Funding for refugees suspended 

They were dreaming of America. They came so close. 

“There are clients who we were expecting to receive – we were informed that they were in route. And we’re hearing from community members too, of folks who were enroute to the airport, or maybe had already started some of their travel, meaning that they were in a connecting country, and they were turned back,” said Kai Gardner-Mishlove, executive director of Jewish Social Services of Madison. 

Jewish Social Services, a Madison nonprofit that assists refugees and other immigrants, had its federally sourced funding abruptly suspended in January, after the Trump administration took office. For some families assisted by Jewish Social Services, the impact was immediate. 

“There’s an emotional impact that happens when you’ve been waiting for years, for 10 years, to be reunited, and your family member is on the plane or enroute to the airport, or maybe they’re midway in travel, and they’re told that they can no longer proceed,” said Gardner-Mishlove, who declined to discuss the details of specific cases for privacy reasons. 

And that’s just one aspect of the roller coaster of events and emotion at Jewish Social Services in recent months. First, in late December, an immigrant Holocaust family that had benefitted from Jewish Social Services many years ago, when they were penniless, donated $2 million to the nonprofit. It’s the largest gift the social services agency has ever received. Then, weeks later, executive orders from the Trump administration cut off some key federal funding for assisting immigrants. And yet, rules governing the $2 million gift will keep it from fully rescuing Jewish Social Services from the loss of the federal funds. 

On Jan. 20, Jewish Social Services was told that key funding for refugees was suspended, with a reevaluation period every 90 days. “And then on Jan. 24 at 11:30 p.m. at night, I received a cease work order stating … we could no longer provide ‘reception and placement’ services, the first 90 days of services to clients, and that we would not be reimbursed for any services incurred after Jan. 24,” Gardner-Mishlove said, referring to a communication from the federal government, forwarded by a national nonprofit partner. It was forwarded to others, not just Jewish Social Services in Madison, she said. 

“We currently have 52 individuals who are within the 90-day period that we are responsible for financially, now paying their rent, making sure they receive case management and support,” said Gardner-Mishlove, interviewing in February. “Let me say this, just because the funding has ended, it doesn’t mean the work is ended.” 

For now, however, the issue is that people are already here, in a 90-day period where Jewish Social Services has made a commitment, and the funding is gone. “There’s so much involved in that first 90 days,” Gardner-Mishlove said.   

The 90-day-period work is case management to stabilize refugee families and individuals. This includes paying rent and services related to transportation, public benefits, English as a second language and education support, school enrollment, healthcare and employment.  

“Keep in mind that we resettled clients a week and two weeks prior to that cease work order, meaning that these are folks who are brand new in the country. They’ve only started their reception and placement period. They’ve only started their first 90 days. So we have basically clients who need this intensive support until the end of April.” 

“We have a moral obligation to support these folks that we made contractual agreements to support,” she said, adding that even though promised federal funding is now not forthcoming, “we still have to somehow provide those services.” 

“We’re looking into other funding streams, foundations to help support us with this work. We’re leaning on volunteers to assist us as well. You know, there’s a domino effect. When one funding stream ends, the work doesn’t end, but it’s going to be shifted now onto other areas, so we’ve got to figure out how to make that work.” 

Jewish Social Services also assists immigrants after the initial, intensive 90-day period, for up to five years. About 491 clients are post-90 days and are eligible for assistance from Jewish Social Services, under a state program, but that state program is funded by the federal government and its long-term future is unclear, Gardner-Mishlove said. 

Jewish Social Services assists refugees from the Central African Republic, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Honduras, Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela and elsewhere.  The nonprofit is also engaged in work that is often unrelated to immigrants – assisting the elderly and people experiencing addiction or homelessness, offering spiritual care, and more.  

Jewish Social Services has been a recent target of antisemitic threats, Gardner-Mishlove said. “I think people need to understand that Jewish agencies that are doing work in social services and advocacy are at risk,” she said. 

Jewish Social Services is an affiliate of HIAS, a national refugee resettlement agency. Jewish Social Services is the only Jewish agency providing refugee resettlement in Wisconsin and the only agency providing refugee resettlement in South Central Wisconsin, Gardner-Mishlove said. 

“We want to stress the importance of community support for refugee and immigration support. ‘Welcoming the stranger’ is a Jewish value. JSS has an 85-year history of providing support to the Jewish community and other vulnerable communities. We appreciate our Jewish community and other community support.” 

The $2 million donation 

The $2 million gift cannot be used all at once – under its terms it can only be used piecemeal over time. Also, it can’t be used for staff positions that are needed to support immigrant services, so it can’t fully rescue Jewish Social Services from its current spot between a rock and a hard place, Gardner-Mishlove said. 

But it will be helpful. In fact, it is intended for immigrant and refugee assistance. 

Four decades ago, during the Soviet Jewry crisis, a penniless Russian Jewish family came to Jewish Social Services of Madison for help after immigrating to the U.S.  

“They came over with nothing, zero,” Gardner-Mishlove said.  

The head of the family achieved great financial success in the decades that followed before recently passing away and donating the $2 million to Jewish Social Services. 

“As immigrants, this family received the benefit of assistance from and through JSS,” the family said in its agreement with the organization. “Such assistance was greatly appreciated and not forgotten.”  

The family wanted to make sure the support they received would be replicated for others entering the U.S. for years to come, Gardner-Mishlove said.  

“It’s really heartwarming. It’s almost coming full circle, where a family of refugees and immigrants who came over with nothing did well and were able to give back to the agency that supported them. Now their fund can be used for others who are coming in and need support,” she said.  

The family reached out to JSS leadership about a year ago to discuss the potential of giving a large donation. The gift, along with its terms, was finalized at the end of December. 

The money can be used to help refugees and immigrants for a wide range of basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and child daycare. It can also be used to help pay for employment assistance, training, language instruction and professional credentialing. 

“Our mission is to support vulnerable communities in Dane County without regard to religion. We’re just doing it based on Jewish values,” Gardner-Mishlove said. “That was so touching, the fact that this family was so touched and so impressed by JSS work that they wanted to donate a gift of this magnitude.”