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President Trump\u2019s sweeping executive order<\/a> to halt foreign aid threatens to freeze a U.S. program supporting security forces inside a notorious camp in the Syrian desert that holds tens of thousands of Islamic State members and their families, Syrian and U.S. officials said.<\/p>\n The order has also wreaked havoc on another U.S. organization in Syria that was forced to briefly stop operations inside the camp, known as Al Hol, where the large concentration of ISIS members is seen as a security threat.<\/p>\n Concerns over an ISIS comeback<\/a> have been rising, with Syria in a state of flux as its new leaders try to solidify control over a nation still fragmented after rebels ousted its authoritarian leader, Bashar al-Assad.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has argued that the funding freeze, set to last for 90 days, was needed to ensure U.S. funds were not being wasted. But its impact highlights the risk posed to operations seen as critical to preventing a resurgence of ISIS, a jihadist group<\/a> that once controlled vast swaths of Syria and Iraq and launched deadly attacks in Europe and the United States before it was decimated by an American-led international coalition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n American troops still maintain a presence in northeastern Syria, supporting a local U.S. ally, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in the coalition\u2019s fight against ISIS. The S.D.F. not only controls northeastern Syria, but also a constellation of prisons and refugee camps in the territory holding ISIS fighters and their families, who are mostly from Syria and Iraq but also dozens of other countries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Al Hol camp is full of ISIS remnants,\u201d Jihan Hanan, the camp director and an official in the regional government, said in an interview. \u201cOur prisons are full of ISIS fighters. They pose a huge threat to the people of this region. We were the ones who fought on the front lines against ISIS. We were America\u2019s partners. They should continue with us to the end \u2014 or at least until we can ensure peace and security for this region.\u201d<\/p>\n Western security officials have also expressed concerns that any deterioration of control over the camps and prisons could fuel an ISIS revival in the region and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n After Mr. Trump\u2019s directive last Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stop-work order for all foreign aid. That order has halted operations by the U.S. contractor, Proximity International, which manages a program to train and equip thousands of Syrians to act as a police force, and provide them with vehicles and equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n One of the company\u2019s most critical roles is providing security inside Al Hol camp<\/a>, which houses some 39,000 ISIS members, their families and refugees, Ms. Hanan said. Occupied mostly by Iraqis and Syrians, the camp also contains foreigners of 42 other nationalities.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s got a huge effect on us,\u201d Ms. Hanan said of the halt to Proximity operations. \u201cThey supported internal security. They supplied what was needed for the camp gates \u2014 the technical equipment they needed, security cameras \u2014 all that kind of work, they supported that.\u201d<\/p>\n Maintaining security at Al Hol, as well as a smaller camp, Al Roj, is viewed as a critical part of keeping an ISIS resurgence at bay. The camps are seen as a key target for ISIS recruitment and operations.<\/p>\n Proximity International\u2019s contract to support the security forces ends on Friday, according to Ms. Hanan and two of the program\u2019s employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity. And because it has been ordered to stop work, it cannot sign a new contract with the forces. The company has filed for an exemption, the employees said, but had yet to receive a response as of Thursday.<\/p>\n Proximity International did not immediately reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Local officials warned that not only were such freezes a security risk, they could also undermine Washington\u2019s relationship with its local Kurdish allies before the Trump administration has determined its strategies toward Syria and ISIS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Adding to the disarray for the sensitive programs is the Trump administration\u2019s apparent reversal<\/a> of the directive ordering halts to federal funding. The two U.S. contractors affected at Al Hol said the move did not appear to reverse their freeze but that it had added yet another layer of confusion to an already uncertain situation.<\/p>\n