The United States is in a moment of upheaval for refugee resettlement and immigration enforcement. John Slocum, executive director of Refugee Council USA, has spent many years working in migration policy and human rights. John shares a valuable and historical perspective on the immigration conversation of today.    

The Pace for Peace 5K is returning to Boise this month - this time with a focus on Afghanistan. “The situation in Afghanistan still is getting worse, not better,” said Yasmin Aguilar with Agency for New Americans. “We have clients here, they are suffering, they have family members there – extended or immediate – and our hands are tied.” Sayed Mirbacha, one of the local students organizing Pace for Peace, fled Afghanistan with his family four years ago after the U.S. military withdrawal and Taliban takeover. “Leaving everything behind and moving to another country…was shocking,” he said. “The support and the community I found here was so heart-touching to me.”   Sign up here to support Pace for Peace: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pace-for-peace-5k-run-for-afghanistan-tickets-1487201251979   Run for Afghanistan on Sept. 27. Proceeds will go to the Qamar Foundation, whose mission is to tackle social injustice and poverty through education.

Mosaics host Holly Beech recently joined the Unified Purpose podcast to dive into what it means to help people transition from surviving trauma to truly belonging in a new country.   The episode explores how Idaho’s long-standing refugee program —celebrating 50 years of resettlement — goes beyond logistics, offering emotional support, career reintegration, cultural connection, and community partnerships to make resettlement meaningful and humane.   From pilot retraining programs and mental health support to community soccer rivalries and women’s art circles, this episode showcases how small efforts, when done with heart, create powerful ripples of belonging and purpose.   Unified Purpose is produced by Penji and reshared here with permission. 

Doctors moving into the U.S. bring much needed skills but face barriers getting back to the medical field – including a competitive process to redo their residency training.   A new law in Idaho is providing an alternative pathway for these physicians so they can complete a supervised apprenticeship and get back to the work they love.   Today we’re joined by Dr. Scott Smith and Viktoriia‎ Siedikova ‎of Global Talent to learn how House Bill 542 is bringing a win-win solution to Idaho and providing a model for other states.   Viktoriia Siedikova is a Career Advisor with Global Talent with a background in human resources, project management, and community advocacy. Originally from Ukraine and fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian, she brings a deep understanding of the challenges faced by newcomers to the U.S.   Dr. Scott Smith is a mentor with Global Talent working with a cohort of New American medical professionals in Idaho. He is an internal medicine doctor, educational researcher, and professor of medicine ‎‎(emeritus) with the University of Washington. Since 2019, Scott has mentored 42 internationally trained physicians from 21 ‎countries. Of those, seven are now practicing in the U.S.     To learn more about Global Talent and how to get involved, please visit https://glotalent.org/. Contact us at mosaics@idahorefugees.org with feedback, questions, and episode suggestions.  

Lena Contor grew up in Ukraine and moved to Pocatello, Idaho, after getting married. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lena was presented with an opportunity to go back on a humanitarian relief trip. Her first thought was, “Who am I to do anything? I’m not rich. I’m not powerful.” But she couldn’t push the thought out of her mind, and she took the leap. She is now getting ready to go on her 10th trip back to Ukraine, and she has rallied the Pocatello community to fund solar panels that will power running water for devasted communities. Lena shows how overcoming self-doubt and thoughts of insignificance – and stepping up to do what we can in the moment – can have powerful ripple effects.

Fredrick Shema grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda before resettling in Boise with his ‎family in 2012 as a high school student. In college, he was able to go back to the camp ‎where he grew up for a research project, reconnecting with friends still living ‎there. Through this experience and working with Boise youth from refugee backgrounds, ‎Fredrick set his sights on becoming an attorney – wanting to make a tangible difference in ‎people’s lives. After earning his law degree this spring, Fredrick sat down with Mosaics to ‎share about his life, what he’s learned, and how he found his ‘why.’‎

