A refugee family found a new home and ‘the first step of hope’ in Philly. Now, fewer may get that chance.

A small garden sits outside the two-story Northeast Philadelphia home where Fatima Alsalih Alti Keli and Waled Keli live with their three children. Inside, their 8-year-old daughter, Abeer Janna Keli, sits on the couch drawing pictures with her two brothers, her small arms carefully wrapped in bandages to protect her fragile skin. The ordinary domestic scene would have seemed nearly impossible before the family immigrated to the United States from Turkey, after the civil war in Syria had prompted both parents to flee.

Over the last two years, the family’s future has been radically transformed in Philadelphia with the help of specialized treatment for Abeer. And yet, the resettlement process by which they were granted visas is threatened: When the family applied for resettlement in the United States around 2020, the annual refugee admission cap was set to 18,000. The cap this year is set to 7,500, the lowest in U.S. history.

Alti Keli, 28, and Keli, 30, had known each other through their families in Syria, but they married after both had fled to Turkey and started their family there. Once in Turkey, they applied to move to seek medical treatment for Abeer, a process that took about five years.

Abeer was born with epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic disorder that causes the skin to blister and tear from minor friction. Children with the condition are often described as having “butterfly skin.” Before the family came to the United States, Abeer had little access to specialized medical care. She struggled to eat because of sores in her mouth, relied on a wheelchair, and spent much of her time asleep.

“She was like a ghost,” her mother said in Arabic through a translator.

The family applied to immigrate through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2020 on the basis of receiving treatment for Abeer’s disease and were connected with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where Abeer still receives treatment. When they arrived in Philadelphia in July 2024, they went directly to CHOP, where Abeer stayed for 12 days before she could go home. Two years after the move, the Kelis have settled into their lives in Philadelphia.

“Now that she is here, she is talking, walking, and is happy going to school,” Alti Keli said, smiling through tears. “Her doctors saved her life.”

They moved to their predominantly Arab neighborhood after first living in Southwest Philadelphia. Struggling with the language barrier and the job search, they were feeling isolated there. The friction of daily life was a real struggle as the family balanced learning English, taking their daughter to medical appointments, finding employment, and coordinating schooling for Abeer and her brothers — Abdul Rahman, now 10, and Mahmoud, now 6.

For example, they were flabbergasted when their water bill spiked from $50 to $500 a month. Realizing their toilet was leaking, they struggled to communicate with their landlord. Those struggles have eased. In their new neighborhood, their children can easily walk to school and have made friends who share their Arab heritage. With the help of English classes, phone translators, and a refugee-support organization, the family has been able to build a comfortable life.

The Refugee Empowerment Support Team (REST) helped the family confront the logistical challenges of moving to a new country. Efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to curb immigration have affected not only the number of refugees allowed into the country, but also the kind of help they receive while they are here. After the administration threatened to close resettlement offices in 2025 and froze federal funding, many of the offices shut down and laid off employees. Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act limited refugees’ access to government services like Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP benefits.

REST has filled in those gaps by helping to connect refugees with employers, assisting with transportation to medical appointments, and dealing with other logistical challenges. Dan McVay, a leader with REST, said more refugees are now contacting the organization directly through Facebook, asking for help finding jobs and accessing services.

“There is no money for refugees already in the country,” McVay said.

Alti Keli, however, is “very happy with the challenge” of adjusting to life in a new country. While she takes care of the children, her husband works in landscaping at a golf course. He also loves to garden at home and has filled the front of the house with potted plants and flowers.

McVay describes the family as very welcoming, often serving guests tea or coffee and homemade sweets.

Before the family moved to the United States, the Kelis fled to Turkey from Syria in 2014, where they married and had their three children. Alti Keli’s face contorts while describing her life in Syria, where she lost her father and four siblings, during the civil war: “It was like a nightmare.”

The family had to keep moving and did not have access to shelter, food, or even potable water.

“We had to drink dirty water,” Alti Keli said. In Turkey, life was better, but Abeer could not get the specialized care she needed.

A United Nations spokesperson described the situation in Syria during 2013 as “a complete meltdown of humanity,” as Bashar Assad’s Russian-backed regime tried to recapture rebel-held territory. During the war, civilians were subject to chemical warfare, indiscriminate bombing attacks, and systematic torture and execution by the Assad regime.

Moving to Philadelphia was “the first step of hope,” Alti Keli said, a step that has been realized now that her daughter is doing well. “I came here for hope,” she says. “What else can I ask for?”