Announcement
Last month, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Utah's Immigration Legal Services (ILS) team held our first-ever Immigration Breakfast Connection, bringing together members of the local legal community to increase awareness of the federal immigration policies impacting refugees. The ILS team also explained the low-cost legal services offered by the IRC in Utah to refugees and other eligible immigrants, who often need assistance navigating the fraught and difficult immigration process into the United States.
Anna Springer, manager of the immigration program at the IRC in Utah, hosted a Q&A at the breakfast about the recent changes in immigration law.
“The past few years have felt like blow after blow against our refugee clients,” she said. “It has been very difficult not to feel hopeless.”
Anna hoped the Immigration Breakfast Connection would provide opportunities for local law firms to join the IRC’s referral network, supporting clients whose cases may be outside the ILS team’s scope of work. She and her team have been working tirelessly to recruit government agencies, elected representatives, community organizers, and activists to push for systemic solutions.
The list of anti-refugee is long and broad-ranging since January 2025 and included a complete cessation of refugee resettlement that continues to leave thousands of families separated from loved ones around the globe. At appointment after appointment, Anna and her team hear of families worried they may never see their family members again.
Many families have also struggled to keep their jobs because of new policies surrounding Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). In years before, a working adult’s EAD would remain valid for up to five years before a required renewal. Now, EADs remain valid for just 18 months, but the processing time for renewal has increased to 20 months, posing significant risk of employment terminations. On top of that, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has currently paused green card approvals for refugees indefinitely, ultimately leaving refugee families with very few options to maintain their own stability.
“I have worked at the IRC for more than 14 years—I thought I knew the extent of policy changes that would impact our refugee clients. I was wrong. It is so much worse now,” Anna explained. “Essentially, even if a refugee does everything they are supposed to do—applies for their green card, follows the process, and works hard—success in this system is seemingly impossible.”
Anna’s team also organizes Know Your Rights sessions with clients, offering Continuing Legal Education courses for attorneys to learn more about refugee legal pathways, and mediating with clients’ employers to help them keep their jobs while they wait for EADs. Despite the difficulties, there have been success stories.
The ILS team worked with Win (name changed to preserve confidentiality), a refugee from Burma, who made an appointment for a green card. Upon review, the team learned that Win’s work authorization had expired resulting in his employer letting him go. As the primary provider for his family, Win’s situation was not sustainable. The team assisted with the employment authorization renewal while also offering information to help Win prove he was still legally allowed to work as a refugee. Win got his job back and has since received a new employment card after a lengthy wait.
Despite all of the challenges, Anna Springer remains hopeful: "Our clients give me hope. They are normal people who want the same things each of us want: our children to be safe and happy, to be able to work and support our families, to be at peace and have hope for our future."
Photo: James Roh
“What gives me hope is seeing how hard my staff work on behalf of our clients, how much they care, and how much they give to help our clients,” Anna writes. She is also grateful for the elected officials, organizations, and community members who have stepped up to support refugees. “I truly believe the majority of Utahns are supportive of refugees and are concerned about what is happening to them,” Anna notes.
“Our clients also give me hope. They are normal people who want the same things each of us want: our children to be safe and happy, to be able to work and support our families, to be at peace and have hope for our future,” explains Anna. “They arrive in the U.S. and must start over completely. But they are so resilient. Our clients inspire me to be resilient through these tough times.”
Your support makes a difference
The ILS team at IRC in Utah could not continue their crucial work without support from the Utah Bar Foundation, the George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The ILS program is primarily supported through private funding—you can make a contribution to support this program’s efforts by contacting Jesse Sheets, development director, at SaltLakeCity@Rescue.org.
If you are a local attorney who wants to join this effort & learn more about getting involved, reach our team at VolunteerSLC@Rescue.org to start the conversation.
