Trump admin cancels grants to refugee aid agencies, despite legal battles
A depiction of a refugee being held by Lady Liberty during a protest in Washington, DC, February 4. (RNS photo/Aleja Hertzler-McCain)
President Donald Trump’s administration is making moves to shutter a decades-old partnership between the government and a group of mostly religious organizations to resettle refugees, with the State Department abruptly canceling grant agreements with all the agencies despite ongoing legal battles.
On Wednesday, refugee resettlement organizations, such as Church World Service, HIAS, and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, say they received “termination notification” letters from the State Department.
“This award is being terminated for the convenience of the U.S. Government pursuant to a directive from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for alignment with Agency priorities and national interest,” read one of the letters, addressed to Church World Service, according to a legal filing from Thursday. “The decision to terminate this individual award is a policy determination vested in the Secretary of State.”
