Right now, the administration’s indefinite refugee ban remains in place, grinding almost all refugee admissions to a halt and stranding tens of thousands of refugee families who were conditionally approved for resettlement. At the same time, asylum seekers can no longer access their legal right to pursue safety and immigrant families are being forced apart through increased immigration enforcement.
CWS Lancaster continues to serve the thousands of refugees and immigrants who have made their homes in Lancaster through our integration and immigration legal services programs, despite funding cuts and program terminations. We are working hard to respond to emerging needs related to economic empowerment, food security, and legal services. The needs are high and we cannot do this without your advocacy and action.
Thanks to you, our welcoming community, Lancaster remains committed to ensuring that all of our neighbors have food, a voice, and a safe place to call home.
HR 1 and other Major Immigration Policy Changes
HR1, also known as the OBBBA, makes sweeping changes across the U.S. immigration system and restricts access to services like Medicaid and SNAP for many refugees and immigrants. At the same time, the administration has issued a plethora of Executive Orders and policy changes impacting access to asylum, citizenship & naturalization, and temporary humanitarian statuses, all while ramping up immigration enforcement, detention and deportation to the extreme.
Food Assistance
Refugees and other humanitarian entrants will no longer be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), significantly increasing food and economic security for families. These provisions went into effect when the OBBA was signed into law on July 4, 2025, but federal guidelines allow up to four months for states to implement SNAP eligibility changes. Current SNAP recipients are likely to be impacted at their next recertification. NOTE: Lawful Permanent Residents as well as Cuban and Haitian entrants, are NOT impacted and will continue to be able to access SNAP if otherwise eligible. Undocumented immigrants have never been able to access SNAP.
Access to Healthcare
Refugees and humanitarian entrants will no longer be eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Affordable Care Act subsidies. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, humanitarian entrants, and other lawful immigrants across the country will lose eligibility as a result of this bill. These changes go into effect immediately (for those not yet enrolled in Medicare); October 1, 2026 for Medicaid and CHIP; and January 4, 2027 for already enrolled Medicare recipients.
Updated Travel Ban
Presidential Proclamation restricts entry of nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Citizenship & Naturalization
The administration has issued a number of EOs and policy changes impacting access to US citizenship. This includes an EO restricting birthright citizenship to children with at least one U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent, which is currently being litigated. At the same time, the administration has indicated a focus on “denaturalization” and instructed agents to conduct “neighborhood checks” and screen for what are ambiguously being referred to as “anti-American” views. CWS Lancaster’s Citizenship & Naturalization Grant was terminated earlier this year after 13 years of USCIS funding.
Changes to Temporary & Humanitarian Statuses
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced unprecedented changes to Humanitarian Parole (HP) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), suddenly terminating valid legal statuses and revoking employment authorization for hundreds of thousands of individuals. Impacted communities include Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan Parolees, along with TPS recipients from Nicaragua, Honduras, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Burma and Haiti. These individuals followed legal pathways to gain humanitarian status, and are now identified as priorities for detention and deportation, with no opportunities to post bond.
Access to Asylum
The government has limited the ability of individuals to seek asylum in the US in countless ways, both at the border and internally. Unaffordable fees, precedential decisions rolling back protections based on gender- and family groups, as well as cuts to legal aid are just some of the restrictions.
Enforcement, Detention & Deportation
HR1 earmarks approximately $170 billion for immigration- and border enforcement-related funding provisions for mass detention, including family detention, border wall construction, and unprecedented spending on ICE enforcement and deportation operations. These funds have the potential of being used in deeply harmful ways – from racial profiling, family separation through indiscriminate and terrorizing raids and to further erode due process and the rule of law.
Take Action
Your voice matters. Call your representatives and urge them to:
National Level
- RESTORE SNAP BENEFITS: Hunger is an affront to justice — it’s also a policy choice. Support the upcoming Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025 which would repeal the damaging SNAP cuts enacted in HR1.
- SET A MEANINGFUL REFUGEE ADMISSIONS CEILING: The President must fulfill legal responsibilities under the Refugee Act of 1980 by conducting meaningful consultations with Congress and signing a Presidential Determination that restores the refugee admissions program and ensures vulnerable families around the world can find safety.
State Level
- SUPPORT THE OFFICE OF NEW PENNSYLVANIANS: Immigrants have been key to the cultural, economic and demographic growth of Pennsylvania, but integrating here could be a lot easier. Urge your state lawmaker to join surrounding states and create a one-stop shop to meet the needs of all New Pennsylvanians.
Donate Today!
The stakes are high and we cannot do this without your support.
While we have persevered through some difficult times over our almost 40-year history, we have never before witnessed such aggressive actions against our clients and our mission. Your donation today can help bridge funding gaps and ensure that OUR NEIGHBORS receive the care and protection they deserve.
We will never stop working to protect the rights of immigrants, refugees & other vulnerable families.