WEBSITE AT WMTW-DOT.COM FOR 8 INVESTIGATES, I’M NORAH HOGAN. AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MAKES CHANGES TO THE REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM – WE’RE LEARNING ABOUT THE DIRECT IMPACT THIS WILL HAVE HERE IN MAINE. POLITICAL REPORTER CATE MCCUSKER SPEAKING WITH THOSE OVERSEEING REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT IN MAINE…CATE I SAT DOWN WITH MAINE’S STATE REFUGEE COORDINATOR – AND HE TALKED ABOUT THE MAJOR CHANGES THE STATE WILL BE SEEING – GOING FROM ACCEPTING ABOUT 1,000 PEOPLE DOWN TO 50 – AS WELL AS FUNDING CUTS LEADING SOME AGENCIES TO CLOSE. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS SET THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES IT ADMITS ANNUALLY TO 7,500 PEOPLE… MAINE IS SET TO RECEIVE 50 OF THOSE REFUGEES – WHO WILL MOSTLY BE WHITE SOUTH AFRICANS. “WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, TRYING TO COME INTO OUR COUNTRY, BECAUSE THEY FEEL THEY’RE GOING TO BE KILLED.” THE PRESIDENT SAYS THESE PEOPLE ARE FACING DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE AT HOME – WHICH THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT DENIES. “THE CUT IS DRASTIC, FROM LAST FISCAL YEAR TO THIS FISCAL YEAR.” INZA OUTTARA – MAINE’S STATE REFUGEE COORDINATOR – SAYS REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMS IN MAINE HAVE ALSO SEEN MAJOR FUNDING CUTS. ” IN MY OFFICE, WE USED TO BE ABOUT, 15 OR 16 FOLKS. NOW WE ARE DOWN TO EIGHT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE OF THE FUNDING CUT AND ALSO IN THE STATE OF MAINE, WE USED TO HAVE THREE RESETTLEMENT AGENCIES.NOW WE ARE DOWN TO ONE RESETTLEMENT AGENCY. THE ONE FEDERALLY APPROVED RESETTLEMENT AGENCY LEFT IS MAINE IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE SERVICES IN LEWISTON…. WHILE BOTH CATHOLIC CHARITIES AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY ALLIANCE OF SOUTHERN MAINE HAVE HAD TO SHUT DOWN THEIR AGENCIES. “IT’S UNFORTUNATE…MAINE’S IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES WERE ACTUALLY INCREASING” OUTTARA SAYS OUR STATE IS PREPARED AND READY TO WELCOME THESE 50 REFUGEES. “LUCKILY FOR US IN MAINE, WE WERE ABLE TO BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO WELCOME REFUGEE.” “SO WE FEEL LIKE, THIS SMA
Maine to resettle 50 refugees from South Africa
This is a major change from the about 1,000 refugees the state was allocated last year.
Updated: 7:31 PM EST Nov 11, 2025
Maine is expected to resettle 50 white South Africans next year, a major decrease from the refugees the state has welcomed in previous years.The Trump Administration has set the number of refugees admitted annually into the United States to 7,500, and a notice from the Administration states the refugees will primarily be people from South Africa who are “victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”The administration says white South African farmers face discrimination and violence at home, which the country’s government strongly denies.Inza Outtara, Maine’s State Refugee Coordinator through Catholic Charities, says the number of refugees is a major drop from the about 1,000 refugees allocated to Maine last year. The refugee resettlement program in Maine has also seen major funding cuts.”In my office, we used to be about, 15 or 16 folks, now we are down to eight,” he said. “In the state of Maine, we used to have three resettlement agencies. Now we are down to one.”The Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services in Lewiston is the only federally approved refugee resettlement agency left in Maine, as both Catholic Charities and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine have had to close down their agencies due to lack of funding.”In the current political climate with massive grant cuts and unexpected changes to programs and decisions, it is not viable for us to take on further, substantial financial risks to run this program,” the JCA said in a statement earlier this fall. “The JCA is many things and provides such an array of valuable and important services and programs to so many different people. We cannot knowingly agree to put the organization in financial jeopardy for the sake of one program or service area, no matter how much we value it.”
Maine is expected to resettle 50 white South Africans next year, a major decrease from the refugees the state has welcomed in previous years.
The Trump Administration has set the number of refugees admitted annually into the United States to 7,500, and a notice from the Administration states the refugees will primarily be people from South Africa who are “victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands.”
The administration says white South African farmers face discrimination and violence at home, which the country’s government strongly denies.
Inza Outtara, Maine’s State Refugee Coordinator through Catholic Charities, says the number of refugees is a major drop from the about 1,000 refugees allocated to Maine last year. The refugee resettlement program in Maine has also seen major funding cuts.
“In my office, we used to be about, 15 or 16 folks, now we are down to eight,” he said. “In the state of Maine, we used to have three resettlement agencies. Now we are down to one.”
The Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services in Lewiston is the only federally approved refugee resettlement agency left in Maine, as both Catholic Charities and the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine have had to close down their agencies due to lack of funding.
“In the current political climate with massive grant cuts and unexpected changes to programs and decisions, it is not viable for us to take on further, substantial financial risks to run this program,” the JCA said in a statement earlier this fall. “The JCA is many things and provides such an array of valuable and important services and programs to so many different people. We cannot knowingly agree to put the organization in financial jeopardy for the sake of one program or service area, no matter how much we value it.”