The leader of the Bowling Green based-International Center of Kentucky says he'll have to lay off 15% of the agency's 57 employees due to a freeze in federal funding following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
In January, around 10,000 refugees had their flights to the United States canceled by an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. About 50 of those refugees were set to be resettled in Bowling Green.
According to Albert Mbanfu, head of the International Center of Kentucky, some refugees who have relocated to southern Kentucky during the past 30 days could be at risk of losing funding for rent if the federal pause remains in effect.
"We have refugees that we just resettled, who've been here less than a month, we cannot pay their rent for March as of now," Mbanfu said. "We've exhausted all the resources we can to pay their rents and utilities up until this moment."
The International Center of Kentucky was established in 1981. It has helped resettle thousands of refugees across southcentral Kentucky and also manages a satellite location based in Owensboro. The center offers resources for new families starting their lives in Kentucky, including English language courses, employment opportunities, child care and transportation assistance, and immigration law assistance.
Mbanfu said the loss of even one staff member can be felt by the refugee community they’re tasked with supporting.
"You may have the one staff working for you but that one staff is supporting maybe 15 other people," Mbanfu said. "So when you lay off one person you are laying off 16 other people."
President Trump's executive order is expected to remain in place for 90 days, although refugee aid groups have filed a lawsuit in Washington over the suspension of the federal refugee resettlement program. The lawsuit seeks to declare Trump’s executive order unlawful, stop the order’s implementation, and restore refugee-related funding. During Trump's first presidency his administration temporarily paused refugee resettlement and drastically lowered the number of refugees the U.S. accepted into the country.
Mbanfu, a native of Cameroon, said he's informed his staff they should plan for changes as he's exhausted his available resources.
"If there's anything humanly possible I can do, sitting here as the CEO of the International Center to not lay off one person I will do it in a heartbeat," Mbanfu said. "That is where I am."
He went on to say if changes at the federal level do not provide resolution soon drastic action will need to take place.
"We have refugees that we just resettled that come here with a lot of hope, so I am appealing to people with goodwill for support to chip in whatever they can chip in," Mbanfu said.
He said the International Center of Kentucky accepts ongoing community donations.
