Cing Cing Hlamyo poses for a portrait in her store on Sept. 30 at Shwe Market International Foods in Columbia. Shwe Market sells food that can be difficult to find around Columbia, such as jackfruit chips and octopus (photo by Annie George).

Last year, Cing Cing Hlamyo and four other Burmese families in Missouri pooled their money to join Welcome Corps. Launched by President Joe Biden’s administration in 2023, Welcome Corps allowed people in the United States to sponsor refugees.

“When it opened, all the Burmese, they were so excited,” she said.

The group put money in a bank account for the expected refugee. Then in January, the program abruptly shut down. “We’re just waiting. That’s all we can do now,” Hlamyo said.

Welcome Corps is just one facet of refugee resettlement in America tha

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