Immigration and Refugee Services

Written By Adair Hill

Last Updated: April 8, 2025

  • ORR refugee case management and employment grants cut.

  • Legal aid contracts for asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors terminated or reduced.

  • Family reunification and trauma recovery services defunded.

  • Unaccompanied minor shelter grants consolidated under stricter models.

Grants being cut or changed

Federal funding for immigration legal services, refugee resettlement, and asylum seeker support has been reduced or restructured in 2025. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) have limited grant programs for community-based legal aid, shelter, and employment assistance for newly arrived individuals. Several contracts with nonprofit legal service providers have been terminated or significantly reduced in scope. Funding for culturally appropriate trauma recovery and family reunification services is also being scaled back.

Eliminations or restructuring

Programs that once provided grants to organizations serving unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers at the southern border have been consolidated under a new restrictive model, favoring larger national contractors over local nonprofit providers. ORR has reduced direct assistance for refugee case management and employment support, shifting to a block grant system administered through states with fewer reporting requirements. Many faith-based and community-based resettlement partners are receiving smaller or no allocations in 2025.

On hold or court challenges

Immigration advocacy organizations have filed lawsuits challenging the cancellation of multiyear legal aid and humanitarian support contracts. A federal judge ruled in March 2025 that some existing contracts must be honored through their original term. Further litigation is pending over access to asylum services and support for unaccompanied children.

Timeline

Cuts to resettlement and immigration legal aid began rolling out in early 2025. Terminations of active contracts triggered immediate service reductions. Full implementation of the block grant model for refugee services is expected by October 2025. Many nonprofits have already paused or reduced operations.

State-level impact

In Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania—states with growing immigrant and refugee populations—local legal aid nonprofits and refugee support agencies are downsizing staff and cutting services. North Carolina and Tennessee resettlement programs are struggling to meet basic housing and job placement needs. West Virginia and South Carolina, which saw increased placements during the Afghan and Ukrainian resettlement waves, are unable to continue community-based support without federal funding.

Sources

Adair Hill
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