Rhode Island
R.I.’s largest immigration nonprofit faces layoffs amid Trump funding freeze – The Boston Globe
For Dorcas, it meant an abrupt stop to roughly $1 million in annual funds used to help refugees in their first 90 days in the country, setting them up with housing, cultural orientation, English classes, school enrollment and other assistance. While no more refugees arrived after the stop work order, there were already 65 recent arrivals to Rhode Island who were within their first 90 days in the US, including the family who arrived the day of the order. The refugees came from Central America, Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, and other countries.
“So there’s no rent money, there’s no food money, there’s no money for them to support them in those first three months,” said Kathy Cloutier, the executive director of Dorcas International Institute, in an interview with the Boston Globe and Rhode Island PBS.
“So that was what was disconcerting,” she said. “It was one thing not to have new refugees coming in. It was another thing to say, wait a minute. We’ve promised these folks this three months worth of assistance, and you’ve just stopped it without any warning and without any reason, frankly.”
The program that was halted, Reception and Placement, is run out of the State Department. Unlike asylum-seekers, who arrive on their own, refugees in the program are selected ahead of time and brought to the US with a promise of federal assistance to settle into a community.
The State Department declined to comment to the Globe about when the program might restart, referring all comment to the White House. The White House did not respond.
But in a court filing on Friday in one of the federal lawsuits over the refugee program’s abrupt halting, the Trump administration indicated it would not be easy to restart refugee resettlement, since contracts with nonprofits have been terminated. It would take “at least three months” just to solicit bidders for new contracts, the Trump administration’s lawyers wrote in the documents.
For Dorcas, which serves roughly 6,000 immigrants a year, the program suspension has already resulted in job cuts. The nonprofit’s 105 employees have been cut down to 92, Cloutier said, through both voluntarily resignations and layoffs since the refugee program stopped.
And there is still other funding that is paused. Funds from the federal Preferred Communities program, from which Dorcas receives $1.5 million a year, remain frozen, Cloutier said. That pot of money is used to help particularly vulnerable refugees who are outside the 90-day window but still need help getting employment or becoming self-sustaining residents of their new community.
“We haven’t been paid for that work since December,” Cloutier said. “And there’s no explanation that we’ve received in terms of why we haven’t been paid. It’s putting a significant strain on us financially.”
The federal money flows to Dorcas through a national nonprofit, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, which also said they haven’t received an explanation for the ongoing pause. The money should have started flowing again following multiple injunctions granted by federal judges in lawsuits against the federal funding freeze, according to Kelci Sleeper, a spokesperson for the national nonprofit.
“Unfortunately, we have no additional insight,” Sleeper said. “The administration is not paying agencies for work completed.”
Cloutier said if all of Dorcas’s federal funding were cut — roughly half of its $11.5 million budget — she would have to reduce the staff to 62 employees. It would have a profound effect on the immigrants they serve, she said..
“This is just a way of putting us out of business,” Cloutier said. “Because if you make us wait long enough, we’re not gonna be able to pay our bills.”
Dorcas also gets revenue from philanthropic donations, and charges some clients a low fee for legal services. Cloutier said the agency was ultimately able to raise private funds for the 65 refugees affected by the initial stop work order.
Cloutier said the agency is not yet seeing mass deportations in Rhode Island, as promised by Trump during the campaign, nor have there been reports in the state of ICE agents entering schools, hospitals, or churches. There have been ICE agents in the state executing individual deportation orders, as there were during the Biden administration.
A Providence police spokesperson said ICE has notified city officials twice so far this year of their “intent to come to the city,” but did not provide specifics and did not ask police for any assistance.
Cloutier said many clients are coming in seeking advice about their immigration status, even if they have a green card.
“We are seeing a lot of fear,” Cloutier said. “The rules are changing, and nobody knows what the rules are anymore.”
