Over these last few months, WNYC reporter Matt Katz has been reporting on the story of a Congolese man named Andre and his wife Lizette.

They were living in a Malawi refugee camp, but then Andre was given the chance to be resettled in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and he had to leave Lizette behind.

When Matt started researching this story, he was struck by the fact that in the last three years,

the largest number of refugees to the United States were not from Syria or any of the other majority Muslim countries

that are named in Trump's extreme

vetting list, but from the Democratic Republic of Congo. President Trump came into office

promising a wholesale remaking of U.S. immigration policy, the travel ban, and of course, the border

wall. But what's gotten less attention is the

dramatic shift in refugee policy, slashing the number of refugees allowed into the country,

changing security procedures. Lucky for Andre, he made it to New Jersey right before things

began to change.

13 days before Trump was elected. Matt Katz picks up the story.

Back in the spring, Andre and I met at a park near his apartment in Elizabeth. That's a port city

across from New York City. It has a large immigrant population. And we sat down and he told me about his escape from the Democratic Republic

of Congo. Why did you leave? It is a long story, but I will explain just in some words.

Some words about how Andre Twendelli left his home in the DRC, a vast, resource-rich country the size of Western Europe.

Back then, Andre was a law student.

I like to defend people, to stand for people.

People who don't have money, people who are poor, and they are in trouble.

He wanted to become a lawyer to help the underdog.

Thing is, underdogs and their allies, they tend to disappear.

When I'm talking about disappearance, it's you die.

...