Leonard Bagalwa fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo and arrived in Utah in 2004. After graduating from Utah Valley University and working in refugee services, he founded the nonprofit Utah Valley Refugees to help those like him in Utah County.
Bagalwa and his team are now struggling to support their clients after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 that suspended the United States Refugee Admissions Program. The program provided funding to local agencies that help refugees settle in the U.S.
Refugees undergo extensive vetting before being admitted into the United States. They must demonstrate that they have been persecuted, or fear persecution, due to an aspect of their identity or political beliefs.
In response to the funding freeze, Bagalwa said Utah Valley Refugees laid off caseworkers and other employees. They cut their staff from nine to five, who are now limited to working 10 or 20 hours a week.
“We're doing [as] much as we can, but it's hard on us as well … because of the workload we have, and we're getting little out of it.”
Bagalwa said the most recent arrivals are stuck because they don’t yet have their papers in order to go to work.
“Normally, the funding from the federal government is meant to help those who are brand new arriving refugees to pay their rent for 90 days, as well as support them with other bills,” he said. “Those who came that week the order was executed did not get the 90 days funding. And those people are in limbo.”
Prior to the order, the organization helped refugees pay rent, learn English and adapt to life in the U.S., supporting them as they found jobs and enrolled their children in school.
Amanda Nelson, program director for the nonprofit, said they are working with six families who arrived in January before the order was signed, and the organization now lacks reliable funding to pay their rent.
“We're worried for ourselves and our jobs, but most important[ly], we're worried about these families becoming homeless.”
The same executive order also prevented new refugees from settling in the U.S. Two hundred and eighty refugees arrived in Utah from October through December 2024, according to the state Refugee Services Office, and they may be affected by the lack of funding for services for new arrivals.
Aden Batar, director of migration and refugee services for Catholic Community Services of Utah, said his organization is doing the best it can to continue its support of refugees.
“It's really hurting the families. It's hurting the agency. It's hurting our staff,” he said. “In the next month or so, if we don't get the funding that we expect to receive from the federal government, I think that's going to jeopardize the program.”
He also wonders how he can continue helping refugees pay their rent. He said the federal government is not upholding its end of the deal.
“The Department of Homeland Security already gave them status to come to the United States, and they already have legal status to remain in the U.S.,” he said. “The federal government brought them here, and now it was left for the resettlement agency to provide the services, and the government is not honoring the contract that we have for them to provide the funding.”
A group of refugee service organizations from across the country, as well as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has sued the Trump administration over the executive order.
Bagalwa feels his effort is going to waste but he wants to find a solution. The organization launched a crowdfunding campaign to support their work.
“I'm hoping that the community will jump in and support these programs,” he said. “It's very sad to see just one man just come in and just change life for hundreds of people.”
Batar said the funding freeze is unprecedented and like nothing they’ve seen in the 45 years of the program. Even when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred, he said the program continued. Now he worries funding will also be cut for things like mentoring newly arrived students and Medicaid and Social Security.
“With the federal funding freeze and the battle with the courts, a lot of families, their lives are very in jeopardy because they heavily rely on those vital programs.”
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
