Two Des Moines resettlement agencies say they have continued to provide aid and support to new arrivals and existing refugees despite President Donald Trump’s stop-work order.
In one of his first acts in office, Trump cancelled flights for refugees approved to come to the country and ordered resettlement agencies to stop serving new arrivals, who would otherwise receive three months of help finding housing, employment, medical care and school for their children.
LSI CEO and President Renee Hardman, center left, stands with farmers and staff at the LSI Global Greens International Market in 2024. Lutheran Services in Iowa and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants have said the stop-work order affected 309 newly arrived refugees, including 176 children.
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LSI received a $1.5 million federal reimbursement in April — critical dollars needed to cover its program’s expenses since last October, Executive Director Renee Hardman said. Hardman said the reimbursement, along with some additional funds, gave some wiggle room to rehire at least five employees, mostly caseworkers.
“That was a plus to us,” she said.
In February, the organization pleaded with
state lawmakers for solutions as it braced for layoffs and other unexpected challenges ahead. Twenty-one employees across LSI’s three branches, including Sioux City and Waterloo, were let go.
Other programs intended to help clients become business owners, grow and sell their produce and learn English are still available, Hardman said. The future remains uncertain, but she said her team is trying to be more creative and figure out ways to sustain their services.
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Huynh has encountered another issue — this time with her organization’s employment program, which offers reimbursements for new clients who enroll. With no new clients, there’s no new funding, she said. USCRI still offers a wellness program, which focuses on physical and mental health resources, but the need for direct services, especially housing and work, is vital, Huynh said.
She said she also is unsure how Trump’s newly announced travel ban will impact their clients. Among the 12 countries listed, the ban includes Afghanistan, Republic of Congo, Sudan and Eritrea.
Konah Johnson helps her daughter Jennifer, 6, with schoolwork during an open tutoring session for high schoolers on Oct. 14, 2020 at Franklin Jr. High in Des Moines. Johnson is a 30-year-old single mother of five and a refugeeÊfrom Liberia. Olivia Sun/The Register Hardman said she recently learned that the grant funding LSI relied on to help refugees and immigrants find pathways to U.S. citizenship has been cut. She and her team are now looking to private funds and other solutions to continue that work.
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Hardman said she is unsure what will happen after Sept. 30, when the fiscal cycle ends.
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“We’re going to continue to probably struggle,” she predicted.
The mission, however, remains unchanged.
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“At the core of who we are, we are humanitarians, and at the core of who we are, we are people who are making Iowa a better place for others,” Hardman said. “We are people who are really welcoming individuals who really want to live a life that is honestly quite simple — to be able to feed their families, earn a living, pay taxes and just live.
“Just live.”
