In addition to filing lawsuits, some of the refugee groups have staged protests, including one convened outside the White House earlier this month featuring clergy and lawmakers such as Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland. Meanwhile, refugees have been unable to enter the country, and while the Trump administration has expressed support for accepting Afrikaner South Africans as refugees — a characterization rejected by many in South Africa itself, including by white South African Christian leaders — agencies say they are not sure how members of the group could come to the U.S.
Episcopal Migration Ministries, another faith-based refugee resettlement agency, has already cut 22 positions since January. A spokesperson for the Episcopal Church said that 97% of the ministry’s funding comes from U.S. government grants.
“We understand that work to be discontinued because there’s no new arrivals and no funding,” said Amanda Skofstad, the spokesperson.
Still, the agency’s work will continue for now.
“Our commitment to ministering with and to migrants and refugees is not changed by this,” Skofstad said. “Exactly how we carry that out is a little uncertain for the immediate future. We’re going to have to figure it out.”
This article originally appeared here.
