Catholic Bishops SUE Trump Administration For Cutting Off “Refugee Resettlement” Funding

A Catholic national agency of bishops is launching a lawsuit against the Trump administration for cutting off funding to their private “refugee resettlement” program.

In other words, Catholic bishops are suing because Trump just stemmed the flow of cash — funded by our tax money — they were using to help illegal immigrants stay in our nation.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops claims that the administration’s halt on funding is unlawful because it violates the constitutional provision that grants power of the purse to Congress, which had approved their funding for housing illegal immigrants.

Here’s what’s being reported:

US Catholic Conference of Bishops sues Trump administration for cutting funding for refugee resettlement.

Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/Utq4fM8Sho

— AF Post (@AFpost) February 19, 2025

US Conference of Catholic Bishops sues the Trump administration over its abrupt halt to refugee resettlement funding, calling the action unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees. The bishops demand the government release the funds already approved by Congress pic.twitter.com/XbgLg6MVrA

— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) February 19, 2025

🚨CATHOLIC BISHOPS SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT CUTS

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging its suspension of refugee resettlement funding.

Filed in D.C. federal court, the lawsuit claims… pic.twitter.com/u4CDZ5Dt75

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 19, 2025

Isn’t it ironic how the punishment for illegally entering the Vatican is several years in prison?..

Catholics for Catholics pointed out:

BREAKING…
US Catholic Bishops @USCCB sue @realDonaldTrump for cutting off their cash flow "helping" illegal immigrants into the Country.

REMINDER: if you enter the Vatican illegally…ie somehow making it over the 30 ft walls or inside one of the gates…you will be thrown in… pic.twitter.com/qIEaRkANHW

— Catholics for Catholics 🇺🇲 (@CforCatholics) February 19, 2025

AP has more details on the lawsuit:

Catholic bishops sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its abrupt halt to funding of refugee resettlement, calling the action unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees and to the nation’s largest private resettlement program.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops says the administration, by withholding millions even for reimbursements of costs incurred before the sudden cut-off of funding, violates various laws as well as the constitutional provision giving the power of the purse to Congress, which already approved the funding.

The conference’s Migration and Refugee Services has sent layoff notices to 50 workers, more than half its staff, with additional cuts expected in local Catholic Charities offices that partner with the national office, the lawsuit said.

“The Catholic Church always works to uphold the common good of all and promote the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable among us,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the USCCB. “That includes the unborn, the poor, the stranger, the elderly and infirm, and migrants.” The funding suspension prevents the church from doing so, he said.

“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.

The Hill added:

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Tuesday sued to challenge the Trump administration’s moves to block funding for refugee resettlement programs.

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Immigration groups have already sued the administration for suspending new refugee admissions, but the new lawsuit seeks to stop the State Department from freezing funding for local organizations that partner with the federal government to support refugees once they arrive in the United States.

The USCCB’s suit says more than 6,700 admitted refugees were assigned to it when its funding was suspended late last month, leaving the organization on the hook for millions of dollars weekly and already forcing it to lay off employees.

“Refugees who have already entered the United States may soon be cut off from support, contravening the statutorily expressed will of Congress and making it more difficult for them to establish themselves as productive members of society,” reads the complaint.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., federal district court, claims the freeze undermines Congress’s power of the purse and violates multiple federal laws.