The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced on Tuesday that they had decided to not renew agreements with the federal government related to children’s services and refugee support.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio stated that in light of the Donald Trump administration’s suspension of programmes for resettling refugees, “the government’s decisions have forced the Conference to reconsider the best way to serve the needs of those seeking safe harbor from violence and persecution.”
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In an official statement on their website, the USCCB called it a “heartbreaking” decision but stated that they did not have the resources to continue programs for refugee resettlement and children’s services without government funds.
“As a national effort, we simply cannot sustain the work on our own at current levels or in current form. As USCCB cooperative agreements for refugee resettlement and children’s programs end, we will work to identify alternative means of support for the people the federal government has already admitted to these programs. We ask your prayers for the many staff and refugees impacted,” the statement said.
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The programs will officially shut down by September, Broglio stated.
Dispute with Trump administration
The catholic bishops association had sued President Donald Trump’s administration in February after they abruptly halted funding for refugee programs. The bishops had claimed that they were owed millions of dollars which had been allocated by Congress under their agreement with the government.
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The conference also said that there were serving more than 6,000 refugees who had arrived in the last 90 days, before funding was cut.
However, a federal judge ruled in favour of the Trump administration and stated that he couldn’t order the government to pay, as a contractual disagreement came under the jurisdiction of the federal claims court.
The catholic bishops conference has appealed since then, claiming that they are owed $24 million for work they have done.
Vice president JD Vance had earlier accused the catholic bishops conference of resettling illegal immigrants in the US in order to collect millions in funding, although the government-approved resettlement programs run with the conference only deal with legal refugees.
The bishops had responded to Vance stating that federal funding barely covered the costs of the programs themselves and that they had relied on donations to supplement them.
The bishops conference has overseen Catholic agencies resettling displaced people for a century, and for the last fifty years has done so in partnership with the US government. In its lawsuit challenging the funding cuts, the conference said it has provided resettlement services to more than 930,000 refugees since 1980.