Damir Subasic is a local law enforcement officer and trainer whose family came to Idaho many years ago through the refugee resettlement program.   Damir and his family left former Yugoslavia when he was 9 on what he thought was going to be a visit to his grandma’s in Germany. But as war and violence escalated back home, it became clear they couldn’t return. Damir, the only Bosnian kid at school, faced intense bullying and isolation in those early years in Germany before making a few close friends who made life start to feel normal again. When Damir was 16, his family resettled in Boise, where his uncle had previously been sponsored as a refugee by the owners of a local deli. Damir went to school with his guard up, expecting to face more bullying and beatings. One day he met his first American friend – a seemingly small encounter that changed Damir’s perspective for the rest of his life.   Damir went on to earn his degree in criminal justice and has worked in law enforcement for 15 years, including alongside other officers from refugee backgrounds. He now teaches at the police academy and speaks at schools and community events.   “I try to be there for others,” he said. “There’s a trickle effect you don’t realize you might ‎have on someone way down the road.”

Andrew Nemr is an international performer, speaker, author, and teacher. His parents are originally from Lebanon, and in 2015 when civil war escalated in neighboring Syria, Andrew started exploring the idea of what it means to endure and encounter hope in the midst of darkness. His vision will come to fruition in August, when Andrew will tap dance for 12-hours straight in an immersive experience calledDark Night.   Visitors are invited to reflect on and honor the enduring spirit within us all. (Find tickets at https://www.darknightlive.com/.)   Andrew, who has been tap dancing since the age of 3, has a new book out this year, The Tap Dance Method, a practical exploration of tap dance land. Join our conversation to reflect more on what dark nights can mean for our lives and for who we are becoming.  

All are welcome to join the Pace for Peace Run for Refugees in Boise on May 24, 2025, in support of Agency for New Americans.   The agency has been resettling refugees in Boise for many years. Community support is even more important this year as federal funding has been frozen. Proceeds from the race will help new refugee neighbors afford rent, utility, and medical expenses as they get on their feet in Boise.    Brandee Robles from the Agency for New Americans shares with us how her agency is navigating the new national changes and continuing to support the hundreds of people who have been welcomed over the past year.   Sayed Mirbacha, an organizer with Pace for Peace, shares why he is passionate about helping fellow refugees adjust to their new lives with hope, health, and community.    Pace for Peace Run for Refugees: http://www.anaidaho.org/runforrefugees.html  

Lok Darjee works to empower others from refugee and immigrant backgrounds to use their vote and their voices to help shape and preserve the American democracy that he cares deeply about. His family is originally from Bhutan, but they were among the more than 100,000 Nepali-speaking people who were displaced in the early 1990s due to government persecution and attacks on their language, culture, religion, and citizenship. Lok resettled in Twin Falls, Idaho, as a teenager. While in Twin Falls, he founded a program to pair refugee students with American-born mentors.   He now runs Refugee Civic Action in Pennsylvania ‎and is a fellow at Foreign Policy for America. Lok holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia ‎University and has written extensively on immigration, policy, and identity.‎     Lok said pausing the refugee resettlement program goes against who we are as Americans. The program “gives a lot of hope to kids like me who are refugees, gives a second chance to people like ‎my family to come to this nation and build up again,” he said.   Check out his recent powerful op-ed in the Inquirer.

Mona Heern shares with Mosaics about her experiences as a young girl growing up during the Iranian revolution of 1979. Mona’s family and other members of the Baha’i faith - Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority – became the targets of intense persecution and restrictions, which continue to this day. Mona, her mother, and younger sister fled Iran after her father was murdered in prison simply for being Baha’i. Mona shares how she has found healing through sharing her story and serving alongside her community to maintain joy and hope.   Mona is now an educator and public speaker. She currently serves as an instructor and field experience coordinator at Idaho State University in Pocatello, preparing the next generation of teachers. “I come from a country where it’s against the law for Baha’is to be teachers, so to having come to the United States where I can be a teacher, and now being part of that training process of future teachers, just means so much to me,” she said.   Through her public speaking engagements, Mona sheds light on the challenges faced by refugees in various forums, including school assemblies, community groups, and the media. Her hope is that through education and dialogue, we can build communities that embrace refugees and human rights in all social and institutional settings.   Mona was the recipient of the Freedom Festival Award and the NAACP Ron Timpson Award for her “significant contribution to the community through volunteerism and dedication to human rights."

