Silver Spring, Md — HIAS, the Jewish community’s international agency for refugees, is proud to join several other global humanitarian and development organizations and companies in a lawsuit seeking to stop the freeze on U.S. foreign assistance programs.
“The effects of these unlawful and cruel stop-work orders halting foreign aid have been immediate and severe,” said HIAS President Mark Hetfield. “HIAS has been forced to suspend or halt programs providing assistance to 450,000 vulnerable displaced people around the world, leaving them at heightened risk of trafficking, abuse, and exploitation.”
The President’s foreign assistance ban, as implemented by the State Department and the Office of Management and Budget, has resulted in the withholding of funds lawfully appropriated by Congress. The abrupt and arbitrary funding cutoff has caused turmoil at HIAS and among other partners, costing thousands of American jobs.
Suspended work at HIAS includes immediate and life-saving programs for displaced and at-risk children, mental health and psychosocial support for refugees experiencing high levels of distress, economic inclusion programs that supported refugees in establishing new lives, and protection against trafficking and violence for women and girls around the world. “It is offensive to our Jewish values and poses an existential threat to our work, our mission, and our decades of public-private partnership with the United States government,” said Hetfield.
The lawsuit brings together a broad group of plaintiffs including Small Business Association for International Companies, the American Bar Association, Democracy International, the Global Health Council, Chemonics International, DAI Global, and Management Sciences for Health.
This is the second legal challenge HIAS has participated in related to President Trump’s executive orders this week. You can find our statement on our lawsuit challenging the suspension of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program here. For press inquiries, contact media@hias.org.
