Refugee communities in Georgia reflect on Jimmy Carter legacy

January 8th, 2025

Refugee advocates gather with Georgia politicians at an advocacy day at the Georgia State Capitol in 2023. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Michael M. Santiago / Michael M. Santiago

The refugee resettlement community in Georgia is remembering former President Jimmy Carter’s legacy in expanding refugee protections in the United States and setting the stage for metro Atlanta’s large resettlement coalition.

In 1980, on the heels of the Vietnam War, Carter signed legislation establishing the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program, increasing how many refugees could come to the U.S. and allowing for that number to be adjusted based on world events.

“That act wasn’t only a policy decision,” said Muzhda Oriakhil, a chair of the Atlanta-based Coalition of Refugee Service Agencies, one of the largest resettlement resource groups in the country.

“It was a bold affirmation of American values.”

Georgia is expected to welcome nearly 4,000 refugees this fiscal year, making it one of the country’s top 10 states for resettlement, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the worldwide organization that vets refugees. UN data showed Georgia is home to about 63,000 refugees.

“I think Carter’s vision, his legacy, leaves big shoes to fill in but it lights the path for every Georgian to carry forward,” Oriakhil said.

She was resettled to Clarkston from Afghanistan as a refugee in 2014 and was pregnant with twins.

“When you go somewhere with a new culture and environment and different systems, it is hard. It is overwhelming,” she said. Oriakhil said she struggled to navigate the U.S. medical system because pregnant people got priority treatment in Afghanistan, but at the time she didn’t qualify for Medicare and relied on public transit to find doctors.

Her pregnancy ended in a miscarriage.

Oriakhil now works for the nonprofit Embrace Refugee Birth. She helps pregnant refugees navigate healthcare in Georgia.

“I didn’t want anyone else, any other woman to face the same problems, issues that I did,” she said. “This community showed up for me. They helped me find relief and grieve. I think this is a big example of how Georgians carry Carter’s legacy.”