Ascentria Care Alliance, the primary refugee resettlement agency working in Concord, announced layoffs this week among its staff that assist refugees and migrants in New Hampshire, citing funding cuts from the federal government.

“As we continue to navigate the challenges brought on by the new administration’s policies, we have had to make some incredibly hard decisions,” the organization said in its announcement. “The staff affected by these cuts are deeply dedicated individuals who have spent their careers walking alongside refugees and immigrants as they rebuild their lives. Losing them is not just a loss for Ascentria — it is a loss for the communities we serve.”

Mayor Byron Champlin said that the news was “distressing” and would have both direct and indirect fallout in the city.

“Ascentria plays such a key role in resettling and assisting our refugee community, and I’m sure it’s also going to have an impact on local businesses that rely on a number of these folks as employees,” he said. “I’m uncertain of what the ripple effect will be, but I am concerned.”

President Donald Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program on his first day in office. The order carried a corresponding freeze on federal funding to resettlement agencies. Not only do these organizations help bring in new arrivals but support refugees after they arrive, helping them to access work, housing, legal assistance and more.

After a lawsuit by multiple service agencies, including Church World Service, an affiliate of Ascentria, a federal judge blocked the suspension. But funding and arrivals remain on hold, and the Trump administration ended cooperative agreements with all refugee resettlement agencies in the U.S. at the end of February.

More than 4,500 refugees have been resettled to New Hampshire since 2011, with roughly a third coming to Concord, per state data.

Overcomers Refugee Services, a Concord-based non-profit, provides support to people from a few months to years after they arrive. With Ascentria having to pull back, Executive Director Clement Kigugu said, Overcomers will do what it can to help fill the gap.

“We’re now going to have more clients than we ever had before,” Kigugu said.

To meet that need, he continued, Overcomers will likely look to hire another case manager. Currently, the organization has a staff of four who, on top of working directly with its 436 clients, coordinate a network of more than 20 volunteers who provide English and citizenship courses, transportation and mentorship.

Overcomers, too, relies on federal grant money. So far, Kigugu said, funding to his organization has continued.

“The grant is still there, we are still operating,” he said. “But we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or after tomorrow. Things are changing all the time.”

Champlin didn’t see a way for the city of Concord to help meet the need.

“I think it would be very difficult for municipalities to fill a large hole created by the federal government,” he said.

During his first term, Trump lowered the admission cap from around 110,000 people per year to just 15,000 during the pandemic. Related drops in funding and agreements with agencies meant more than 100 agency offices closed across the country, a near 40% drop in resettlement capacity that took until 2024 to rebuild, according to a report from the Migration Policy Institute.

Changes to immigration under Trump have been traumatizing for New Americans, Kigugu said.

Families are seldom resettled together all at once. That separation, for many, now feels indefinite.

“Everything’s now stopped,” he said. “They don’t know when their relative, their spouse, will be able to join them.”

When the suspension was ordered in January, twelve flights into New Hampshire carrying refugees who had been approved for residency in the United States were canceled.

While these refugees had been approved and scheduled to come, many were sent back to refugee camps, according to Kigugu.

More aggressive deportation tactics have also left some clients living in fear, he said.

Refugees are legal U.S. residents and can wait years in refugee camps as they undergo a lengthy application process. Additionally, the Concord Police Department does not participate in immigration enforcement unless someone’s status relates to a broader criminal investigation, according to comments made by an officer to the Concord Board of Education recently.

“There is fear that when the police stop them or pull them over, they’re going to ask them their status,” Kigugu said. “It’s sometimes difficult for people to know who’s ICE and who’s not.”

The state and Concord, Kigugu said, have been welcoming. He hopes that support holds steady. His organization is also undertaking a fundraising campaign, in case their grant funding is cut off.

“It takes a village to help us,” he said. “The Concord community and New Hampshire community have been good to us… I would really encourage them to keep doing what they have been doing.”

“We are here not by choice. We are not here because of opportunity,” he said. “We still need their support.”

Ascentria President and CEO Angela Bovill was unavailable for an interview Wednesday.

Nineteen people working in New Hampshire and Massachusetts would be affected by the layoff, according to an agency spokeswoman, while others were folded into other agency divisions.

Ascentria hasn’t been reimbursed by the federal government for services dating back to November, Bovill told NHPR, and more scalebacks could be on the way if cuts to funding and contracts continue.

“These are heartbreaking times, and though we are forced to scale back, we will not stop caring,” the announcement said. “We are exploring every poss ible avenue to continue providing critical support to those who need it most.”

Editor’s note: this story was updated to note that the 19 layoffs included staff working in both New Hampshire and Massachussetts. 

Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@cmonitor.com. You  can sub scribe to her Concord newsletter The City Beat at concordmonitor.com.