Refugee Ministry helped Syrian refugees resettle. However, Trump administration policies restricting their entry into the United States have negated those efforts. Arizona 360 learned more from the nonprofit’s executive director Jennifer Tompkins.

“Currently, there are no Syrian refugees that are being relocated into Tucson because we have a ban act on Syria,” Tompkins said. “We do have quite a few Syrian refugees here and they will not be reunited with their family members.”

Tompkins encouraged people to contact their local, state and federal lawmakers and ask that they advocate for the continued resettlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S.

Arizona 360
Arizona 360 airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on PBS 6 and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on PBS 6 PLUS. See more from Arizona 360.
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