A late Friday Trump administration order halting funding that supports recent arrivals has left at least 59 Vermont refugees in limbo.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Vermont received the order at 5:40 p.m. Friday, directing that it stop any and all work related to funding the reception and placement of refugees, including any new arrivals, officials from the nonprofit organization told VTDigger.
The order halted key federal funding — $1,650 per person — the organization has used toward the first 90 days of a refugee’s arrival, said Sonali Samarasinghe, the organization’s interim director. It also means the agency will have to lay off staff devoted to reception and placement, she said.
“So what we need to do very, very vigorously now, is locally raise funds,” she said.
The loss of funding came just days after President Donald Trump’s executive order halting the country’s long standing refugee resettlement program.
The Ethiopian Community Development Council, which helps to support more than 400 refugees relocated in southern Vermont, also announced in a press release Monday that its federal funding had been terminated. It, too, pledged to continue its work supporting refugees.
The council put out an emergency appeal for donations to help provide “permanent housing, emergency medical support, food and winter clothing, language and job training, a pathway to a new life, and case management.”
“Our 40-year history has shown the remarkable compassion of Americans towards those who stood alongside US troops, escaped violent conflicts, and those seeking hope and freedom,” Joe Wiah, executive director of the council, said in a press release. “Your support upholds the fundamental American values of compassion, opportunity, and human dignity.”
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration’s decision to abruptly terminate funding contracts put new refugees at immediate risk of homelessness, loss of medical care and essential services, the release stated.
A Sunday post on the State Department’s website stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio “has paused all U.S. foreign assistance funded by or through the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for review… to ensure they are efficient and consistent with U.S. foreign policy under the America First agenda.”
The department did not immediately respond to an email.
Vermont refugee relocation workers, calling the order inhumane, said it will impact the world’s most vulnerable people — those fleeing their homes and countries — and possibly the most vetted legal residents who have been thoroughly security checked by the U.S. government.
“People are scared and they’re apprehensive and they’re confused,” Samarasinghe said.
“I always want to make the point that these are legal residents,” she added. “They are fleeing conflict, they languished in refugee camps sometimes for over 20 years. They come with so much trauma and they come looking for hope and freedom that this country has, for hundreds of years, promised the most vulnerable people on this Earth.”
Samarasinghe said she has faith in the American people and hopes the federal government will review the program with a favorable outcome.
“We remain hopeful because, while this is a stoppage of work, the order does say it will review these programs,” she said. “And we always want to keep the lines of communication open with the administration. At the end of the day we are advocating on behalf of our clients.”
