Refugee in Colorado waited for children who never arrived after Trump administration change in policy
Legesse Beyene has waited 15 years for the children and wife he left behind when he fled a repressive regime in his native Eritrea. The Colorado man will now wait longer. Maybe forever.
The two children he left when they were in grade school and toddler age were all set to arrive at Denver International Airport Friday after a seven-year struggle to get their acceptance as refugees in the United States approved.
"Everything was finished. They were following the legal process," said Beyene through an interpreter. The process is a complicated one involving documentation and vetting. Beyene's son Mesmer, now 22, and daughter Timnit, now 17, were coming to the United States at long last.
"They are wonderful children," the Aurora resident shared. Perfect, he called them. "And they are very humble. And they are family-loving children."
He was excited to see them in person for the first time since 2010.
"I was preparing to come to the airport to see them so I was happy to hear that finally my children will join me. But unfortunately, this happened."
Their arrival was short-circuited when President Trump moved to close off the nation's political refugee arrival program swiftly after taking office with an executive order on Jan. 20 called, "Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program."
In the order, the White House cited public safety and national security and said in reference to the refugee arrival program known as USRAP, that the nation should preserve taxpayer resources for its citizens.
Beyene, who owned an auto repair operation in Eritrea, left in the middle of the night after getting word he was in danger.
"You will have to leave because bad things will happen to you," he was told. He spent years in Ethiopia, first in a refugee camp. But in those years applied and waited for permission to come to the United States as a political refugee. It was granted in 2016 and he wound up in Colorado. Since that time, his health has deteriorated due to hypertension. He walks with a cane and can only stay on his feet for a few minutes at a time.
He hoped his wife would be able to join them perhaps six months or so after the arrival of his children. But now all of it looks questionable.
"I don't know what happened. So with the fear of the desperate situation of my kids, my wife, and family. I am now afraid because maybe I will die before seeing my children.," said Beyene.
He worries about the new country he loves and the risk of losing the values that make it great around the world.
"The people of America are going to be losing," he said. "So they are not keeping the values."
