Trump Freezes Funds to Oregon Nonprofits that Help Immigrants Become U.S. Citizens
Oregon Nonprofits Reel under Latest Funding Freeze Announcement by the Trump Administration that Impacts Immigrants Seeking Citizenship
A freeze on federal grant funding to assist immigrants who are legal permanent residents to become naturalized U.S. citizens has caused dismay among nonprofit service providers in Oregon.
The Trump Administration notified the nonprofits that funds would be frozen immediately.
The Trump Administration this week notified the organizations that funding will be frozen with immediate effect.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says her department will freeze all grants to nonprofit organizations that work with immigrant communities. She says each grant will then be evaluated.
Oregon Senator Fires a Salvo of Protest
The announcement has come under fire from Oregon Senator Ron Wyden,
He said freezing funds that had previously been approved by Congress was unacceptable. Wyden said ‘local nonprofits work hard to help vulnerable Oregonians,’ and the decision ‘hurts families and weakens our communities.’
Wyden said he would pressure the administration to reinstate the federal resources because they have already been authorized by Congress.
It is not clear how the fund freeze to nonprofits is separate from one the Trump administration announced in January and which was rescinded after legal challenges and judicial intervention. That announcement impacted trillions of dollars in federal funds throughout the country.
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Will Lose $300,00 in Funding
The announcement means the loss of a $300,000 grant over two years to the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. Since 2009, the program has helped more than 350,000 immigrants prepare for citizenship.
A program providing legal services to immigrants eligible for citizenship who live in rural areas – Immigration Counseling Service – has also had its grant frozen. The executive director, Frank Garcia, declined to reveal the value of the grant but said it would have run for four years.
Garcia says the organization assists people with documentation, work authorization, green cards, and naturalization, explained Garcia.
There are 80,000 Oregonians Eligible for Citizenship
Oregon has 110,000 legal permanent residents with 80,000 eligible to be citizens of the U.S. A legal permanent resident – or green card holder – must wait five before applying for citizenship.
Last year. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it would award $10 million under the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program to organizations that prepare immigrants for naturalization and civic integration.