BALTIMORE — A Baltimore based non-profit that settles refugees in the U.S. is among thousands of federal grant contracts recently cut by President Donald Trump's State Department.
Global Refuge helps with intake and placement of foreign nationals admitted into the country via the Refugee Admissions Program.
The program was targeted by Trump on his first day back in the White House, as he immediately suspended operations for 90 days.
Global Refuge was awarded hundreds of millions in federal funding in the final months of 2024, thanks to a continuing resolution passed by Congress while Joe Biden was still President.
This got the attention of Presidential allies like Elon Musk and retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, a former National Security Adviser during the first Trump administration.
MORE: Global Refuge responds to Michael Flynn's accusations of money laundering
“This termination of federal support and the continued failure to reimburse for services already provided represents the essential destruction of a program that has saved more than 3.6 million lives since its creation in 1980," said Global Refuge President and CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah. "This decision will undoubtedly disrupt critical services for vulnerable families and trigger widespread layoffs among social service professionals, forcing local communities to address entirely avoidable evictions, food insecurity, and devastating job losses.”
The terminations were revealed in an ongoing lawsuit over freezes to foreign aid.
U.S. District Court judge Amir Ali, in Washington D.C., ordered the government to unfreeze payouts, but the Supreme Court stepped in Wednesday night temporarily halting the ruling.
Another district judge, Jamal Whitehead, recently ordered the Trump administration to restart refugee admissions which were also on pause.
Whitehead is also hearing another lawsuit brought by non-profits seeking to protect non-profits and refugees impacted by the cuts.
In the meantime, Global Refuge says they're "actively exploring ways to continue providing support in partnership with local organizations, faith communities, businesses, and volunteers."
