Solutions in Hometown Connections vs Noem
In the media
4/21/2025 New York Times “Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda”
4/7/2025 Newsweek “Citizenship Groups Seek Nationwide Block on Trump Cuts”
4/2/2025 Washington Post “Department of Homeland Security Cuts funds for Groups Helping Legal Immigrants Become US Citizens”
UPDATE 4/8/2025
SHC staff, volunteers and students attended a hearing in Solutions in Hometown Connections v Noem in Maryland District Court.
UPDATE (3/27/2025)
A few days after our complaint was filed with the court, the DHS terminated all of the USCIS grants supporting citizenship instruction. This means that the funds were no longer frozen and temporarily inaccessible; DHS abruptly terminated the funds for all citizenship preparation and naturalization services.
UPDATE (3/17/2025)
Today Solutions in Hometown Connections joined other civil rights and immigration service organizations in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful freeze on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant funding.
The SHC Citizenship program prepares lawful permanent residents working toward the goal of becoming US citizens for the naturalization interview by teaching literacy-based civics, promoting community engagement and connecting SHC families to legal assistance.
Thank you Democracy Forward, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF for representing SHC and other organizations across the country!
URGENT UPDATE (2/4/2025)
“Pursuant to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s memorandum dated January 28, 2025, and effective immediately, your grant from U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services is frozen.”
On February 4, SHC was disappointed and disheartened to receive a letter from USCIS announcing that grant funds for our Citizenship Program were frozen indefinitely. We subsequently learned that for reasons that remain unknown, funding for all grants supporting Citizenship instruction have been frozen.
The CARING grant that SHC received from DHS through USCIS covered the majority of costs for SHC citizenship classes, field trips and the SHC Community Connections Program for our citizenship students.
The CARING grant perfectly aligns with the SHC mission to remove barriers and provide opportunities for isolated and vulnerable adult English learners whose goal is to become a US Citizen.
Despite this setback, SHC remains committed to preventing disruption to our students' learning.
We will continue to operate our SHC citizenship classes, field trips, community connections services and tutoring as planned through the current Winter Session. Looking ahead, we hope to offer citizenship classes for the rest of 2025 with support from community partners, other funders, and individual donors.
We remain determined to understand the reasoning for how our work preparing legal permanent residents to become United States citizens could be in question.
We have been in contact with our congressional representatives for more information. We continue to reach out to other affected organizations to better understand the broader response to this situation.
Exciting News (9/28/2023)
Solutions in Hometown Connections Wins Major US Government Grant Competition
September 28, 2023
The office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that it has awarded its 2023 CARING Grant to Solutions in Hometown Connections (SHC), a nonprofit based in Riverdale, MD that serves immigrant families.
The Community and Regional Integration Network Grant (CARING) of $276,575 will support SHC’s work with refugees, asylees, SIVs, and other immigrant families, particularly those who need literacy-based instruction. SHC’s existing English Language and Citizenship Preparation programs empower women with limited formal education who often encounter hurdles in accessing English programs, workforce opportunities, and citizenship preparation.
According to co-founders Merritt Groeschel and Kate Talbot, this grant will allow SHC to expand the citizenship preparation program, part of comprehensive offerings that envelop vulnerable immigrants in an inclusive community, fostering growth and integration.
SHC will work with subawardee Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area to provide legal services for naturalization through this program.
Since 1917, Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA), a human services and immigration relief and refugee welcome agency, has accompanied those in need throughout Maryland, Virginia, and the Washington D.C. metro area to foster resiliency, self-sufficiency, and access to opportunities. We look forward to working alongside SHC by providing legal services to their eligible clients and preparing and submitting their applications for naturalization while accompanying them as they become United States citizens.
Founded in 2017, SHC has provided supportive programming to more than 2,000 newcomers and is a partner organization of the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees, administrating the state’s Refugee Family Engagement Program.
Contact: 301-615-1034 or info@shconnections.org
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