Stateless: A Rohingya family finds community in Chicago

Editor’s note: This episode was recorded before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on birthright citizenship. On June 30, 2026, in Trump v. Barbara, the Court struck down the executive order 6–3, affirming that children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment. The concerns Fatima describes reflect the uncertainty her community lived with while that case was pending. For stateless families like hers, the ruling does not resolve their own lack of citizenship — that path remains closed. 

Twenty-six-year-old Fatima is a stateless Rohingya Muslim who fled Myanmar in 2017. A state-sanctioned campaign of genocide against Rohingya forced her family to seek refuge in a camp in Bangladesh. They later settled in Chicago through the United Nations Refugee Agency in 2019. Through Fatima’s memories of Ramadan, this story shows how faith, community, and hope help Rohingya families rebuild a sense of belonging.

The Rohingya were made stateless by Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Act. In August 2017, a military campaign drove more than 700,000 people into Bangladesh; the United States formally determined in March 2022 that this violence constituted genocide and crimes against humanity. Seven years after resettling in Chicago, Fatima’s family still has no country and no clear path to citizenship — but at an iftar table on the city’s North Side, they found a community that speaks their language.

Produced by Bing Wang @bingwangnews for Reparations Media NFP | In collaboration with Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago @rohingya_center_of_chicago 

Transcript

STATELESS by Bing Wang

Fatima: [00:00:00] I still remember the first night I broke my fast in Chicago. I was sitting on the floor surrounded by people speaking Burmese, Rohingya, English, other languages I didn't even recognize, and for a split second, I almost forgot I didn't have a country. 

Narrator: Bing Wang : The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority from Western Myanmar.

There are about two million Rohingya around the world, including an estimated [00:00:30] 15,000 in the US. After a 1962 coup, the new government pushed a campaign of national unity rooted in Buddhist nationalism. Because the Rohingya spoke a different language and practiced a different religion, they were treated as outsiders.

Soon they were pushed out of leadership positions, denied their rights, and forced out of the country.[00:01:00] 

In 1982, Myanmar passed the Citizenship Act, legally erasing the Rohingya citizenship. In effect, they were stateless. This is where Fatima's story begins. In August of 2017, she was 17 years old when a military crackdown near her township forced more than 750 Rohingya to flee their homes amid widespread violence and human rights abuses.

Fatima's family were among those forced to leave. 

Fatima: When we lived [00:01:30] in Myanmar, we didn't dare say we were Rohingya out loud. It wasn't safe. My father used to tell me, "Keep your head down. Don't draw attention." But I was a talkative child, wanted to tell everyone everything. Then one night, everything changed.

There were these soldiers holding huge guns who came into our town. Fires started. People were running all over the place. My father told [00:02:00] me to hide in the cupboard. He just said everything was fine and not to worry. A few hours later, we left our home. We didn't bring anything or say goodbye to anyone. I just remember running.

Narrator: Bing Wang : I'm Bing Wang for Change Agents, the podcast. In today's episode, we follow the story of one stateless Rohingya Muslim and her family's journey to the United States.[00:02:30] 

In November 2017, Fatima and her family fled to a refugee camp in Bangladesh. They lived there for about a year and a half. In the camps, many Rohingya relied on humanitarian aid just to survive. They were not legally allowed to work or freely leave the settlements. For Fatima and others, daily life meant living in overcrowded shelters, collecting food rations, coping with trauma, and simply staying safe.

She remembers her first [00:03:00] Ramadan there. 

Fatima: In that refugee camp, Ramadan didn't feel like Ramadan. We still prayed and fasted, but it wasn't by choice. We just didn't have enough food, or any food some days. At the end of Ramadan, we used to decorate our house and had a huge feast. At that camp, it was just like any other day, just sadness.

I could see my parents worrying, but I knew [00:03:30] better than to ask. I just waited until someone told us where to go. 

Narrator: Bing Wang : After applying to the UN Refugee Agency, Fatima's family resettled in Chicago in March 2019. They were one of the luckier ones. It is usually a two to three-year process. Their application only took 17 months.

But since Myanmar does not recognize Rohingya as citizens, and Bangladesh does not give citizenship to refugees, they remain stateless in the US. 

Fatima: When I [00:04:00] heard we were going to Chicago, I had no idea where that was. I thought it was another city in Myanmar, not a whole ocean away. I didn't even know what America was.

