08-03-2025
Virginia nonprofit ceases refugee resettlement program in wake of federal cuts
Commonwealth Catholic Charities, a faith-based nonprofit that works with immigrant and refugee populations in Hampton Roads, Richmond and Roanoke, laid off 26 people and ceased a refugee resettlement program in the wake of sweeping federal cuts and executive orders.
The organization has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on things such as direct support and rental assistance for refugees that will not be reimbursed by the federal government, and must now rely more heavily on donations to assist families who have already relocated to Virginia.
'The last month has been pretty nightmarish,' said Kristen Larcher, the nonprofit's director of the Refugee and Immigration program. 'We have received several executive orders, notices of suspension or termination of contracts that have pretty much changed our entire operation.'
The organization has resettled about 1,500 individuals in the Newport News area since 2018.
When refugees flee violence, persecution or war in their home countries to seek safety in the United States, the process can take years. They often wind up in a second country of asylum while they await a lengthy vetting process. The people Catholic Charities helps have been granted visas to travel to the U.S. and promised assistance to find housing and employment.
Until about a month ago, the refugee resettlement program at Catholic Charities worked like this: Before refugees arrived in Virginia, the organization would procure housing and supplies, making sure the fridge was stocked.
Then, staff would pick up refugees from the airport and begin an intensive acclimation process, which lasts 90 days. That meant meetings with a case manager. Health screenings. Pre-employment training and job interviews. Financial literacy training. English and cultural orientation classes. In the background, staff was coordinating transportation, helping people look for jobs and booking interpreters.
'I can imagine it's a whirlwind for a new refugee,' said Larcher. 'All these things we're trying to do to educate and just prepare them for life here.'
That intensive case management, called the reception and placement program, has been totally suspended as a result of federal policy changes.
The first came in January, when President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending the United States Refugee Admissions Program. That effectively barred new refugees from entering the country, except at the discretion of the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security, who could agree to admit new people on a case-by-case basis. While the suspension is supposed to be reviewed every 90 days to determine whether it should resume, the practical effects meant Catholic Charities was no longer able to take in new refugees, ending the cyclical nature of the program.
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Then the nonprofit, which is contracted through the U.S. Department of State and Office of Refugee Resettlement, received notice that federal funding for programs for new refugees was paused. That means no federal money was coming in to reimburse ongoing services with the resettled families already living in the state. As of Friday, the organization said it will not receive roughly $750,000 in reimbursement on expenses for direct client support, rental assistance and staffing costs.
'We're paying out a lot,' Larcher said. 'We're helping refugees with rent. We are buying them food and clothing, and we're not able to get that funding reimbursed.'
Catholic news outlets reported the State Department canceled its contract on Feb. 27 with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the national agency for Commonwealth Catholic Charities. That has meant the elimination of the reception and placement program.
Vice President JD Vance has been critical of the Catholic Church's involvement with immigration advocacy and refugee resettlement efforts, suggesting that bishops cared more about their bottom line than humanitarian efforts. Trump has said the refugee resettlement pause is necessary to ensure refugees are 'appropriately' assimilated and that taxpayer money is not wasted.
Since October, Commonwealth Catholic Charities has taken on 96 cases, a total of 378 people coming from countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria and Ukraine. The nonprofit is still assisting 60 families while they look for work.
The federal announcements have meant a lot of scrambling, Larcher said, including emergency fundraising efforts to make sure existing refugees in the program are getting basics met, such as rent and utilities.
So far, the organization has raised $280,000 to pay for rent for all new arrivals through March. They hope to raise an additional $120,000 to cover rent through April and May. About $41,000 of the anticipated funding gap affects refugees in Hampton Roads.
After the initial 90 days, Catholic Charities provides other less intensive support for refugees for up to five years, after which they can apply for citizenship. That aid includes support services such as ESL classes, food pantries and immigration assistance. Under new federal policy, the 90-day case management program is terminated; the other support services are ongoing.
'Despite that funding and that program suspension and termination, we can't not continue to take care of refugees that have just come that were assigned to us,' Larcher said. 'These are individuals who are going to be part of our community, and we recognize in solidarity with them that we're all part of one human family.'
No one the organization currently works with will go homeless or hungry, Larcher said, but it's clear the nonprofit can't continue operate as is. In addition to laying off 26 staff members, a move that the organization said was necessary to continue to pay for direct assistance for new arrivals, refugees using the nonprofit's services are on a much more condensed timeline to become fully independent. The layoffs accounted for about 15% of the organization's total workforce, and more than half of the refugee resettlement team.
Though a Supreme Court decision last week upheld a requirement to have Trump resume payments for aid work already done, the administration signaled to faith-based charity groups that receive millions of dollars from the government every year that that time is over.
Kate Seltzer, 757-713-7881,
