Catholic bishops end refugee aid partnerships with US government, citing funding cuts

CHICAGO -- The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced Monday that it is ending a half-century of partnerships with the federal government to serve refugees and migrant children, saying the "heartbreaking" decision follows the Trump administration's abrupt halt to funding.

The break will inevitably result in fewer services than what Catholic agencies were able to offer in the past to people in need, the bishops said.

"As a national effort, we simply cannot sustain the work on our own at current levels or in current form," Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the conference, said in a statement. "We will work to identify alternative means of support for the people the federal government has already admitted to these programs."

The decision means the bishops won't be renewing an existing cluster of agreements with the government to provide various services to refugees and unaccompanied migrant children entering the United States, Broglio said.

The programs will shut down by the end of the fiscal year, which on the federal calendar is the end of September, Broglio added in a Washington Post commentary.

Broglio said caseworkers have provided the aid programs for refugees and unaccompanied migrant children in partnership with local Catholic Charities and other groups.

These programs are in addition to a related program in which the bishops had provided aid to newly arrived refugees, conference spokesperson Chieko Noguchi said. The bishops sued President Donald Trump's administration in February over its abrupt halt to funding to that program, saying they are owed millions already allocated by Congress to carry out resettlement aid under agreement with the federal government. At the time, the conference said it was serving more than 6,000 refugees who had arrived within the previous 90 days.

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But a federal judge ruled that he couldn't order the government to pay, saying a contractual dispute belongs before the Court of Federal Claims. The bishops conference has appealed. Noguchi says it's owed $24 million for work already provided.

Beyond that specific funding dispute is the Trump administration's halt to all new refugee arrivals. The Catholic bishops' Department of Migration and Refugee Services is one of 10 national agencies, most of them faith-based, which contracted with the federal government to resettle refugees who come to the U.S. legally after being vetted and approved by the federal government.

The bishops conference has overseen Catholic agencies resettling displaced people for a century. In recent decades, it had done so in a partnership with the U.S. government, receiving grants that covered much, though not all, of the expenses.

The Trump administration's "decision to reduce these programs drastically forces us to reconsider the best way to serve the needs of our brothers and sisters seeking safe harbor from violence and persecution," said Broglio, who heads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

Broglio asked for prayers for the "many staff and refugees impacted." Noguchi said Monday that 93 staff members already received layoff notices this year and "other MRS staff will likely be impacted" with the winding down of more migrant-related services.

In its lawsuit challenging the funding cuts, the conference said it has provided resettlement services to more than 930,000 refugees since 1980.

Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, accused the bishops conference in January of resettling immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally in order to get millions in federal funding - an apparent reference to the resettlement program, which actually involves legally approved refugees.

The bishops noted that they receive less in federal aid than the programs cost and must supplement the funding with donations.

Vance followed up his criticisms by appealing to Catholic teaching as justifying immigration restrictions. That drew rejoinders not only from U.S. bishops but an implicit rebuke from Pope Francis, who said Christian charity requires helping anyone in need, not just those in one's closest circles.

The majority of funds for Catholic Charities in Chicago come from the federal and state government.

"USCCB has been doing the work of resettling refugees since World War I. So, that's 100 years plus experience that we will be losing as a community," RefugeeOne Executive Director Melineh Kano said. "They are coming with the dream of building a new life. They are coming with the dream of contributing to this country."

RefugeeOne is not tied to Catholic Charities, but is feeling the impact of decisions made by the White House.

Kano said with 120 million refugees across the world, just 100,000 are admitted annually to the U.S. She says the process is thorough, often taking an average of 15-20 years for families to be approved.

"We have lost already one federal contract. We have laid off 11 staff members just in this last 10 days," Kano said.

Those like Kano know firsthand the power of organizations supporting refugees. Her Armenian family left Iran back in the 80s. She says it's more important than ever to stand for what's right.

"Don't just believe in the negative rhetoric that we hear too often and too loudly these days. You know, make your own decision, and the only way you can do that is to hear the stories firsthand," Kano said.

It's unclear just how much funding Catholic Charities receives from the federal government.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops did not respond to a request for comment on how they will now plan to fund their refugee programs.

ABC Chicago affiliate WLS' Jasmine Minor contributed to this report.

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