The Trump administration’s indefinite refugee ban, stop work orders and prolonged delays in reimbursement for resettlement agencies have had a devastating impact on tens of thousands of refugee families and communities across the country and around the world. Welcome to the latest edition of State of Play from Church World Service. This resource will provide regular updates from the CWS Policy Team on the current state of play; updated asks for national, state and local leaders; and the latest headlines and community resources.
The latest: Trump administration ends federal contract providing legal representation to over 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children; a bipartisan Senate funding deal and what it means for immigrants and refugees; and two new court rulings limit scope of administration’s anti-immigrant agenda.
Trump administration ends federal contract providing legal services to unaccompanied immigrant children. On Friday, the administration ended a vital federal contract with the Acacia Center for Justice that provided legal services and representation to unaccompanied children. The decision cuts off a network of nearly 100 legal service providers, including CWS, that provide legal support to over 20,000 immigrant children across the country.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) remains legally obligated to provide legal services to unaccompanied children “subject to available appropriations,” and the current Congress has continued to appropriate funds to support the work. However, since November the administration has demanded Acacia and its network of service providers share information about the children being served that risks violating attorney-client privilege. It remains unclear how and with whom the administration will uphold its obligations now that the contract with Acacia has expired.
Data shows that immigration judges are nearly 100 times more likely to grant relief to unaccompanied children with legal representation. Children as young as three years old have been deported after being forced to represent themselves. Read stories of unaccompanied children at risk here.
While it allows the contract to expire, the administration is simultaneously ramping up enforcement actions against children. ProPublica has reported that children are being detained and deported at three times the rate seen even under the first Trump administration. Last week, Reuters reported how ICE is using data collected by welfare agencies – including those under HHS – to target unaccompanied children.
What the congressional funding deal means for immigrants and refugees. Over the weekend, Senate appropriators reached a bipartisan deal to fund the government through December 11 (after the midterm elections). You can read the text of this “continuing resolution” here. Should it pass, the bill would temporarily extend base-line fiscal year 2026 funding levels. This means there is no additional funding for ICE or Border Patrol (and no loophole to transfer funds to CBP as we saw in the House version). It also means maintaining level funding – at least through early December – for the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the State Department.
Perhaps most importantly, the continuing resolution delays implementation of a sweeping Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rule that dramatically expands the administration’s power to rescind grant funding to entities it doesn’t like. The rule is blocked for the duration of the continuing resolution (until December 11).
Meanwhile, in the courts. Two new rulings limit the administration’s anti-immigrant agenda:
- On Friday, a federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily blocked the Trump administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia. The order comes after an amended complaint in the case alleged the administration’s efforts to terminate Somalia TPS were based on racial and national-origin discrimination. It is among the first judicial actions protecting TPS since the Supreme Court ruled in Mullin v. Doe limiting courts’ ability to block TPS terminations.
- On July 29, a federal judge in Virginia ruled in favor of Afghan asylees who had been prevented from reuniting with family members who remained overseas through the “Follow-to-Join” (FTJ) program. The court ruled that the administration cannot apply the travel ban to asylees seeking reunification through the FTJ process. Refugee FTJ applications remain barred by the separate refugee ban – which we continue to challenge in the Pacito case.
Today’s Headlines
- The New York Times: After Tens of Thousands of Migrants Enter Spanish Territory, Most Return to Morocco
- NBC News: Immigrant who donated lifesaving kidney to his brother is detained by ICE again
- CBS News: ICE detentions set Trump-era high in July, as immigration crackdown widens
- Reuters: Reform UK proposes military-led operation to stop asylum seekers
- AP News: Immigration crackdown threatens Haitian caregivers and the seniors who rely on them
Opportunities to Take Action:
- CWS Action Alert: Take Action for Immigrants and Refugees During the 2026 August Recess
- CWS Action Alert: Demand Justice and Accountability After ICE Shootings
- CWS Action Alert: Urge Your Senators to Pass Legislation to Protect Haitian TPS Holders
- Tell Your State and Local Officials: Protect Our Freedom to Welcome
- CWS Action Alert: With All Eyes on Iran, Palestinians Continue to Suffer Daily Attacks and Constant Hunger
- Sign Petition to the White House: Keep Our Promise to Refugees
- CWS Action Alert: Tell Your State Lawmakers – Do Not Let Refugees & Other Newcomers Go Hungry as Federal SNAP Cuts Take Effect
- CWS Action Alert: Immigrant Children Are Under Attack: Urge Congress to Demand Safety and Due Process
Community Resources:
- CWS and Rise Up for Refuge: August Recess 2026 Advocacy Guide
- CWS: Lakou Tanama Virtual Haitian Healing Spaces
- Georgetown Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues: Explainer for Parents and Their Helpers Seeking Family Reunification
- NILC and PIF: Public Charge: What Advocates Need to Know
- CLINIC: Parish Toolkit: Supporting Immigrants in a Time of Need
- CWS: Ten Major Immigration and Refugee Policy Changes Since January 2025
- CWS: Bill Summary of the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act
- Refugee Storytellers Collective: Making Informed Decisions: A Risk Assessment Worksheet for Public Engagement
- ACLU: Enforcement at the Airport
- United Church of Christ: Love Knows No Borders Resources
- IRAP: Refugee Re-vetting and Detention
- USAHello: Multilingual Immigration Guide with clear, direct-to-community information
- IRAP: What do the recent U.S. immigration changes mean for Afghans?
- NILC: How to Find a Loved One After a U.S. Immigration Arrest and What to Do if Arrested or Detained by Immigration
- CWS: How the One Big Beautiful Bill Will Impact You
- Just Security: Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
- CWS: Story Submission Form for Refugees Overseas
Stories of Impact
Miriam and her family fled the Democratic Republic of Congo after facing persecution by paramilitary groups. They lived in a refugee camp in Burundi for fifteen years as they proceeded through the lengthy U.S. refugee resettlement vetting and screening process. She gave birth while going through this years-long process, and was erroneously advised by UN staff at the camp that adding her new son to the case would delay resettlement – and she understood she would be able to immediately apply for him once the rest of the family arrived in the U.S. Upon resettlement, Miriam immediately filed a Follow-to-Join application for her son, an application that has now been blocked by the refugee ban. Her lawyer asked the government about requesting an exception to the ban for Miriam’s now-nine-year-old son, and was told the exception process “was not for” him. Exceptions have been granted to over 4,000 white Afrikaners. Miriam believes the government is purposefully neglecting her and preventing reunification with her son because her family is Black. She calls her son every day.
Babak resettled in the U.S. as a refugee from Iran, and is now a citizen. He has submitted an application for his wife and her parents through the Lautenberg program for those facing religious persecution in Iran and former Soviet Union countries. The family is Zoroastrian, a religious group that faces discrimination across all facets of society in Iran. While his wife was able to make it to the U.S. via another pathway, the family has been separated for years. They had been scheduled for an appointment to move their case forward and were preparing to leave for processing in Austria when the refugee ban stalled their case once again.
Yodit and Senai are a mother and son who have been separated for 17 years. Yodit fled Eritrea in 2008 and was resettled in the U.S. in 2018. She is now a U.S. citizen. She has filed a Follow-to-Join application for her son, Senai, who remains in danger in Eritrea. They have completed all necessary steps and her son was waiting to receive a travel document to the U.S. when the refugee ban went into place. When Yodit learned the administration was admitting white Afrikaners as refugees, she felt the administration was discriminating against her because of her race.
Find more stories of impact here, and watch this space for new stories as they arise. Have a story to share? You can share it with us via this form for refugees overseas or this form for refugees, immigrants and service providers in the U.S.
