Trump halts services for refugees already in US, including 176 children in Des Moines

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Gloire Sadiki holds his 3-year-old child after they were reunited at the Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport in in Louisville, KY, Jan. 14, 2025. The Congolese refugees were reunited through the U.S. refugee program. Chris Kenning/USA TODAY NETWORK Via Imagn Images
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By Amanda Tugade, Des Moines Register

Des Moines, IA-Two Des Moines resettlement agencies will serve the 309 new arrivals they already welcomed to Iowa, despite a federal order abruptly halting their operations and critical government funding.

To help them, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) and Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) say they need community support to keep their programs going and help the refugees find stable housing, jobs, food and other care.

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USCRI and LSI are among the dozens of resettlement agencies nationwide that received a memo Friday from the U.S. Department of State with an immediate order to stop serving the refugee families already here. They also were told they would no longer receive federal funds after that day.

The stop work order effectively cuts off “vital support to families who have already lawfully resettled in the United States” that is needed in order for them to become self-sufficient in the U.S., according to Global Refuge.

“Having been promised a better tomorrow after fleeing war and persecution, refugee families, half of who are children who arrived in hopes of calling Iowa home, are now arriving to uncertainty,” said Samantha Huynh, who leads the USCRI Des Moines office.

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Bakari Mtende poses for a portrait at the USCRI office on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Des Moines. Lily Smith/The Register

Of the 118 people Huynh’s office recently resettled, 68 are minors.

LSI’s 191 clients — 108 of whom are minors — “are at risk” across their settlement locations in the capital city, Sioux City and Waterloo, said Nick Wuertz, director of the faith-based nonprofit’s refugee services.

Most are from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan, and many arrived within the last month, he said.

“This action will have profound negative impacts on the children and families throughout our communities,” he said.

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Huynh said she and staff “are not giving up on those we serve” but are asking “state and local communities” to help sustain their services vital to refugee families seeking to rebuild their lives. Federal dollars allowed faith-based nonprofit LSI to cover families’ basic living expenses and other supportive services like case management, interpretation and transportation, Wuertz said.

USCRI and LSI are two of four resettlement agencies with offices in Des Moines. Catholic Charities of the Des Moines Diocese said it “continues to monitor this evolving situation” and declined to comment further.

The International Rescue Committee Iowa office said in a statement it is “actively assessing” the executive orders and remains “resolute in our dedication to helping people impacted by conflict and violence who have fled their homes to seek safety elsewhere.” 

The news capped off a tough week for agencies grappling with President Donald Trump’s executive order pausing the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The Trump administration also canceled all refugee travel to the U.S. including nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared to resettle in America, according to Reuters.

USCRI and LSI, two of seven resettlement agencies in Iowa, planned to welcome at least 1,400 refugees and immigrants this year. About 150 were supposed to arrive within the next two months, Huynh and Wuertz previously told the Des Moines Register.

USCRI had hoped to reunite 56 individuals next month with their families.

KAI dancers, Thu Win, 20, Say Paw, 18, and Day Mu Pehwah, 16, from Thailand, perform during central Iowa’s immigrant and refugee communities welcoming week hosted by Polk County and Des Moines Water Works at the Northwest Community Center, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023.
Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register

How to help

USCRI and LSI welcome monetary donations, which can be done through their organization’s websites, Huynh and Wuertz said.

More information on U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants can be found at refugees.org/donate/uscri-des-moines. More information about Lutheran Services in Iowa can be found at lsiowa.org/take-action/.

Wuertz said the money will allow staff to help families get their children enrolled in school and attend health appointments, as well as host English and cultural orientation classes. Another way people can help is through advocacy, he said.

“We also ask Iowans to reach out to their federally elected officials and ask them to reverse the stop order request that is leaving these new Iowans without the support they need and deserve,” Wuertz said.  “We also ask our federal officials to immediately resume the refugee admissions program, which has not only been a life-saving program for families around the globe, but a program that contributes billions to our federal, state and local economies.”

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