Despite a federal freeze, a Salem nonprofit helps refugees from across the globe find a foothold—and belonging
written by James Sinks | illustration by Cate Andrews
With signs, smiles and new coats, a festive celebration at Portland International Airport greeted a new Oregon family from far away. That day, a family of four escaping risk in Myanmar walked off a plane and was met by a throng from the nonprofit Salem for Refugees with coats for the cold Oregon winter.
Little did anyone suspect, but the January 17 welcoming event—coming on the eve of the inauguration of President Donald Trump—might have been the nonprofit’s last.
For a decade, Salem for Refugees has been helping people with legal federal refugee status to get settled, find housing and navigate the path to self-sufficiency in the mid-Willamette Valley. The nonprofit—which also runs Corvallis for Refugees—is one of six official refugee resettlement organizations in the state.
In that time span, the Salem charity has helped more than 2,000 people comprising 400 families, coming from conflict-torn places like Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria and Ethiopia. Statewide, about 11,000 refugees have been resettled and live here, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services.
To be eligible for federal refugee status, you must apply and must be fleeing a country due to persecution, violence or war.
Resettling means much more than just arranging a place to stay, said Salem for Refugees executive director Luke Glaze, who grew up in nearby Keizer before embarking on a humanitarian career that took him to the Middle East and then back.
“If you were picked up today and dropped off in a country where you do not know anybody or speak the language, what would you need?” he said.
The nonprofit’s staff of twenty-five helps new arrivals to land jobs, arrange transportation and get kids enrolled in schools and connected with child care. And, importantly, they help families develop ties to people in their new community.
One employee focuses exclusively on Salem’s Ukrainian refugee community, which numbers more than 400 people, Glaze said.
Funding previously came from the U.S. State Department, the State of Oregon and philanthropy from local churches and donors, such as during annual fundraising “Thrive” banquets scheduled in Corvallis and Salem each November.
But the federal funding—which is primarily dedicated to helping new arrivals in their first ninety days—is drying up in the wake of Trump administration decisions to ban travel from certain countries and to largely stop the approval of refugees.
The upshot: about a $1 million hit in funding thus far for a community organization that reported a $4.6 million budget in 2024.
“We downsized staffing by about 15 percent in April. Although funding seems stable for the coming fiscal year, the following years are more uncertain, as is the potential for any future refugee arrivals,” Glaze said.
Without new clients, the nonprofit is focused on continuing services it provides for refugees such as education counseling, housing services and job placement services—and also helping families build bonds and economic success stories.
Finding affordable housing will be easier thanks to a new affordable housing complex that opened this year in Northeast Salem, with several units dedicated to refugee families. However, a goal of Salem for Refugees is for families to not be concentrated in a single neighborhood and schools.
Refugees are more likely than American-born citizens to be entrepreneurs, according to the nonprofit American Immigration Council. Nationally in 2019, some 13 percent of refugees were entrepreneurs, compared to 11.7 percent of non-refugee immigrants and 9 percent of the U.S.-born population, it says.
In Salem and Corvallis, dozens of refugee families have launched businesses, such as delivery services and the popular Syrian Kitchen restaurant in downtown Salem’s Fork Forty food court.
A recently arrived family from Eritrea, who’d spent a decade in Israel, doesn’t speak English, but the father—a skilled landscaper—was able to land a job at a local athletic club. They’ve purchased a car, and even joined the local YMCA.
Also, critically, the family was able to obtain specialized medical care for two daughters who suffer from diabetes. “There is nothing in this life more important than them and their health,” said the father, identified as Tadese.
Until a decade ago, refugees in Oregon were settled almost exclusively in the metro area, but with costs rising, charities looked south. Salem for Refugees was created through the work of three local religious organizations, but the nonprofit is not tied to any particular faith.
“Salem-Corvallis for Refugees and Catholic Community Services of Lane County have both been instrumental in expanding refugee resettlement beyond the Portland area,” said Jake Sunderland, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human Services, which provides assistance to families outside of the initial work by the resettlement agencies.
The state’s program provides cash, medical, employment and acculturation services to refugees (and those eligible for refugee services) who are within sixty months of gaining their eligible immigration status, he said.
Federal funding cuts, however, will squeeze that capacity.
“Oregon is committed to welcoming refugees and helping them thrive in our communities,” Sunderland said. “We value the resilience and contributions of refugee families, and we will continue to work with our federal partners and local organizations to connect people with the resources and support they need.”
Glaze said the Salem and Keizer community has been generous and supportive of the resettlement efforts, regardless of individual political leanings. “Sometimes the rhetoric can seem bleak, but the actual experiences tend to be very supportive,” Glaze said.
At the same time, the political climate makes refugee families experience understandable uneasiness about how safe their status might be. “With ICE deportations taking place in our state, we now have legal populations being really afraid. The fear of being picked up in a raid creates incredible anxiety for our families.”
To learn more, visit www.salemforrefugees.org
