New York City– CWS today announced that the organization will be closing 11 program offices across the United States following sweeping actions taken by the Trump Administration terminating or suspending federally funded programs supporting refugees and immigrants. The office locations in the process of closing include: Georgetown, DE; Jacksonville, FL; Orlando, FL; Grand Rapids, MI; Kalamazoo, MI; Burlington, NC; Charlotte, NC; Brooklyn, NY; Islip, NY; Amarillo, TX; and Rio Grande Valley, TX.
“We are so grateful for the ways that our partners, donors and supporters have joined us in welcoming refugees and immigrants in each of these communities,” said CWS President and CEO Rick Santos. “This administration’s cuts to vital programs and services for our refugee and immigrant neighbors has forced us to make difficult decisions to reduce costs, including by closing these program locations. While we find ourselves in a challenging time, we remain committed to standing alongside our refugee and immigrant neighbors and using our remaining resources to serve as many clients as possible.”
The office closure decision comes as CWS has been forced to take steps across the organization to reduce costs to be able to continue to serve its most vulnerable clients, including by significantly reducing staff capacity and carefully evaluating the ability to continue to deliver programs at scale.The closure of these 11 offices represents approximately 1/3 of the CWS programmatic presence in the United States. The closure timeline for each individual office varies based on service provision and lease requirements. All of the offices will be fully closed by the end of September.
“We urge our supporters to continue to stand with our refugee and immigrant neighbors by volunteering with your local program office, becoming a monthly donor or joining a local CROP Hunger Walk,” added Santos.
Today, May 1 also marks the annual CWS Giving Day, a time to give boldly, act urgently and rise together in response to the challenges our communities face. Learn more here.