Days after suspending the federal refugee admissions program, the Trump administration issued a second directive ordering resettlement agencies to stop providing basic assistance to refugees already in the country. Though much remains uncertain, it's already disrupted services in Maine.
Typically, the federal government reimburses resettlement agencies up to $1,650 for certain expenses related to housing, food, and other basic needs during the first 90 days after a refugee arrives, plus $1,350 per refugee for administrative costs and staff positions.
But Inza Ouattara, Maine's refugee coordinator through Catholic Charities, said the State Department advised last week that it will no longer cover those costs.
Ouattara said that could have immediate consequences for about 200 newly-arrived refugees in Maine.
"They are all in temporary housing and hotels," Outtara said. "Where are these small refugees agency that we have in Maine to get the money to pay for those hotels?"
Outtara said this directive is separate from the Trump Administration's now-rescinded memo ordering a widespread freeze on government grants and loans.
Following the State Department's directive, Rilwan Osman, executive director of Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, in Lewiston, said he's already had to lay off about half a dozen employees.
But he said his group will not abandon the roughly 100 refugees in its care.
"The support might be limited, but again, as an organization, as a human being, we have that moral obligation to continue supporting these families, despite the challenges," he said.
Osman said he's hoping to raise some emergency stopgap funding through an appeal to the local community.
The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine is also scrambling to find new funding streams, said Micaela Tepler, with the group's resettlement team.
She said that's led to temporary delays in delivering basic needs such as groceries.
"So even if they're going to get the same services from a different funding, it's going to take a week or two until we're really effective at providing that," Tepler said. "So for clients, there is a real pause, and I think this week has been really, really scary and difficult for them."
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program is a decades-old legal pathway for individuals fleeing violence and persecution. Refugees admitted through the program are vetted by various federal agencies before being assigned to state-level resettlement agencies.
