Refugee resettlement agencies scramble after Trump orders them to halt their federally funded work
Refugee resettlement agencies scramble after Trump orders them to halt their federally funded work
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Tens of thousands of recently arrived refugees might lose support for basic necessities like food and rent after a Trump administration order suspended federal funding for resettlement agencies. There is widespread confusion as agency leaders seek greater clarity from the government. The most pressing question is how they will continue supporting refugees already under their care in the United States.
The suspension of federal funding “paralyzes the program,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, the national Lutheran refugee resettlement agency. The federal refugee program — a form of legal migration to the U.S. — has been in place for decades and assists those who have escaped war, natural disaster or persecution. Despite longstanding support for accepting refugees, the program has become politicized in recent years.
Religious organizations shoulder the bulk of refugee resettlement work in the United States. Out of the 10 federally funded national agencies that resettle refugees, seven are faith-based. “We’re not getting any useful guidance from the government right now,” said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, the Jewish refugee resettlement agency. Most of the organization’s budget is from federal funding.
“We will fight the government on this,” Hetfield said. The Trump administration has halted new refugee admissions. But some refugee-agency leaders say last Friday’s “stop work” order goes a step further, and they assume it will affect refugees in the U.S., who rely on federal funds for housing, food and support during their first three months in the country.
