WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the last 24 hours, several member organizations of the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) – a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 83 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations – received letters from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) notifying them of an immediate halt in funding disbursement for services and resources that help people obtain their U.S. citizenship.
The brief letter states, “Effective immediately, your grant from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration
Services is frozen. In accordance with the pause in activities, payments are not available at this time.”
This new funding freeze by the Trump administration targets several long-standing programs that help people navigate lawful immigration pathways for lawful permanent residents to become US citizens.
As an organization dedicated to immigrant and refugee inclusion, recognizing the value that our communities bring to our society, culture, and economy, NPNA and its members condemn the USCIS spending freeze as a direct attack on lawful immigration pathways and people’s ability to become U.S. citizens. It is an attack on democracy, the rule of law, workable government processes, and access to essential services that propel our economy through naturalization.
Said Angelica Salas, Executive Director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of California (CHIRLA) “When the Trump Administration froze many USCIS grants the administration reiterated that all immigrants regardless of their status and aspirations to become citizens are targets. For generations, immigrant serving organizations have helped immigrants become U.S. citizens and made the motto “e pluribus unum” a reality. The Trump Administration is cutting off funds and intimidating organizations that offer naturalization and other legal immigration services to immigrants, but their misinformed strategy will hurt the whole country as well as green card holders and their families, people learning English, and those who seek to realize their dream of finally being recognized as citizens.”
Said Caitlyn Lewis, Community Center for Immigrants executive director, based in Wisconsin, “Continuing to freeze our funds despite multiple court rulings blocking these actions is an unjust power grab. It threatens our ability to serve hundreds of students and legal clients—hardworking families lawfully admitted to the U.S. This freeze would force class cancellations and severely diminish our capacity to assist those who are trying to achieve the American dream.”
Said Diane Joly, Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) director of citizenship, “Since we were awarded the CIS grant, we have been working tirelessly to provide services to eligible individuals and families that need assistance to apply for naturalization. We currently have more than 100 clients waiting to be scheduled for an appointment and without the grant we lose the capacity to serve these applicants. The consequences for families and communities are significant; without citizenship, they are unable to build secure and stable lives for their families.”
Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “For years, NPNA and our members have worked tirelessly to reduce barriers to naturalization, offering essential community education to help aspiring citizens navigate the naturalization process. We strongly condemn this decision and will advocate vigorously for the restoration of this vital funding. Citizenship preparation classes and legal services for lawful permanent residents are indispensable for fostering social integration into our society and promoting economic prosperity in our communities.
“The government should not be in the business of cutting off people’s ability to become citizens of this country they’ve come to love and call home – cutting them off from full participation in our democracy. We demand our Members of Congress take action today to stop these harmful and chaotic freezes – not only for people eligible for citizenship, but for the future of our democracy.”
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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 83 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.