Silver Spring, Md — HIAS welcomes today’s court decision requiring the U.S. government to unfreeze billions of dollars in foreign assistance funding by tomorrow at midnight. The emergency hearing, held in a D.C. federal court, enforced a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued 12 days ago, to which the U.S. government has not complied.
The decision pertained to Global Health Council v. Trump, a lawsuit in which HIAS is a plaintiff, alongside the American Bar Association, the Small Business Association for International Companies, Management Sciences for Health, Democracy International, Chemonics International, and other global development organizations and corporations.
“The stop-work orders suspending foreign assistance have had immediate and devastating effects on HIAS’ work and on the entire humanitarian sector,” said HIAS President Mark Hetfield. “In countries around the world, HIAS has been forced to end most of our programs for 450,000 forcibly displaced people, including programs to protect displaced women, girls, and at-risk children from trafficking and violence.”
HIAS strongly urges the U.S. government to comply with the order. As the world’s oldest refugee agency, we will stand strong today to work for the protection and safety of people who have fled violence and persecution, as we have every day for more than a century.
The statement on HIAS’ participation in Global Health Council v. Trump can be found here.
For press inquiries, reach out to media@hias.org.
