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According to the lawsuit, USCCB has been providing resettlement services for refugees in collaboration with the federal government since the enactment of the Refugee Act of 1980. The sudden halt of funding by the State Department is presented as an extension of the Trump administration’s efforts to address the illegal immigration crisis that escalated during the Biden presidency and to curtail unnecessary foreign aid spending.
The lawsuit argues that the “Refugee Funding Suspension is unlawful” and violates multiple statutes, including the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and undermines the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. It further states that “the government entirely failed to consider and address the obvious and catastrophic consequences that an immediate funding suspension would impose on USCCB, its subrecipients, and individual refugees—let alone those parties’ significant, reasonable reliance interests in continued funding.”
The USCCB is suing the Trump administration over the loss of funds for refugee resettlement programs.
But … it’s not about the money, ya know. pic.twitter.com/bxETMQ3l5K
— Lepanto Institute (@LepantoInst) February 19, 2025
USCCB claims that it has already been forced to terminate 50 employees due to the Trump administration’s decision to suspend funding. The organization states that it “faces irreparable damage” due to the loss of funds, with millions of dollars already spent on nearly 7,000 refugees that will no longer be reimbursed.
President Donald Trump, on his first day back in the White House, announced that the U.S. would be “realigning” its refugee policy to better suit the nation’s interests, suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. The president cited “significant influxes of migrants” who cannot “fully and appropriately assimilate into the United States” and the strain refugee assistance has placed on taxpayers as reasons for the decision.
For years, the USCCB, had always been most careful to keep the utmost silence in regard to Democrat administrations, even when matters of Faith and Morality have been at stake. But lo and behold, now it even goes so far as to challenge President Trump's executive decrees,… https://t.co/Bbd3NjUuh6 pic.twitter.com/sY2VEQgA3F
— Arcivescovo Carlo Maria Viganò (@CarloMVigano) February 19, 2025
Trump’s stance on immigration has led to frequent clashes with Catholic leadership, with Pope Francis calling Trump’s immigration policy a “disgrace.” However, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington has supported the president, stating that Catholic teaching does not endorse an “open border policy.”
Neither USCCB, HHS, nor the State Department immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
