Refugee services still wonder what future holds

Yahoo

17-04-2025

ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) — Commonwealth Catholic Charities is part of the world's largest refugee resettlement agency, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It places international refugees in the Roanoke, Richmond, and Hampton Roads areas.
Kristen Larcher, director of refugee and immigration services at CCC says the impacts of President Donald Trump's order pausing refugee entry came 'fast and furious.'
Trump ordered a pause on refugee arrivals in January, ending reimbursements for programs like the CCC's. His order included a 90-day review, which would have landed on April 27. Then in February, that review was seemingly scrapped when the state department terminated grant agreements with the ten resettlement agencies in the U.S.
'I don't really know what that means, I don't see after a termination that now they would come back and revisit how this is going to look,' said Larcher. 'What I have heard from the network USCCB is that helping refugees might resurface in the future but it might look different and it might not happen through these ten agencies.'
The Trump administration argued in the January 20 order that 'The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans.'
Roanoke Police looking for missing girl
'I think cities are well prepared and have always been,' Larcher responded in an interview Tuesday. 'I mean the 1980 Refugee Act, it's not a new program, it's been around for decades.'
The order says refugee admissions can resume when they align 'with the interests of the United States.'
Larcher and her team continued to offer 90-day services to refugees who arrived before January 20, despite not receiving reimbursements from the federal government.
The CCC Roanoke office had to let go nine of its 17 member staff. They typically help about 315 refugees in one fiscal year (October to September). By January, 88 arrived, so Larcher's team started looking for alternatives funding.
'Past donors, churches, volunteers,' she explained. 'We had to pull together funds pretty quickly to cover those expenses that are promised to refugees coming through the reception and placement program.'
The funding helps provide housing when they get to the U.S. and education in conversational English and other typical American life skills. The program also helps refugees find work so they can get on their feet after their first 90 days.
The U.S. is still helping refugees who came to America before the order.
'Losing the reception and placement program is like losing one engine,' Larcher explained. 'We're still operating on this other engine. Funding does come through the Office of Refugee Resettlement and that's a completely different program that allows us, as I said before, to work with refugees for 3, 4, 5 years. That's the ongoing refugee services that go beyond the first 90 days.'
As of right now, Larcher says they expect to have that funding next fiscal year.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.