HIGHLAND PARK, N.J. — The jig is up for a New Jersey church that has received tens of millions of dollars in U.S. AID relief money to help illegal aliens resettle across Phil Murphy’s sanctuary state.
Shore News Network confirmed layoffs through a WARN notice filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor.
The Reformed Church of Highland Park has laid off 195 workers after the Trump administration cut off federal funding for its migrant resettlement programs, church officials said.
The church, which had received $18 million in aid from USAID to place migrants in jobs across New Jersey, is now struggling to keep its programs running. Reverend Seth Kaper-Dale said his organization is owed more than $1.3 million for services rendered in January alone and warned that without immediate support, key programs could collapse.
“For the past 3.5 years, we have experienced that refugees and immigrants are a blessing,” Kaper-Dale said. “Since January 20th, everything has collapsed.”
The church claims it helped place 1,200 migrants in jobs, generating an estimated $182 million in revenue for employers. Kaper-Dale stated that 85% of the refugees they resettled achieved self-sufficiency before requiring additional state assistance.
Governor Phil Murphy, who previously stood with the church against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in 2018, has been urged to intervene again. “If possible, stand with us again, in this new immigrant-related ‘raid’ that Donald Trump is carrying out,” Kaper-Dale said.
The church is now relying on donations and volunteers to stay afloat, but Kaper-Dale said they may face “months of court ahead of us before we see a dime.”