The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services says recent movies by the “callous Trump administration” is forcing them to lay off workers.
SAN ANTONIO — A Texas nonprofit that provides legal help for migrants and asylum-seekers is preparing to lay off dozens from its San Antonio headquarters.
According to a notice submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission on Tuesday, the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) will let go of 61 employees after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on federal grant payments last month.
The affected RAICES workers will be given full severance, the organization said. Employees also have recall rights for up to four and a half years “if the federal government reverses course.”
“The stop-work orders and funding obstruction at the hands of the callous Trump administration decimated the refugee resettlement programs operated by RAICES and other agencies nationwide,” Chief External Affairs Officer Faisal Al-Juburi said. “As a result, RAICES notified over 60 employees that their last day of employment is February 28.”
The nonprofit reported collecting $3,656,950 in government grants in 2022, a year when it also reported $34.2 million in total expenses. It also reported a workforce of 370 employees in 2022.
Trump’s Jan. 27 order freezing spending on federal loans and grants sparked widespread confusion and chaos in the U.S. Administration officials said the pause was necessary to review whether spending aligned with his executive orders on issues like climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
It’s being challenged in the courts, as is Trump’s follow-up order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally.
The layoffs come as the organization continues a court battle with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which it accused of withholding documents it was seeking regarding the detention of a Salvadoran woman. That lawsuit was filed on Aug. 2, 2024.
It’s unknown whether any of RAICES’ other offices in Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth or Houston are also being impacted. The organization, headquartered on Interpark Boulevard in north San Antonio, began as a two-person team 1986 and advocates on behalf of those navigating the immigration system.