EAST GRAND FORKS — It has been a little more than two years since Mutware “Phillippe” Ngomirakiza came to the United States. During that time, he has learned many people don’t understand what it means to be a refugee.

Ngomirakiza said he met with some staffers of lawmakers last summer, and was surprised to learn they didn’t understand the difference between a refugee and undocumented immigrant.

He expressed concern that people may be making decisions without fully understanding, and encourages community members to be advocates for knowledge. According to the U.N. Refugee Agency, “refugees are people who have fled their countries to escape conflict, violence or persecution and have sought safety in another country.”

Ngomirakiza is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but he spent 16 years living in a refugee camp outside of his birth country. It took five years for him to get a visa, as a refugee, and come to North Dakota. He said this is considered fast compared to others’ experiences.

Ngomirakiza spoke alongside Cynthia Shabb, executive director of Global Friends Coalition, a local nonprofit that assists New Americans with integration in Greater Grand Forks and — more recently — resettles refugees. They made up one of multiple presentations that took place Friday, Oct. 10, at East Grand Forks’ Campbell Library.

The event was sponsored by Altru Health System and the Community Violence Intervention Center, and hosted by New Hope for Immigrants. There were approximately 37 people in attendance, at least for the morning sessions, according to Renee Cardarelle, one of the organizers.

The gathering was one of 15 held as part of the 16th annual Facilitating Racial Equity Collaborative “Overcoming Racism” conference, “Weaving a Wider Community: Seeing and Countering Racism in Our Own Backyard.” Most gatherings took place throughout smaller, more rural Minnesota communities, and one was held in Manitoba, Canada. Cardarelle said between 300 and 400 people participated this year.

Since moving to North Dakota, Ngomirakiza has joined the Global Friends staff, working as an integration specialist, while also attending college. He said he has experienced and heard of others experiencing language barriers and cultural misunderstandings. Things that may be the norm in one place can cause discomfort among residents in another place.

Despite those barriers, Ngomirakiza said he has met hundreds of people from many career fields and community groups, and he’s been able to do this by remaining open to connection.

“Grand Forks has become a special place for me,” he said. “Not only because I live here, but because I’ve seen how strong our community can be when we stand together.”

At the recent Global Friends community picnic, Ngomirakiza said he saw how happy people were to connect with each other, and he hopes to continue building connections. He wants to make the city not just a place where immigrants live, but where they truly belong.

Shabb spoke about the changes Global Friends has observed in the past few years. In 2023, the organization helped relocate and integrate 55 people into the Grand Forks area. In 2024, there were 114 refugees taken in. In 2025 so far, there have been 31.

She said since the new presidential administration took over in January, two mothers have had their husbands detained, leaving behind wives with no jobs who stayed home with their infants, and “we have countless examples like that.”

More than 10,000 people were anticipated to come into the U.S. as refugees this year, Shabb said, and now many families have been split down the middle, with some left behind and others already in the U.S.

She also said that in November, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will cease for refugees, and Medicaid benefits are expected to be cut during the midterm election period. Refugee cash assistance has decreased from a 12-month period to three months, Shabb said.

At the state level, funding was recently approved that will allow Global Friends to support youth mentoring efforts and refugee service programs in local high schools, where racial divides have been reported, according to Shabb. Additional grants were approved for physical and behavioral health efforts.

During the first panel of the afternoon, Hamzat Koriko, Grand Forks’ community outreach specialist, and Ilhaam Hassan, executive director of New Hope, spoke about their experiences as immigrants as well as the work they do to assist New Americans.

“There are New Americans who are trying to be invisible right now,” Hassan said. “Even if they want to reach out for help, they’re not trying to reach out for help.”

New Americans aren’t the only ones afraid of the current state of affairs, she said; immigrants who have their citizenship are afraid of losing it. People are afraid to go outside and publicly speak their languages, Hassan and Koriko said.

They spoke about the importance of being welcoming to all people — immigrant or American-born — by smiling, making eye contact and saying hello.

“Sometimes the first step is to find one person in that community,” Koriko said.

Getting to know the person, hearing their struggles and hopes, can help inform how to better assist others, he said.

“Inclusiveness is not only (about financial) contributions and donations,” Hassan said. “Inclusiveness is making a space for others to belong.”

Cardarelle also spoke during the afternoon portion of the event. She detailed

the evolving situation of immigration and deportation in the U.S.,

then led a discussion about what people can do in their communities, to include offering legal resources and educating others.

Also during the event, there were booths in the library lobby with representatives from CVIC, Spectra Health, Alumma, Polk County Social Services, League of Women Voters and High Plains Fair Housing Center.

Prior to the afternoon sessions, lunch was served. Northwest Minnesota Foundation grant funding was used to provide catered dishes from Juba Restaurant, including pasta, meat, salad and vegetables. Noura Ahmed, New Hope’s vice president and program director, made two cakes for the event.

The morning featured two presentations, as well as a question-and-answer session, streamed to all 15 locations participating in the conference. The speakers were Jenna Grey Eagle, Okogyeamon and Maria McNamara from Antiracism Community of Transformation, or ACT; followed by Ronald Ferguson, a professor and sociologist.

ACT representatives spoke about the divide between rural and urban communities, emphasizing dialogue over debate, and the importance of listening.

Ferguson shared data he and a colleague collected regarding how often and in what contexts 2,500 people surveyed in an unnamed rural Minnesota county interacted with people of other races. Comparing data from 2006 and 2015, he said there had been little change.

Of those surveyed in 2015, 51% said they do not interact with anyone of a different race; this was up 1% from the 2006 survey.

The other data points saw varying decreases. From the first to second survey time period, those who said they do not work with anyone of a different race dropped from 80% to 58%; those who said they do not have neighbors of a different race went from 75% to 64%; and those who said they do not have friends of a different race went from 80% to 78%.

Ferguson said he hopes the survey will be conducted again in 2026.

One attendee Friday commented after the morning sessions that it was nice to have rural communities acknowledged, particularly because of their unique lack of resources.