Here is a status update since our last email on February 28th.
Last Tuesday, a federal judge denied a request from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to force the Trump administration to reinstate its contracts with the conference and resume paying it for expenses for resettling refugees in the United States. The judge ruled that “the relief the Conference seeks…is beyond the power of this Court.” The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops plans to appeal.
Likewise on Tuesday - in response to the ruling last month from U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead in Seattle - the Trump administration indicated in a status report that it could “take months to resume refugee admissions” and the “prospective delays are due, in part, to the need for the federal government’s nonprofit partners to rehire furloughed staff and new security vetting procedures the State Department will use to screen refugees.” Note that these furloughs were the direct result of Trump administration actions.
We will share more updates as these court cases and government actions unfold.
Take care,
Greetings,
Our update this week will focus on two lawsuits related to USRAP and another decision by the Trump administration affecting refugee resettlement.
Last Friday, a federal judge in Washington, DC heard a case brought by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement agency) that sought a temporary restraining order to restore funding to the agency. The judge in this case refused to issue the order. However, the judge called his ruling “very tentative,” and another hearing will be held today (Friday, February 28).
A federal judge in Seattle heard a similar case on Tuesday brought by individual refugees and several large refugee-serving organizations. The judge in this case blocked the Trump administration’s suspension of the refugee admissions program.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration canceled nearly 10,000 USAID and State Department contracts, including contracts that support refugee resettlement. Many believe this is an attempt to circumvent court orders to lift the suspension on refugee resettlement and unfreeze foreign aid. An emergency hearing is set for Monday (March 3) for the judge in the Seattle case to review the impact of the termination notices on Tuesday's ruling.
These developments - some hopeful and some deeply troubling - have understandably increased confusion and concern among those who care about refugees globally and in the US. We will share more updates as these court cases unfold.
As before, if you have not yet contacted your representatives and/or encouraged those in your network to do so, please consider doing so now. If you have already contacted them, consider a follow-up given these developments. Likewise, funds are still frozen for organizations serving refugees who have recently arrived in the US, so please consider how you can support fundraising efforts either individually or through your networks.
Feel free to forward this message to others and encourage them to sign up for our weekly updates.
Until next week,
Save USRAP Team
Greetings,
Thank you for staying engaged with Save USRAP. We appreciate your commitment to raising awareness and advocating for the continuation of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Your support is critical as we continue to push for action during this 90-day window.
We are writing with a few updates to keep you informed and engaged:
We are now just past the 30-day mark since the executive order that halted refugee resettlement. Resettlement remains halted and funding has still not been restored to organizations serving refugees after their arrival. Both moves represent huge betrayals of longstanding commitments to refugees and resettlement agencies. There is still time to contact your representatives, and it is more important than ever. If you have already reached out, consider following up to emphasize the urgency of restoring funding and resettlement operations.
As we feared, we are seeing reports of newly arrived refugees facing eviction, with recent stories from Baltimore, San Diego and Houston highlighting the crisis. Housing support is one of the critical services provided by refugee resettlement agencies—yet funding for these organizations was abruptly halted at the end of January. The consequences of these funding cuts are becoming more visible, leaving vulnerable families without the support they were promised. Please consider spreading the word about the need for donations to these organizations at this time.
Since our last update, another lawsuit has been filed this Tuesday. As described in an AP News article, “the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says the administration, by withholding millions even for reimbursements of costs incurred before the sudden cut-off of funding, violates various laws as well as the constitutional provision giving the power of the purse to Congress, which already approved the funding.” You can find additional news stories on our website.
Another resource you may be interested in is the Immigration Policy Tracker which provides up-to-date tracking of immigration policy changes.
Are you in the Seattle area or do you know someone in the Seattle area? There will be an initial hearing on the lawsuit challenging the indefinite refugee ban on Tuesday Feb 25th at 10AM PT in Seattle. Plaintiff organizations are organizing a show of support for refugees and USRAP in the form of a rally outside the courthouse there in Seattle to take place during that hearing. If you would like to learn more, contact us at saveusrap@gmail.com and we can share updated information.
Thank you again for being part of this effort. As before, if you have not yet contacted your representatives and/or encouraged those in your network to do so, please consider doing so now.
Feel free to forward this message to others and encourage them to sign up for our weekly updates.
Until next week,
Save USRAP Team
Greetings,
Thank you for signing up to receive weekly updates from Save USRAP. We're grateful to have you with us as we work to raise awareness and advocate for the continuation of the U.S. refugee resettlement program.
We are writing with a few updates to keep you informed and engaged.
As you may have heard, several major refugee aid groups (AP News) sued the Trump administration on Monday over the suspension of USRAP and the halt of funding for resettlement agencies. A recent New York Times article (free access link to the article for all of you) does a great job of describing some of the impacts.
We’ve been actively tracking news stories about the impact of the suspension of USRAP, particularly at a local community level. Recent stories have begun to describe widespread layoffs and furloughs across refugee resettlement agencies and local non-profits.
We have added social media graphics and sample social media posts to our website to help you spread the word. One really easy way to spread the word is to repost the LinkedIn post from our friends at the Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers.
New action item: We have reached out to 5 Calls about adding the refugee resettlement program to their list of topics. Please consider sending them an email (hello@5calls.org) to request that supporting refugee resettlement be added to their list of issues.
Thank you again for being part of this effort. As before, if you have not yet contacted your representatives and/or encouraged those in your network to do so, please consider doing so now.
Feel free to forward this message to others and encourage them to sign up for our weekly updates.