Local refugee agencies are making cuts to staff and programming after the Trump administration suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in January.
Federal lawsuits challenged the suspension, and resettlement agencies and partners continue to go unpaid for services dating back to the fall.
Groups are left to support the families they’re already helping without additional funds. To manage, they have laid off workers like case managers and housing specialists, and consolidated and canceled programs. On top of that, these agencies are dealing with continued financial uncertainty.
Ascentria Care Alliance said the federal government hasn’t paid for services dating back to November. The organization recently laid off 19 people across Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
“Without these funds, it has put us in an incredibly challenging situation facing decisions regarding our workforce,” said Gary O’Neil, the organization’s chief social innovation officer. He added that the impact of the cuts go beyond organizations like his, saying refugees are actively engaged and valuable members of local communities.
“They’re supporting businesses. They’re starting businesses,” said O’Neil. “They’re working in a wide variety of industries.”
At the International Institute of New England, senior vice president Xan Weber said the group is lucky enough to have other contracts, and as a result, been able to move staff from federal resettlement to programs that are still funded.
“But there’s only so much time where we can do that in the other contracts,” she said.
IINE serves immigrants through a range of programs, including English for Speakers of Other Languages classes, legal services and employment courses. The group is already cutting some of its services.
“This is the first week we’ve instituted layoffs and it’s 13 people from our unaccompanied children’s program, which covers all of New England and New York City and serves about 800 children a year,” she said, calling the cuts “very painful.” The entire program will end in the near future.
The organization is also concerned about more funding cuts at the end of the fiscal year.
“We expect that [if] the Office of Refugee Resettlement receives less and less funding or doesn’t renew its contracts, we’ll be laying off up to 80% of our staff across all of our programs, including resettlement,” said Weber.
Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts of Springfield has laid off five of its staff members, including one from the resettlement program. Rabbi James Greene, the agency’s chief executive officer, said they managed to move some staffers to other parts of the organization.
“The damage to resettlement agencies — into the infrastructure of resettlement is has been pretty catastrophic,” said Greene.
Agencies are typically given around a few weeks to prepare for an incoming refugee family. They receive $3,000 to cover administrative costs and the needs of each individual for the first three months after their arrival, including housing.
With the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program halted, refugees can only enter the country with the joint approval of the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security, according to the Trump administration, but only so long as they determine it is in the “national interest” and the case does not pose a security threat.
Resettlement agencies want to see the program restarted, but they’re not counting on it.
“I think that the chaos of this moment is not a side effect, but is a feature of the system that’s being created,” said Greene.
GBH equity & justice reporter Trajan Warren contributed to this story.
