Wes Magruder is the Wilmington Office’s director. He’s asking the community to help the organization with people who have arrived within the last eight months. They typically resettle an average of 100 people yearly, 35% of which are children.
Refugees can wait up to a decade in a camp before their paperwork and vetting goes through the U.S. government. These people are fleeing political violence and persecution from a number of different countries.
What's needed, Magruder said, is for volunteers to transport clients to appointments, support them in navigating city agencies, and teach financial literacy.
Magruder added they also need people to help them practice speaking English, create resumes, and generally “befriend clients.”
To learn more about opportunities to help this community, CWSW is hosting an evening meeting on Thursday, February 13, at 6 p.m. at their office (Trinity Methodist Church, 1403 Market Street). CWSW office staff will provide basic volunteer training for the first hour, then at 7 p.m., they will assign volunteer tasks for the following week.
Volunteers will have to undergo a background check with the organization.
Magruder said he’s also planning a Zoom meeting with Wilmington area faith communities to help assist those with refugee status.
The national organization CWS recently filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, along with other resettlement organizations, for discontinuing the funds and program. Magruder said this might be an effort through the courts to have the administration pay for services already rendered. Much like others challenging the validity of Trump’s executive orders, the lawsuit claims that those orders do not override Congressional funding appropriations.
He added that he’s not optimistic that the administration will continue refugee services after the 90-day pause.
However, in early February, the administration did prioritize the resettlement of Afrikaners, who are typically white Dutch descendants living in South Africa.
Prior reporting
Federal orders cause chaos and concern for refugee services in the Cape Fear region
A closer look at immigrants and schools in NHC after the newcomer school debate
