Dear JCA Community and Supporters,

To say the last few months have been the most difficult of my career would be an understatement. For those of you who don’t know me and my background, I have worked with newcomer communities for the last 13 years in Maine and the state of Washington.

By the time the Trump administration was inaugurated in January of 2025, I had met countless brave men, women, and children who have survived, persisted, and went on to thrive despite torture, war, violence, and atrocities that are frankly unimaginable to most of us. I had supported teens with their applications to financial aid, to be the first in their families to attend college. I had organized with community leaders to advocate for healthy and affordable housing. After traveling for many days and halfway around the world, I was the first face families saw when they exited the airport. I have seen three presidential administrations, two that welcomed unprecedented numbers of newcomers, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. I had already persevered through four years with an administration that demonstrated their blatant disregard for human life and dignity, indicating with each new policy and passing year that they would welcome fewer and fewer of those men, women, and children. In 2017 53,691 refugees were admitted to the US, that number fell to just 11,454 refugees in 2021– which at the time, was the lowest number of refugees admitted since the inception of the US Refugee Admissions Program in 1980.

Despite all of my experiences, nothing could have prepared me for the devastation I have seen in the Refugee Resettlement Program since January 2025. In the articles below, I hope to share the current challenges for our clients, their families, and friends. We will highlight how our staff have shown up every day, in the face of uncertainty, job insecurity, and in some cases, amidst their own immigration challenges.

We will share how our agency and the Refugee Resettlement and Newcomer Services Program at the JCA are shifting, evolving, and adapting to continue to serve the most vulnerable and deserving of humanitarian support. We will discuss the impact of our programming and how the JCA volunteers, community, and supporters have shaped people’s lives and exemplified the Jewish values of “Welcome the Stranger” and “tikkun olam” (repairing the world).

While I am uncertain of many things, I am steadfast and resolute in one - our newcomer brothers and sisters bring untold resilience, talent, and creativity to communities across Maine and we are committed to doing everything in our power to continue to show up and support them for as long as we can.

In solidarity, and with love and gratitude,

Siobhan Whalen

Refugee Resettlement and Newcomer Services Director