The International Institute of Southwest Missouri has furloughed 80% of its staff in Springfield. The furlough went into effect on Saturday, leaving just four members of the 24-person staff still on the job at the refugee resettlement agency, which operates out of an office in north central Springfield.
In a statement, the organization’s vice-president and executive director Rebekah Thomas said, “This difficult decision comes in direct response to recent and unprecedented actions by the federal administration that have halted key immigration programs, including refugee reception and placement, and cast uncertainty over the release of funding for all other federal funding for our programs. Without assurances that the federal government will release the money to our organization that has been promised by acts of Congress, we must make this unfortunate, immediate and drastic decision.”
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on January 20 that froze the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program as of January 27, suspending refugee admissions and applications.
Speaking at a Town Hall at Pitts Chapel in Springfield Sunday, Thomas said that, on January 24, they received a cease work order for all resettlement activities, which stated that they would not be reimbursed for that work. That work order, she said, affects one federal grant out of 10 that they receive. But there’s concern that the freeze of federal money, if it is allowed to move forward, will impact the organization’s finances. She said they don’t get paid up front for the work that they do, they are reimbursed for money they spend, and her office has not been reimbursed yet for work they’ve done in December or January. She doesn’t know when or if they’ll be reimbursed.
Thomas said the International Institute remains open and will continue to serve clients, but the way they deliver that service will be changing.
She said they hope to be able to bring back staff and get operations back to normal quickly, upon the release of federal funds. She hopes the community will help by donating to the International Institute of Southwest Missouri.
The institute has been in Springfield since 2013 and has served over 1,800 refugees, according to Thomas. She said they’ve resettled more than 700 individuals through the refugee admissions program. More than 177 of those refugees have been resettled in Springfield over the last three months.
KSMU Public Affairs Reporter Gregory Holman contributed to this story.