If funding to Dorcas is not fully restored, Cloutier said, it will become more difficult for immigrants to be successful learning English, getting jobs, and becoming productive members of society. But she said Dorcas, which was founded in 1921, will adapt to whatever happens.
“We’re in the worst of times,” she said. But we’ve been around for over 100 years and plan to be around for 100 more.”
Watch the interview with Cloutier on Rhode Island PBS Weekly in the video player above, and listen to an extended version on the Rhode Island Report podcast.
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 9, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 9 drawing
15-41-46-47-56, Powerball: 22, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from May 9 drawing
Midday: 0-8-9-5
Evening: 0-9-4-7
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from May 9 drawing
08-13-24-27-34, Extra: 32
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 9 drawing
08-11-17-29-49, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
RI House speaker answers why RI won’t ‘pause’ millionaires tax push
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi fielded a question on whether lawmakers might pause efforts to pass a millionaires tax.
Rhode Island is built on the strength of small, family-owned businesses. They are the backbone of our economy, the employers of our neighbors, and the reason our communities have character and opportunity. I know this not just as a legislator, but as someone who works every day in a family business alongside the people I care about most. That’s why I am concerned about the impact of the proposed “millionaires tax” on businesses and our communities.
While it may sound like a measure aimed at a narrow group of high earners, the reality is far different. Many family-owned businesses – especially those structured as pass-through entities – report their business income on personal tax returns. That means this tax doesn’t just target “millionaires” in the traditional sense; it directly impacts small and mid-sized businesses that reinvest their earnings into payroll, equipment, expansion and employee benefits.
In my case, our family business is a private ambulance service. Every day, we are responsible for delivering critical care to Rhode Islanders, particularly seniors and our most medically fragile neighbors. That responsibility comes with significant costs. Ambulances, lifesaving medical equipment, and the technology needed to support our crews are expensive, and they must be maintained and updated regularly to meet the highest standards of care.
Tax increases like this directly impact our ability to make those investments. These are not abstract tradeoffs – they have real consequences for the level of care we can provide. For businesses like mine, margins matter. Every dollar that goes out the door in taxes is a dollar that can’t be used to hire another worker, increase wages, buy new equipment or sponsor the local Little League team. These are real decisions that affect real people.
Supporters of this proposal often frame it as a fairness issue. But fairness should also mean recognizing the role that employers play in creating opportunity. When government makes it more expensive to operate a business in Rhode Island, we risk pushing investment – and jobs – elsewhere. Policies like this don’t exist in a vacuum; they shape decisions about where businesses grow and where families choose to put down roots.
We don’t have to guess what would happen if we raised taxes here – we can just look to Massachusetts. They passed a millionaires tax and the latest data shows a steady stream of high earners leaving for lower-tax states like New Hampshire and, you guessed it, Rhode Island. We could take advantage of Massachusetts’ mistake and build on the momentum we have built in recent years. We’ve seen the benefits of thoughtful policy decisions that encourage investment and support job creation and tax revenues are up. But progress is fragile. Policies like the millionaires tax risk undoing that work by sending the message that success will be penalized rather than encouraged.
As both a business owner and a legislator, I believe strongly that we can – and must – strike a better balance.
We can support public services, invest in our communities, and maintain fiscal responsibility without resorting to policies that put our local businesses at a disadvantage. We can grow our economy by creating an environment where businesses want to stay, expand and hire.
Let’s focus on solutions that strengthen our economy, support our workforce, and ensure that family-owned businesses like mine and so many others across our state continue to thrive.
Rhode Island’s future depends on it.
Jacquelyn Baginski is a state representative from Cranston.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at May 8, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from May 8 drawing
37-47-49-51-58, Mega Ball: 16
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from May 8 drawing
Midday: 9-8-9-7
Evening: 7-9-8-9
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from May 8 drawing
10-13-15-16-30, Extra: 09
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 8 drawing
14-16-21-43-51, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Millionaire for Life top prize of $1,000,000 a year for life and second prize of $100,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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