Colorado Springs’ only resettlement agency for refugees and asylum-seekers has been forced to lay off employees and adopt an emergency-management protocol since Jan. 20, when the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump suspended federal funding for such agencies, according to Floyd Preston, director of the local office of Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains.

“It’s been extremely difficult,” he said Tuesday.

An executive order from Trump not only stopped nationwide processing of incoming refugees and asylum-seekers but also placed on hold resettlement dollars from flowing to nonprofits that provide the services for vetted newcomers.

“The money we use for refugees for housing and cash assistance all were halted,” said Preston, who’s been leading the Colorado Springs office for 19 years.

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Agencies were supposed to hear in 90 days, which would have been April 20, whether funding would be resumed, decreased or eliminated. But there’s been no word yet.

“As it stands now, it remains suspended nationwide,” Preston said.

The budget for Lutheran Family Services is 85% to 90% federally funded, he said, with the remainder coming from private individual donors, churches and other organizations.

In February and March, 22 employees in Preston’s office were reduced to 15.

“These funds also power our employment, if you don’t have the employees, you can’t deliver the services the way they need to be,” he said.

Up to 45 refugees from Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Ukraine that were accepted in November and arrived in Colorado Springs in December and January have been most affected by the loss of funding, Preston said.

There’s no money for the usual rental assistance, however, “private funds, donations from partners and state funding we receive ensured those individuals and families were housed, and we have no homeless refugees at this time.”

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The local office is authorized to receive 250 refugees each year but serves almost 1,000 individuals annually since clients have varying status and levels of service, Preston said.

“Right now, our doors are still open and we’re still able to help people who are already here find jobs, facilitate food stamps, Temporary Aid to Needy Families, Medicaid, English as a Second Language classes and also connect them to organizations within the community that help them with things that we cannot.”

Refugee clients have been vetted through the U.S. Department of State, have passed numerous screenings and are documented to legally be in America, Preston said.

Asylees “also have to go through a process on their own of obtaining legal and immigrant help to verify they are eligible for asylum,” he said. “Once they get that, we’re able to help them. If they don’t have the proper documentation, we can’t help.”

In his first term as President, Trump enacted a travel ban, then limited refugees to 50,000 a year, but did not entirely suspend the program.

Coming from a disaster-response background, Preston said he enacted measures that involved rallying a host of supporters.

“Instead of crying over spilled milk, I brought our partners together and explained we need your help: clothing, gift cards, finances, jobs, cultural mentor teams and volunteers,” he said. “They came through in this time of crisis with donations and resources.”

Preston credits a willingness of backers to transcend religious lines and mobilize for a united cause.

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“Numerous denominations that believe in our work — Lutherans, Anglicans, Islamic centers, Catholics, Evangelicals, the Calvaries, non-denominational — have put differences aside for the sake of a common goal to welcome the stranger among us.”

While it is unknown whether funding will be restored, Susan Bolduc, a member of First Lutheran Church, which provides an office for Preston’s organization, thinks it’s the nation’s duty to care for such immigrants.

“We’ve been doing this since World War II,” she said. “Our government brought in the most vulnerable people in the world who’ve been through trauma, and now we’re going to tell them to go back? They are refugees — where are they going to go back to?”

Financial donations and employers willing to hire clients in small manufacturing, housekeeping, janitorial, landscaping and minor construction jobs are needed.

“A lot are non-English speakers, so we want to highlight their skills versus the language deficiency,” Preston said.

To contribute, email Britton Varn, volunteer and engagement coordinator, at britton.varn@lfsrm.org, or call her at (719) 922-4580.