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ST. LOUIS — President Donald Trump’s executive orders have blocked at least 120 refugees already approved to resettle in St. Louis from coming here, according to the region’s leading resettlement agency.

The International Institute of St. Louis also says the orders have stopped it from using federal money to help 438 refugees from several countries who arrived in the last three months. The money would have been used for items such as English classes, job training and housing and utility expenses.

“Together these orders effectively reject our nation’s nearly 75-year commitment to respecting the human dignity of those fleeing persecution as affirmed by the Geneva Convention,� Blake Hamilton, interim president and CEO of the Institute, said in a statement.

The Institute did not specify how much federal funding had been halted. But it vowed to continue supporting newly arrived refugees and has asked for private donations to help.

“The immediate services and support refugees receive upon arrival are essential to ensuring our newest neighbors are set on a path toward self-sufficiency,� Hamilton said in the statement.

In recent years, St. Louis-area government, business and civic leaders have pointed to immigration as a way to help reverse decades of population loss and support the region’s vitality. They credited the Institute last year when U.S. Census data showed the area led the nation in growing its immigrant population.

The local effort includes two programs, aimed at Afghan refugees and Latino immigrants, that support new arrivals while incentivizing those in other U.S. cities to come here. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were inspired by the success in attracting Bosnian immigrants and refugees in the 1990s.

Jerry Schlichter, a local attorney and philanthropist who helped start both programs, said they are privately funded through 2025 and wouldn’t be affected by federal funding cuts.

But the halt to resettlement programs, if continued, will hurt the region, he said. The Afghan support program, for example, helped fund 10 refugees who started their own businesses.

“It’s clear immigrants and refugees help build neighborhoods and build a more vibrant St. Louis,� Schlichter said. “It’s filling an essential need to stop this population loss, not just in the city but in the region as a whole.�

In 2024, the Institute settled about 115 refugees each month, including more than 500 since October. The Institute expected to settle up to 2,000 refugees in the St. Louis region in 2025.

Trump, after taking office, issued an order ending refugee resettlement for 90 days, until his administration decides whether to resume the program.

The order took effect Monday. Thousands of refugees cleared to come to the U.S. who were supposed to arrive last week had their flights cancelled.

In St. Louis, that included 120 people from countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia and Venezuela. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were seeking safety in the U.S. after clearing months of background checks.

The cancellations also affected Afghan refugees who were supposed to be exempt because they had helped the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan and had special visas, Hamilton said.

Trump also issued an order ending parole programs that allowed asylum seekers from certain countries to come here on a temporary basis if they were sponsored by a local resident. That included a humanitarian parole program limited to Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti that the Institute’s Latino Outreach program had recruited from last year.

In all, in 2024 the Institute served more than 3,000 new clients in the region, including refugees and immigrants. More than 500 of them were immigrants who were already settled in other cities in the United States but were drawn here by the Latino Outreach and Afghan Support programs.

The Institute’s branch in Springfield helped more than 500 people newly arrived to the U.S. settle in southwest Missouri.