With 3 words, Supreme Court opens a world of uncertainty for refugees

Fouad Dagoum fled Sudan after his village was ransacked by militia members who captured, detained and tortured him until his body was limp.

Eventually, he escaped to Egypt, where he was parked for more than a decade until getting a green light to resettle in the United States with his wife, Azhar Ahmed, and daughter, Lames.

Two years ago, the family arrived in New Haven, Connecticut, where they knew no one. A refugee resettlement agency found them an apartment, signed them up for benefits, got them Social Security numbers and enrolled the daughter in school.

"It was hard," recalled Ahmed, 32. "When we arrive, we don't know anyone. We don't have friends. We don't speak English. But we are safe, and we got help."

About four out of 10 refugees who come to the United States have no family ties in the country, according to independent estimates. In some cities known for taking in refugees — like Boise, Idaho; New Haven; and Fayetteville, Arkansas — those with no family ties are a majority.

On Monday, the Supreme Court threw into question whether such refugees, who are among the most vulnerable people seeking a haven after fleeing persecution or conflict, will be approved for resettlement in the United States.

[Supreme Court revives parts of Trump travel ban, agrees to hear full arguments]

In agreeing to hear two cases on President Donald Trump's travel ban, the court introduced a new phrase to the fraught discussion of refugees and Muslim immigrants: "bona fide relationship."

Those who can show a "bona fide relationship" with a "person or entity" in the United States will not be affected by Trump's 120-day halt to refugee admissions or his 90-day ban on travel from six majority-Muslim countries, according to the court's order. Those refugees or travelers must be admitted, at least for now.

However, those who have no family, business or other ties can be prohibited, the court said.

The justices gave some examples of a bona fide relationship: visiting relatives in the United States, attending a university or taking a job offer.

On a conference call Monday, lawyers who have fought the Trump administration argued that other refugees and travelers should also be allowed in because, like Dagoum, they often have ties to a nonprofit organization that has been helping them even before they land in the United States.

"Anyone who has an existing relationship with a nonprofit, frankly tens of thousands of refugees," should be seen as having bona fide ties, said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project.

Representatives of some resettlement agencies said they were awaiting guidance from the State Department. Although the department did not say Monday how it would interpret the ruling, it is conceivable that it will take a relatively narrow view of the phrase and argue that anyone without a family, university or employment tie can be barred.

That could lead to another round of lawsuits from opponents of the ban, the very situation that Justice Clarence Thomas warned of in a partial dissent in which he called the standard "unworkable."

"The compromise also will invite a flood of litigation until this case is finally resolved on the merits, as parties and courts struggle to determine what exactly constitutes a 'bona fide relationship,'" Thomas wrote. He argued that all refugees and travelers from the six countries should be temporarily barred.

Trump has said he issued the ban to give his administration time to review its vetting procedures, but opponents argue that the order unconstitutionally discriminates against Muslims. On Monday, Trump hailed the court's decision, and his administration said it would begin putting it into effect on Thursday.

"At the very least, there will be delays in refugees' coming to the United States until we get clarifications from the State Department or the federal court," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell University.

Clarity on that issue is crucial for the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which resettled about 13,300 refugees last year.

For example, its affiliate in Fayetteville relies on 13 local congregations whose members have been preparing for the new arrivals.

"They have been waiting for families for months," said Emily Crane Linn, resettlement director at the affiliate, Canopy Northwest Arkansas. "They have garages filled with furnishings for their apartments."

The first wave of refugees from any particular country rarely have family ties. Thus, a majority of those arriving from Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, two of the most common nationalities of refugees in recent years, are so-called free cases.

As the number of refugees from a country grows, they become sponsors of relatives applying to join them. Until then, the families require intense case management from resettlement agency staff, to show them where to buy groceries, how to ride the bus and how to perform other mundane tasks.

Dr. Heval Kelli, a Syrian refugee, moved to the United States with his family in 2001, knowing no one in his new country. He was greeted by members of a local Episcopal church when he arrived in Clarkston, Georgia.

"They brought furniture and food, sat on the ground with us, took us shopping to Walmart," said Kelli, 34. "That was the first time I went to Walmart."

He eventually attended medical school at Morehouse and completed a residency at Emory, where he is now training to be a cardiologist.

Dagoum, who settled in New Haven, now works at a granite company, packing and shipping marble and tiles. His wife is studying English at a local college.

Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, the nonprofit agency that helped Dagoum, serves mostly people without family connections in the United States.

Linda Bronstein, a senior case manager at the agency, called these "classic refugee cases."

"All of a sudden, we're saying these refugees might not be allowed here," she said.