By Alexander Cornwell
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A Jewish American organization, long supported by the U.S. government to assist those escaping conflict and oppressive regimes, is set to scale back significantly its operations after U.S. President Donald Trump’s order to stop refugee admissions and almost all development assistance spending.
HIAS President Mark Hetfield described the aftermath of Trump’s orders, part of a broader “America First” realignment of the government, as “complete chaos,” saying that there had been limited engagement by U.S. officials.
“We’re asking a lot of questions, not getting any real information back,” Hetfield said in an interview in Jerusalem, during a visit with other Jewish American organizations.
Trump’s January 20 executive orders paused nearly all foreign aid spending for 90 days, hitting humanitarian groups hard, and indefinitely suspended the intake of refugees. Many faith-based groups like HIAS have for decades relied on U.S. funding to provide lifesaving assistance.
HIAS, established in 1903 as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, says it helps some 1.4 million refugees and displaced people annually, including providing meals, mental health services and legal protection. The U.S.-based group assists people around the world and helps resettle several thousand refugees each year, mostly to the United States.
“Everything’s been shut down that’s U.S. government-funded, which is the majority of what we do,” Hetfield said.
That included a program to help Jews and other religious minorities in Iran immigrate to the U.S., while across the organization hundreds of employees had been laid off, he said.
According to Hetfield, 60% of the organization’s $200 million annual budget was funded by the State Department and other U.S. federal government agencies. The Trump administration has said foreign aid remains halted despite a judge’s order to lift the freeze.
Hetfield said HIAS would restructure to rely on private funding, but with private funding amounting to just $30 million — 15% of its annual budget — the organization is likely to look vastly different, focusing on legal services and advocacy.
“Basically, it means a divorce from the U.S. government and their funding, because they’re not a trustworthy partner anymore,” he said, adding that the State Department was preventing access to records of refugee resettlement applicants.
HIAS Country Director Sivan Carmel said nearly 1,000 refugees in Israel seeking U.S. asylum were now in limbo, including many whose applications had already been approved.
“We’re talking about torture survivors, single-parent households, LGBTQ people, and people with medical conditions —really, the most vulnerable,” she said.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
