In January 2025, the U.S. government abruptly halted approximately 86% of foreign assistance funding – including virtually all of the funds for programs that serve refugees around the world. This decision left families already displaced by war, persecution, and climate impacts without access to protection.  Programs were shut down overnight cutting off medicine, food, access to health care, education, livelihoods and more.

For Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), this was a major financial setback—cutting approximately 66% of our 2025 funding. While many international NGOs were forced to shut down operations, JRS/USA remained committed to its mission of accompaniment, mobilizing emergency private funding to continue critical refugee programs across nine country programs that the USG had funded.  Other JRS programs were affected by the cuts – in total 22. JRS/USA was able to provide 2.43  million in critical funds to support core needs in those programs countries and remains committed to its programs and especially to those we serve.

In Ethiopia, children without parents faced the risk of being turned out of foster homes. In Uganda, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence were in danger of losing psychological support. In Thailand, JRS became the primary mental health provider for displaced individuals. These are not theoretical losses—they are real lives, held in fragile balance.

In response to this crisis, JRS/USA has also expanded its advocacy priorities, urging U.S. policymakers to restore foreign assistance funding and protect the integrity of humanitarian programs that serve the most vulnerable.

JRS’s decision to step in—despite the chaos of a disrupted humanitarian system—reflects a deeper conviction: that the dignity and resilience of refugees are not optional priorities, but sacred obligations. We continue to accompany those on the margins, not because it’s easy, but because their future depends on it.

As global funding becomes increasingly unstable, JRS will not abandon its mission. We are driven by faith, not politics. And we will walk with refugees—wherever they are—ensuring they receive the protection, opportunity, and healing they deserve.

View and download the full report here.

View and download our advocacy priorities here.