A federal funding freeze left a gap in the budgets of Michigan’s refugee resettlement agencies.
President Donald Trump suspended refugee admissions into the nation in late January. Then came an executive stop-work order that halted federal work related to foreign aid. Soon after, the State Department terminated national resettlement contracts.
Michigan has consistently been one of refugees’ top initial resettlement destinations in the nation. Since 2012, Michigan has been a leader in refugee arrivals — the state has consistently ranked in the top 10 for arrivals, except in 2018 when Michigan ranked 13th. In the past decade, over 30,000 refugees settled in Michigan, and in fiscal year 2024 alone, the state took in 3,649 refugees.
And for 75 years, Samaritas, Michigan's largest resettlement agency, has provided refugee resettlement services for thousands, according to Lukas Ziomkowski, Samaritas’ Vice President of Refugee Services.
To fill the gap that federal cuts left behind, Ziomkowski told Stateside that Samaritas turned to community donations.
“We weren't going to let families go homeless because of this crisis in this situation,” Ziomkowski said. “So knowing that we could no longer receive any federal dollars, we went straight to the community and have asked for support so that we can continue to show up and continue to be there for the families, at least during the most critical time during these [first] 90 days that they're here.”
The stop-work order cut federal funds to 430 individuals receiving services from the Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County, according to Mira Sussman, the Resource Development Manager and Impact Coordinator with Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County. JFS provides refugee resettlement services in the local area, in addition to other social services to the broader community.
In face of these cuts, Sussman said JFS turned to the community.
“That stop-work order was across the entire refugee resettlement sector, and our board also decided very early on that the ethical thing to do was to continue providing services for these people that we had promised,” Sussman said. “The American government had promised them that they could come here and work and be safe, and that's our obligation.”
Samaritas has an 86% self-sufficiency rate through their micro-enterprise development program, meaning a vast majority of refugees are able to support themselves within eight months of their arrival, Sussman said. In their first 20 years in America, refugees pay $21,000 more in taxes than they receive in benefits, according to a 2017 report by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Michigan immigrants paid $5.5 billion in federal taxes and $2.6 billion in state taxes during 2022, according to the American Immigration Council. That's 10% of the state's annual GDP. Ziomkowski said the executive orders stopping refugee admissions would hurt the economy.
“The state of Michigan has relied a lot on immigration in terms of increasing the population across the state, and the economic disadvantages of not having immigration could lead to all kinds of issues moving forward,” Ziomkowski said.
Sussman said it has been hard for her to hear how families have been unable to reunite in the midst of all the federal action.
“I've heard some really heartbreaking stories about like adult children who (experienced) one little thing wrong, like a fingerprint smudge or something, and they weren't able to fly,” Sussman said. “The rest of their family arrived and they are now stuck overseas without their family support. That just breaks my heart.”
These refugee resettlement agencies are contracted by the federal government, and without federal support, Sussman said, the organization cannot fulfill its mission.
“Refugees are the most vetted population that comes to this country,” she said. “They've gone through multiple background checks… We hear from the clients that they are so excited to participate in the American dream. They're coming here. They believe in the Statue of Liberty. They believe in the land of opportunities and they want to participate in that.”
Hear the full conversation with Lukas Ziomkowski and Mira Sussman on today's podcast.
