HIAS Lost $11M Running Refugee Resettlement—Then Lost 60% of Its Funding
Investigation by Project Milk Carton
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, one of America’s largest refugee resettlement contractors, burned through $11.3 million more than it took in during fiscal year 2024—then had to lay off 12% of its workforce when auditors discovered what executives called “unsustainable spending.”
Now the organization has lost 60% of its remaining funding after the Trump administration terminated federal contracts that provided $180.9 million to HIAS over the past seven years. An independent audit identified “a material weakness in internal controls” affecting the organization’s ability to track and report financial data. For an agency that received $65.3 million in federal grants in 2023 alone, that’s a problem.
Why This Matters
HIAS operates as one of ten federally-approved Voluntary Agencies (VOLAGs) that resettle refugees in the United States. American taxpayers fund these operations through the State Department and Health and Human Services. When a VOLAG can’t properly track how it spends public money, those taxpayers deserve answers.
The organization distributes federal dollars to a network of 42 local affiliates—mostly Jewish Family Services agencies across the country. In 2024, HIAS moved $58 million to these partners. Another $20.1 million went to an internal entity called HIAS Foundation. That’s 35% of all grants distributed, flowing to a related organization whose financials remain opaque.
The Money Trail
HIAS revenue exploded from $55.6 million in 2019 to $149.2 million in 2022—a 168% increase in just four years. Federal funding drove that growth. HHS grants jumped from $4.3 million in 2019 to $65.3 million in 2023. A fifteen-fold increase.
The timing aligns perfectly with the Biden administration’s expansion of refugee admissions. More refugees meant more federal contracts. More contracts meant more money flowing through HIAS to its affiliate network.
But something broke in the financial management. By April 2024, HIAS had to announce layoffs affecting 12% of staff. CEO Mark Hetfield cited the discovery of spending levels the organization couldn’t sustain. By December 2024, Hetfield announced his transition out of the CEO role.
The 2024 independent audit found the organization couldn’t reliably track financial data. For an agency processing nearly $150 million annually, that’s not a minor bookkeeping error. It’s a material weakness in the most basic function of nonprofit management.
The Affiliate Network
HIAS distributed $58 million to 42 organizations through IRS Schedule I grants. The top ten recipients include:
HIAS Foundation received $20.1 million for “General Operating Support.” Jewish Family Services of Western New York got $4.3 million. Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services received $3.8 million. Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County took $3.4 million.
The pattern repeats down the list. Most recipients are Jewish Family Services agencies operating in different cities. They provide “Resettlement & Placement” services funded by federal grants that flow through HIAS.
This structure isn’t illegal. It’s standard practice in refugee resettlement. The federal government contracts with ten national VOLAGs, who subcontract with local affiliates. What matters is whether the money gets tracked properly and spent appropriately.
HIAS’s audit findings suggest problems with the tracking part.
Political Connections
Every employee who gave to political campaigns—all 66 of them—gave to Democratic causes. Total contributions: $81,444 over multiple election cycles. Not one dollar went to Republican candidates or committees.
The top recipients: ActBlue, Biden for President, Harris for President, Biden Victory Fund, Harris Victory Fund. Employee donations flowed heavily to J Street PAC, the progressive pro-Israel group that frequently opposes Republican positions on Israeli security policy.
Board connections run deeper. Leon Rodriguez serves as Secretary-Treasurer. He previously directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama, where he oversaw implementation of DACA and Syrian refugee processing.
Tamar Newberger chairs the board. She also served as Midwest Finance Co-Chair for Harris for President in 2024. Her husband Andrew Schapiro was U.S. Ambassador to Czech Republic under Obama.
This matters because HIAS operates on federal contracts. When 100% of employee political giving flows to one party, and board members include former administration officials from that party, it raises questions about whether the organization can adapt when the other party controls those contracts.
The answer appears to be no. Trump terminated the agreements. HIAS lost 60% of its funding “pretty much overnight,” according to Hetfield.
The Litigation Strategy
HIAS sued the Trump administration three times during his first term over refugee policy. The organization claims “clear wins” on Muslim ban challenges and partial victories on resettlement consent requirements.
On January 20, 2025—Trump’s first day back in office—a new executive order suspended the refugee program. HIAS joined Church World Service and Lutheran Community Services Northwest in filingPacito v. Trumpto challenge it. A federal judge in Seattle granted a preliminary injunction, finding the termination of cooperative agreements “unlawful.”
That legal victory bought temporary relief. It didn’t solve the fundamental problem: HIAS built an organization dependent on federal contracts that only exist when specific refugee policies remain in place.
This was an informative and important article, but from my own personal experience, HIAS is no longer the "Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society;" it's just plain "HIAS." When my grandparents were teenage newlyweds fleeing from the Reds, Whites, and everyone else in Revolutionary Russia, HIAS took care of them and sent them to the US (to a military base in the South, where my grandfather, a blacksmith, was needed, but that's another story).
When I was old enough, I started sending HIAS a contribution every year. In return, I would get a brochure showing the Jews they were settling chiefly in Israel, mainly from the Soviet Union, then pretty quickly the former Soviet Union, plus some Ethiopians and occasional Yemenis. A number of years ago, I can't remember when, the brochures started getting bigger and more colorful, and the refugees changed from Jews going to Israel to migrants from all over the world heading to the US. After a year or two of this, I started sending my hundred dollars a year to the Joint Distribution Committee. Judging by your figures, I don't think it was missed.
The point is, HIAS is just plain old HIAS, and the "Hebrew" is an anachronism.
The real question is: Why are the Feds funding any refugee resettlement efforts at all?