Join us for a conversation with local podcast City Cast Boise about Boise's rich history of resettlement and the current executive order that abruptly suspended the program. Where are things now? Moses Mukengezi was resettled with his family in 2007, and he’s talking about his story alongside Holly Beech from the Idaho Office for Refugees. City Cast Boise host Lindsay Van Allen is finding out the pause means on the local level — both for the families caught in limbo and the agencies scrambling to support them. Plus, what would a permanent pause in resettlement mean for Boise’s identity?   Here’s more information on the lawsuit that was filed in federal court in Seattle seeking to reverse the Trump administration’s refugee resettlement order.

Razma and Hasina are sisters who resettled in Idaho with their family in 2022. Razma is continuing her education at Boise State, where she is majoring in computer science, and Hasina is a senior in high school. They are pursuing dreams of education and future careers that would not be possible for them under new rules in Afghanistan banning girls and women from school and work opportunities and even leaving the house without a male escort.   The sisters are sharing their stories because they care deeply about advocating for Afghan women and girls. Their voices offer hope and encouragement to others facing hardships. Their journey hasn’t been easy, but they have learned to stay determined and work toward making a difference for themselves and for others.   National Update: Also in this episode is an update on the recent changes to refugee admissions to the United States. A presidential executive order issued on Jan. 20 suspends the arrival of refugees into the U.S. for at least 90 days, at which point it will again be under review by the president. The pause creates painful delays for refugees who have been approved for resettlement or who were about to reunite with their families after years of separation. The order does not impact the status of those who have already arrived, and the Idaho Office for Refugees and local resettlement agencies in Idaho are continuing our work to support them. Please share Mosaics and your support for resettlement with your networks to show that Americans care about our heritage of being a nation of hope, welcome, and freedom.

Immigration attorney Chris Christensen provides insight into where we’ve been and what we might expect in the U.S. immigration system in the year ahead. “I think it’s important for immigrants to understand that regardless of their legal status, that they have rights in this great country,” he said. In this episode, Chris shares valuable Know Your Rights information and practical steps people can take to reduce their risk if they are undocumented or have temporary immigration status. “The government doesn’t have the funds, the resources, to remove (every undocumented resident),” Chris said, “and I think most of society would agree that it doesn’t make sense to deport the hardworking farmworker who has no criminal record and who has a family full of U.S. citizen children, who pays taxes and contributes, who goes to the local church every Sunday.” Chris founded Christensen Legal PLLC in December 2017 so that he could continue serving the ‎immigrant community in Idaho and beyond. A Caldwell native and graduate of ‎Caldwell High School, Chris always had a passion for Spanish and started learning early. ‎From 2013-2015 he directed the Migrant Farmworker Law Center ‎at Indiana Legal Services, visiting labor camps in Indiana and talking to ‎migrant field workers about their rights, housing, pay, taxes, immigration options, and more.‎ Chris said, “It is that human connection, the life-altering impact that I can have to better somebody’s life, that keeps me doing this.”

Join us to hear from Raquel Reyes, director of programs & operations at PODER of Idaho. We talk about the daily anxieties experienced by families of mixed immigration status, reflections on the recent election, and the many ways immigrant communities contribute to a vibrant economy and culture. You can connect with PODER on Instagram (poder_idaho) and find Platicas con Poder, hosted by Raquel, on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@PlaticasConPoder.   Raquel, born in Los Angeles, has lived in Idaho since she was 2 years old. She attended elementary and high school in Wilder, a small agricultural town about 40 miles from Boise. Her life’s work has been in social justice, and she has been a vocal advocate about the injustices she has seen in the workplace. Her background is immigration, and she helped found an immigration program at the Community Council of Idaho known as Familias Unidas, Immigration Legal Services. Raquel has been married to her husband for 19 years. She has 3 adult children, 6 grandchildren, 3 dogs, 3 cats, 2 goats and lots of poultry.

