The Women’s Building, a 54 year-old Mission District nonprofit, community hub, and social services provider, announced this week that it has shut down two of its family reunification programs for migrant children separated from their parents, and laid off nine employees in those programs.
The decision, the announcement continued, is a direct result of President Trump’s January order demanding the suspension of the United States Refugee Admission Program, the government agency responsible for resettling refugees across the country.
The administration’s authority to suspend the refugee program, which has provided federal funds to support family reunification programs since the Refugee Act of 1980, has been challenged in court, but the case is still ongoing.
For 22 years, the Women’s Building has been involved in refugee resettlement. Its fingerprinting program for caretakers of unaccompanied minors helps them fulfill a requirement that all adults in a household sponsoring an unaccompanied minor perform a background check.
That program, supported through federal funding from the refugee admissions program, has been cut.
Its case management program, where case managers help children and families integrate to life in the United States and navigate a complex immigration system, has helped hundreds of refugees.
It was also supported through a grant from the federal refugee agency. According to last year’s annual report, seven full-time case managers handled 296 cases in 2024, often balancing 35 to 40 clients at a time.
That, too, has been cut.
The Womens’ Building will continue its other services, says Betty Azori, an executive assistant there. Those include job assistance, legal help, tax services, a wellness program, financial coaching, and maintaining a food pantry.
In the meantime, The Womens’ Building is also hoping to replace at least some of the missing federal funds with donations. “We are operating in an economic and political climate that is actively working against us,” wrote Tania Estrada, Executive Director of the Womens’ Building, in a statement announcing the cuts. “We refuse to allow political attacks to dismantle essential services.“