Refugee Family Denied Entry After 2-Year Vetting Process

A woman’s post about the refugee family she was sponsoring being banned from the country goes viral

It can be easy sometimes to forget that political actions have very human consequences. President Trump’s executive order banning refugees from entering the country has brought many of those stories front and center.

This family’s heartbreaking situation is one of them.

On Friday night, Jennifer Koltsano shared a post on Facebook about the fact that the refugee family she was sponsoring would not be arriving after all, thanks to the newly enacted order banning refugees from entering the country.

The family was scheduled to arrive on Monday, but that will no longer be happening, thanks to Friday’s action.

Koltsano writes, “Today Trump said he signed this action to keep out terrorists and to keep our country and our military safe. He has chosen to do that by barring an accountant, a literature major, and toddler from being reunited with their brothers, sister, parents and grandparents after a 2-year vetting process because of their country of origin and their religion.”

She goes on to state her distaste with the timing of the order.

“And he has chosen to do that on a symbolic day on which we remember millions who died because of their religion. Today will be remembered as one of the great moral failings of our nation just as our refusal to take in Jewish refugees during the holocaust.”

She minces no words as she shares her feelings on the refugee ban, and reiterates its potentially deadly consequences.

“This order is fundamentally immoral and un-American and I am deeply ashamed of our government. And so so very sad for a young family fleeing war that we had just begun to know.”

The story Koltsano tells is one shared by countless families across the country in the wake of President Trump’s enactment of the “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States” executive order. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were barred entry into the country and separated from friends and family, merely because of their nationality and religion.

People like Jennifer Koltsano are speaking out, along with corporations, and the few politicians out there that have a spine (shockingly enough, there’s hardly a Republican among them!), not only to bring attention to this crisis, but also to provide much-needed resources.

After the post went viral, Koltsano added some information.

“***Since this post unexpectedly went viral, I would like to add that our group was working through Refugee One’s co-sponsorship program. Refugee One is one of Chicago’s great refugee resettlement programs. Per their home page, In the next 3 weeks, 15 families including 14 children, were scheduled to arrive at O’Hare. You can learn more about Refugee One, and what co-sponsorship entails here: www.refugeeone.org***”

As our leaders attempt to undo centuries of American ideals, it’s important for people like Jennifer to continue to speak out. And judging by the fact that 25,000 people have shared her story, she’s far from alone.