I thought everything would feel different right away, like we had won the lottery, but it wasn't any different, at least at first. Still alone, sad, parents worrying. I saw these huge buildings, people wearing clean [00:04:30] clothes. The streets were so loud and walked so fast. 

Narrator: Bing Wang : In Chicago, they did not have passports, making it difficult to travel outside the US.

Without a country to claim them, even basic steps, such as renewing documents or getting permission to travel internationally, was legally complex. Seven years later, there still is no clear path to citizenship. They're allowed to work, but finding steady jobs has been difficult because of language barriers, limited [00:05:00] education, and an unfamiliar job market.

To make ends meet, Fatima now cleans homes. Her father, who owned a small tea shop in Myanmar, is washing dishes in a restaurant

Looking back, Fatima has fond memories of her first Ramadan in Chicago. 

Fatima: I remember my first Ramadan here. [00:05:30] That was maybe two or three months after we got to Chicago. We still didn't really know anyone or what to do or where to go. We lived in a small apartment with three other families. The mosque we went to was having iftar, which is the breaking of the fast meal.

We went there on the first night of Ramadan. When I walked in, a nice lady gave me some dates and told me to find a seat in my [00:06:00] language. And it was like for the first time in years, I wasn't just surviving Ramadan, I was feeling it. 

Narrator: Bing Wang : Ramadan is the holiest month in Islam. Muslims fast from dawn to sunset to build discipline, gratitude, and a closer connection to God.

But Ramadan is also about community. Each night, families and neighbors gather together for iftar, the meal that breaks the fast. Mosques often open their doors to everyone, serving food to [00:06:30] anyone who comes in, Muslim or not. They also host extra prayers, charity drives, and community events, making Ramadan a time of faith, generosity, and togetherness.

For Fatima, that sense of belonging is what makes Chicago feel like home, a place where her community can gather, remember, and carry their [00:07:00] traditions forward. 

Fatima: I think that's why these Iftar dinners matter so much now. Uh, some people come for the food, but honestly, a lot of people come because they don't want to feel alone.

They want to sit next to someone who understands them without needing an explanation. Especially right now when there's so much fear and uncertainty, having a place where people feel safe for even a few hours means [00:07:30] everything. Ramadan is about patience, charity, and unity. For our community, those values become even more meaningful.

I hope to have my own children and have them know our history, language, and our traditions. Ramadan helps us pass those things on. When we pray together during Ramadan, we pray for peace, both for our people all over the world and for the [00:08:00] peace in the world. 

Narrator: Bing Wang : When President Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration reshaped the US Refugee Admissions Program.

The annual refugee entry is now capped at 17,500 entries, down from 125,000 per year set under the Biden administration. The Trump administration also cut foreign aid, affecting Rohingya families still living in refugee camps. At the same time, ICE [00:08:30] expanded arrests and detentions. In September 2025, the agency launched raids in major cities, including Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.

Refugees are protected from deportation, but advocates say that distinction has not always been clear. On the first day of his second term, Trump also signed an executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship. For stateless families, that raised a serious fear that children born in the US [00:09:00] could also be left without citizenship.

The issue is now before the Supreme Court, with a ruling expected soon. 

Fatima: Now, a lot of people in our community are scared again. People hear stories online or from relatives about deportations, detentions, families being separated. Even if someone has papers, they still worry because many Rohingya people are stateless.

Some people don't even know what rights they have [00:09:30] here. I know families who are afraid to leave their apartments unless they absolutely have to. Parents are scared to answer unknown phone numbers. Some people stopped going to community events because they don't want attention. There's this feeling in the community that your whole life could change overnight because we've already lived through that before.

But the communities also try to help each other. [00:10:00] 

Narrator: Bing Wang : Chicago is now home to one of the largest Rohingya communities in the United States, with many families living in West Ridge and West Rogers Park on the city’s far north side. Community groups estimate about 2,000 Rohingya live in Chicago. In West Ridge, the Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago helps families connect with lawyers, take language classes, employment support, and keep their culture alive through youth and community programs.

Nearby [00:10:30] mosques also play a key role. They help bring the community together and support families as they adjust to life in Chicago. 

Fatima: At the mosque, people share information about immigration lawyers and legal clinics. Volunteers helped translate documents because a lot of the older Rohingya people don't speak much English.

Some organizations help families with food, rent, job applications, school [00:11:00] enrollment for children. During Ramadan especially, people checked in on each other more. If someone loses work or is struggling, the community collects money for them. I think when you survive displacement, you learn how to survive [00:11:30] together.