SALT LAKE CITY — Catholic Community Services of Utah, which has aided with refugee resettlement in Utah since the Vietnam War era, is winding down its resettlement program due to a cut in federal funding — one of many changes mandated by President Donald Trump.

"This is a very difficult time," said Aden Batar, director of migration and refugee services. As is, Utah is home to some 60,000-70,000 refugees from around the globe with Catholic Community Services of Utah, until now, helping resettle around 700 a year.

Simultaneously, the organization has stopped offering legal assistance to unaccompanied immigrant children in Utah seeking legal status, also due to a federal funding cut. The decision impacts 126 minors in Utah that the agency had been helping and around 26,000 in all nationwide, who will now be on their own in dealing with the legal system.

"You know, it's going to be devastating for those minors to go there by themselves," Batar said.

On taking office on Jan. 20, Trump signed an order halting the entry of new refugees into the country and also froze federal funding meant to help with resettlement of more recent refugee arrivals, spurring the Catholic Community Services decision to gradually end its refugee initiative. Its refugee resettlement efforts started in the 1970s when Utah, like many U.S. states, started accepting Vietnamese people displaced by the Vietnam War, Batar said.

Trump "completely shut down the refugee resettlement program," Batar said. He said no new refugees have arrived in Utah since Jan. 22 "and then the funding also was frozen."

Read more:

Multicultural Utah

Looking for more news about the different cultures that call Utah home? Visit our Multicultural Utah section for more stories, events and features.

Since the freeze, focus of a lawsuit filed by the Conference of Catholic Bishops and other organizations, Catholic Community Services has spent about $1 million assisting more recent refugee arrivals — funds the feds would typically reimburse. The organization is seeking donations to temporarily keep up the aid, which helps refugees with rent, utilities, bus passes and other expenses, but plans to gradually end refugee assistance efforts in mid-2026.

The moves by the Trump administration have impacted other organizations that aid with refugee resettlement, Batar said. Indeed, officials with the International Rescue Committee in Salt Lake City and Logan-based Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection also say they've been impacted by funding cuts and hit hard.

Dan Johnson, interim executive director of Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection, said the organization will lose out on some $300,000 through the end of June due to the federal funding freeze. Like Catholic Community Services, it seeks donations to make up for the loss. A few positions have been eliminated through attrition to trim costs and he worries about having to make more cuts.

"There's nothing left for us but to lean into the community, write grants and reach out to foundations, reach out to the community to ask for help so we can continue to provide services," Johnson said. The organization also recently learned it would be losing out on a $75,000 Bear River Health Department grant because it was to be funded with federal money that was frozen.

In light of the loss of funding, Danny Beus, the International Rescue Committee executive director, defended the group's role in aiding refugees.

"Taking care of these people is not political, it's the right thing to do. But if doing the right thing isn't enough for people, refugees contribute millions in local, state and federal taxes," he said. "In fact, if you take the money spent on helping refugees get on their feet, they not only pay that money back in taxes, but they exceed it in massive amounts."

In halting the entry of new refugees, Trump's order cites what it believes to be the burden and danger they pose. "The United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees, into its communities in a manner that does not compromise the availability of resources for Americans, that protects their safety and security and that ensures the appropriate assimilation of refugees," it reads.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other officials are to issue a report within 90 days of the January order saying whether the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program should be resumed. But the order is unclear about whether or when it's to restart, figuring in the Utah agency's decision to wind down its refugee programming.

"The secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the secretary of State, shall submit further reports every 90 days thereafter until I determine that resumption of the USRAP is in the interests of the United States," reads Trump's order.

In his first term, Trump temporarily halted refugee resettlements, subsequently allowing them to resume but lowering the allowable number of refugees. He didn't halt funding to aid with resettlement efforts, though.

Despite the Trump administration's concerns with refugees, Batar defended them, saying they typically get jobs soon after arriving and quickly become self-sufficient, though they initially need support. Utah's refugees, typically fleeing persecution in their home countries, come from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Venezuela, various countries of Africa and elsewhere. They face rigorous vetting from U.S. officials before getting permission to come.

"They work so hard. They provide to their communities. They pay taxes," Batar said. "They open businesses. They contribute to our economy. Our employers heavily rely on the workforce."

'Removes the safety net'

The separate decision to halt federal funding earmarked to provide unaccompanied immigrant children with legal representation came on March 21. Catholic Community Services was the only organization in Utah providing such assistance and the organization also seeks donations to keep up the efforts.

Such children typically enter the country illegally, without their parents, and groups like Catholic Community Serivces, with the federal funding, had helped them navigate the legal system as they seek a means to remain. The funding freeze "effectively removes the safety net that ensures children receive due process and appropriate care," Batar said.

Related topics