The Ukrainian Welcome Center in Nampa has served more than 700 people displaced by the war in Ukraine. The center's Executive Director Tina Polishchuk and recent School Impact Coordinator Joni Leipf share how their summer program brought a sense of normalcy and an opportunity for healing for students who haven't had a normal school year since before Covid.   Learn more about the center's Adopt-a-Family Christmas campaign at www.ukrainianwelcomecenter.org.

  A research team from Boise State University is studying the ecological knowledge of Boise farmers from refugee backgrounds and learning how they adapted to farming in a new location. The project will bring more understanding of how Global Gardens farmers are using knowledge from their home countries here in Boise and contributing to the local food scene and farming techniques.   Hear from two of the student researchers on the project: Alice Mwamba – a nursing major and former refugee from the DRC – and Maci Mattravers, an ethnic studies major from Boise. Both are sophomores with minors in refugee studies.   Also joining the conversation is professor and researcher Lisa Meierotto, Boise State Global Studies Program Lead. Hear more from Lisa on global trends and perspectives on episode 39.   Join the research team in February at Boise State for a community event to share in the results of the project. And check out Global Gardens for seasonal produce!    The title of the research project is: Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Communities: A Study of the Social, Ecological, and  Economic Factors Shaping Experiences of Global Gardens Farmers   It is funded by Boise State Resource Nexus for Sustainability Grand Challenges   Participants: Dr. Rebecca Som Castellano is the principal investigator. Ben Brock, Program Manager, Global Gardens Deanna Dupuy, City Design Manager, Planning and Development Services, City of Boise Dr. Kelly Hopping, Assistant Professor, Human-Environment Systems, Boise State University Dr. Lisa Meierotto, Associate Professor, School of Public Service, Boise State University Oliver Nsabimana, Farm Manager, Global Gardens Dr.  Rebecca L. Som Castellano, Professor, Sociology, Boise State University Dr. Laura Villegas-Ortiz, Economist, Boise State University Affiliate A public event featuring the research will be held at Boise State during the Spring 2025 semester. Stay tuned!

Lisa Meierotto is the Program Lead of Boise State University’s Global Studies program, which she helped create. Along with teaching, Lisa researches intersections between global migration, human rights, and environmental justice. Lisa grew up in Idaho and lived in Ecuador, Cuba and Costa Rica while earning her degree in global studios and anthropology. She has a master’s degree in international development and a Ph.D in cultural and environmental anthropology. In our conversation, Lisa shares about what drew her to global studies, what it’s like to be a newcomer in a different country, her research at the southern U.S. border, and displacement trends facing communities around the world. We focus on the history of colonialism and ongoing resource extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the top country of origin for refugees resettling in Idaho.

The Pace4Peace 5K was founded by a local group of people with the goal of raising awareness for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo and bringing the community together. Boise has a strong Congolese community, and the DRC has been the top country of origin for refugees resettling in Idaho for several years. Hear from some of the race organizers - Boise State students Ani Carnell, Sayed Mirbacha, and Samuel Bisoka - on their vision for this community event and how you can be involved. The 5K is on Saturday, October 19th in Boise with music, food, and activities. Funds raised will go through the African Community Development Inc. to meet needs in the DRC.   Register on Eventbrite and follow @pace4peace5k on Instagram for updates.

Chandra Upreti is a dedicated advocate for refugee rights and resettlement. Born in Bhutan, he experienced displacement at a young age, fleeing to Nepal as a refugee. After spending 17 years in Refugee Camps, Chandra was eventually resettled in Twin Falls, Idaho, where he found a new home and purpose. With over a decade of experience in refugee resettlement, Chandra was recently named the field office director of the resettlement agency in Twin Falls, which is affiliated with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Chandra also serves on the board of directors for nonprofits including the Unity Alliance of Southern Idaho, EveryBody House, and Housing Coalition Region 4. Chandra holds a bachelor's degree in Human Resources and a Master of Business Administration from Idaho State University. He and his wife own the Saffron Indian Cuisine restaurant in Twin Falls.