These immigrants in Modesto worked with U.S. military, now feel kicked to the curb by Trump
Families with small children were huddled in the back of Modesto’s Days Inn on a cold Thursday morning; they had been told they no longer could stay there after funding and support from relief organizations were cut off by a stop-work order issued Jan. 24 by the federal government.
Volunteers scrambled to find temporary housing for the 14 families, around 70 people, that were still left at the McHenry Avenue motel Thursday.
A stop order was given to relief organizations by the State Department. Some relief organizations have interpreted that to mean they can’t assist with food, clothing and shelter for refugees already here, including those with Special Immigrant Visas.
SIVs originally were issued to help resettle translators from Iraq and Afghanistan who had worked directly with the U.S. military.
One of the people outside of the Days Inn, who worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and did not want to provide his name for safety reasons, said, “They brought us here to be safe, but now everything has closed up on us.”
He emphasized he did not enter the United States illegally. “When they brought me here as a refugee, SIV, I had all my documents, I had a (driver’s) license, Social Security — and after everything, what has happened to me?”
He said it’s sad for him and the other families being forced to leave the motel. “Even the small children are crying, in these three days no one has even slept.”
Along with all other refugees in the resettlement process, people with SIVs no longer may enter the country after the Trump administration suspended the refugee admissions program Jan. 20 for a period of 90 days.
Bibi Hawa, who has been staying at the Days Inn in Modesto and has been in the country for two months said through a translator, “We don’t have any money to pay.”
World Relief has not responded to requests for an interview but did release a statement on Instagram on Jan 27. It reads in part, “We were notified by the U.S. Department of State that all federally funded activities providing initial resettlement support to nearly 4,000 refugees we’re serving in the U.S. must stop, effective immediately. As a result, we now face a critical gap in funding for the provision of basic needs — including food, shelter, clothing and transportation. Refugee families in our very own communities are at risk of hunger and homelessness.”
Attaullah Shirzad said he arrived in the United States 20 days ago from Afghanistan and on Jan. 27 was told his family had two to three days to leave. “They’re [relief organizations] saying they won’t pay us to go to a house,” he said.
Several faith-based organizations, including Crosspoint Community Church and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, put out pleas on social media for anyone to assist in housing families. There also have been meetings at churches in Turlock to try to coordinate a response.
Faisal Abu-Shamsieh, who works with the Oakland-based Support Life Foundation, said him and his boss Salah Elbakri immediately packed up and decided to go over to the hotel that morning. When they got there, people were packing up their things. By the time they left, most, if not all, of the families had a place to go, at least temporarily.
“No one is going to be homeless,” Abu-Shamsieh said.
Abdul Rahman was offered an opportunity to stay in an open room at a church in downtown Modesto with his family and another family, but he said his religion and culture would not allow him to stay there.
Even before the executive order and the stop-work order, organizations including the International Rescue Committee and World Relief were struggling to find affordable housing for newcomers in California because of the increase in need and high cost of living.
In the previous Trump administration, Afghanistan was not listed as one of the seven Muslim-majority countries affected by the so-called Muslim ban. No such exemption was created this time.
He said he was told by his World Relief case manager that as of Jan. 27, he would need to pay for the Days Inn himself or get out. He said he was told, “‘Go out from the hotel and find anything, go to the roadside, go anywhere.”
Nariman Khattak, a member of the Fremont-based Afghan Coalition and volunteer with the Support Life Foundation, said she was told two families who were kicked out of the Days Inn on Wednesday had their clothing thrown on the ground.
The Bee reached out to the Days Inn management, but has not received a response as of publication.
This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 4:21 PM.
