Author: Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON – The US State Department this week suspended funding to groups that help refugees with housing, employment and other needs as part of a broad pause in aid, according to a letter seen by Reuters.
Friday’s letter said the agencies must cease all work related to the paused federal grants and “cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.”
President Donald Trump halted the resettlement of refugees from abroad indefinitely as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown after taking office on Monday, calling for a review in three months to determine whether the program is doing enough for Americans. Trump also ordered a 90-day pause in foreign development aid, a move that could affect humanitarian efforts around the world, including in Afghanistan, where aid operations are already depleted.
An order freezing funding to U.S. refugee groups could make it harder for refugees already in the U.S. to keep their housing, find jobs and adjust to life in the U.S., three people familiar with the move said. The groups are still considering the effect of the suspension, they said.
John Slocum, executive director of the Refugee Council USA, a coalition of aid groups, called the funding freeze “unfathomably cruel” and called on Trump to reverse course.
CNN first reported the funding freeze. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Outgoing President Joe Biden has ramped up refugee admissions during his tenure, accepting 100,000 in fiscal year 2024 and more this year.
Another 100,000 refugees abroad were fully vetted and ready to travel to the US as of mid-January, a senior Biden administration official told Reuters last week.
Trump’s abrupt halt to refugee arrivals led to the cancellation of all planned refugee arrivals, including 1,660 Afghans, some of whom were family members of US military personnel.
