The Latest: White House to pause federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday
The Latest: White House to pause federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday
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The White House i s pausing federal grants and loans starting on Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s administration begins an across-the-board ideological review of its spending. Here's the latest:. Immigrant and refugee advocates were cut off even before Monday’s funding pause.
Last week, the Justice Department halted contracts to provide legal information to people facing deportation in immigration court. Government-funded nonprofit groups were told in an email “to stop work immediately” on helping people navigate the system’s complex laws and procedures.
“We often hear that people don’t know what’s happening. Why are they detained? What’s going to happen next? And we are being stopped from even giving that basic level of orientation,” said Michael Lukens, executive director of Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
The State Department told groups that give temporary housing and job training to resettled refugees to stop work immediately on government-funded efforts. Global Refuge said it affected 5,870 refugees under its watch. “Recently arrived refugees who fled unimaginable danger and lawfully came to the U.S. rely on the initial assistance of Global Refuge to help them navigate life in America,” Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the group’s president, wrote in a fund-raising pitch Monday.
State official awaiting guidance on effect of memo pausing federal loans and grants. In Kansas, state Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed said he learned of the Trump administration’s move Monday night and that the agency is still reviewing it and awaiting more guidance from federal officials.
