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Refugees in Maryland Navigate an Uncertain Time

A Syrian family that has been resettled in the Baltimore area
Farrah Arnold/Courtesy the International Rescue Committee
A Syrian family that has been resettled in the Baltimore area

A Syrian family that has been resettled in the Baltimore area
Credit Farrah Arnold/Courtesy the International Rescue Committee
A Syrian family that has been resettled in the Baltimore area

The last week and a half has been a rollercoaster for refugees, and the organizations that work with them. First there was President Trump’s executive order on immigration. It immediately suspended entry into the U.S. of people from seven countries, all majority Muslim, for 90 days. The ban also suspended entry of all new refugees for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely. Then, last Friday, a federal District Court judge in Seattle issued a temporary restraining order blocking key elements of the order. Some refugees and other immigrants resumed traveling. The Trump Administration appealed. The federal court of appeals for the western U.S. is set to hear arguments this afternoon

How are organizations that resettle refugees coping with the uncertainty? What are the implications for refugees if the immigration order is upheld? Ruben Chandrasekar, executive director of the Baltimore and Silver Spring offices of the International Rescue Committee, joins us. 

Copyright 2017 WYPR - 88.1 FM

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am. Originally, she hostedWYPR's Dupont-Columbia University award-winning Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast from 2006 - October2015. She began her career at The Washington Star, where she covered the Maryland and Virginia legislatures, utilities, energy and taxes, as well as financial and banking regulation. She learned the craft of broadcasting at ABC News; as a Washington correspondent for fifteen years, she covered the White House, Congress, and the 1991 Moscow coup that signaled the end of the Soviet empire. Sheilahhas been a substitute host on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday and The DianeRehmShow. She has launched and hosted two weekly interview shows on public TV, one about business and one about challenges facing older people.
Andrea Appleton is a producer for Midday. She comes to WYPR with years of experience as a freelance journalist filing stories for newspapers, magazines, and public radio. She has reported on topics ranging from bull riding to bionic fish, with an emphasis on science. She is also former senior editor of the Baltimore City Paper, and a graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism.