Politics
U.S. Catholic Church Shuts Down Refugee And Migrant Aid Programs
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (UCSSB) announced Monday that it is ending its decades-old partnership with the federal government to provide financial aid and other services to migrants, including illegal aliens. According to a statement, the “heartbreaking” decision was made after the Trump Administration pulled funding from the programs.
“A very sad day has dawned,” wrote Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote in an April 8 op-ed in the Washington Post.
“The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had to make the gut-wrenching decision this week to end our work with the federal government to resettle refugees and coordinate support services on the government’s behalf for unaccompanied children entering the United States. Our programs — among the nation’s largest and longest-serving refugee resettlement efforts — will shut down by the end of the fiscal year,” Broglio continued.
The move comes after both illegal and legal immigration topped out as leading concerns among voters in President Trump’s historic victory, in which he swept all seven swing states and won the popular vote, back in November. As part of a flurry immigration-related executive orders, Trump suspended the program almost immediately after taking office in January.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was one of 10 national migrant resettlement agencies — which helped to transport border crossers to communities of their choosing during the Biden Administration –that received a State Department letter informing them of an immediate suspension of funding pending a review of foreign-aid programs on January 24.
Last month, the USCCB sued the Trump Administration over the funding cuts, arguing that the decision violates the constitutional provision giving the power of the purse to Congress. When filing the lawsuit, the organization noted that it had already sent layoff notices to 50 workers, more than half of its staff, while additional cuts were anticipated in local Catholic Charities offices.
“The conference suddenly finds itself unable to sustain its work to care for the thousands of refugees who were welcomed into our country and assigned to the care of the USCCB by the government after being granted legal status,” Broglio said.
While the conference is attempting to keep the program going, Broglio conceded that it has become “financially unsustainable”
In its lawsuit, USCCB argues that it is not a foreign aid program, but a domestic resettlement program. The conference claims it serves immigrants who are “properly vetted” by providing them with housing and access to the job market.
“USCCB spends more on refugee resettlement each year than it receives in funding from the federal government, but it cannot sustain its programs without the millions in federal funding that provide the foundation of this private-public partnership,” the lawsuit says.
As of January 25, it said, there were 6,758 refugees assigned by the government to USCCB’s care that had been in the country less than 90 days, the period of time for which they’re eligible for resettlement aid, CNN reported.
According to a June 2024 poll from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, 43 percent of U.S. Catholics want the flow of immigration into the United States to be reduced. Just 23 percent of respondents, only 30 percent of whom identified themselves as Republicans, expressed support for increased immigration.
