In a landmark shift for U.S. immigration policy and the role of faith-based humanitarian work, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced Monday it will terminate its long-standing partnership with the federal government to provide services to migrants — a decision triggered by the Trump administration’s immediate suspension of federal funding.
The announcement marks the end of a decades-old collaboration in which the USCCB operated one of the largest refugee resettlement programs in the country. The decision was described as “heartbreaking” and “gut-wrenching” by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the USCCB, in a Washington Post op-ed published April 8.
“Our programs… will shut down by the end of the fiscal year,” Broglio wrote, emphasizing that thousands of migrants — including unaccompanied children and newly legalized refugees — will now be left without structured aid.
The move comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s sweeping electoral victory in November, which delivered a seven-state sweep and a popular vote win, driven largely by public concern over immigration. Acting swiftly after taking office in January, Trump signed a series of executive orders targeting immigration, including suspending federal contracts with resettlement agencies pending a review of foreign-aid and migration programs.
A State Department letter dated January 24 informed the ten national resettlement agencies — USCCB among them — that all funding was immediately suspended. That funding had underpinned key elements of the Catholic Church’s refugee support efforts.
Facing a sudden budget collapse, USCCB filed a lawsuit against the administration last month, arguing that the executive branch had overstepped its constitutional authority by bypassing Congress in defunding a domestic program. The conference insists its role in resettlement is not foreign aid, but rather community-based support for legal refugees and children granted entry by the U.S. government.
“USCCB spends more on refugee resettlement each year than it receives in funding… but it cannot sustain its programs without the millions in federal funding,” the lawsuit states.
By the time of the lawsuit, the conference had already sent layoff notices to over 50 employees—more than half of its national staff. Additional cuts are expected at local Catholic Charities affiliates, who handle day-to-day resettlement work on the ground.
According to internal records, as of January 25 there were 6,758 refugees assigned to USCCB care who had been in the U.S. fewer than 90 days — the window of eligibility for federal resettlement assistance.
The shift also reflects a broader realignment within the Catholic laity on immigration policy. A June 2024 poll conducted by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) found that 43% of U.S. Catholics want immigration reduced, while only 23% supported increasing it. Support for high levels of immigration was even lower among Catholic Republicans.
This marks a significant erosion of consensus behind the Church’s historically pro-migrant advocacy, aligning more closely with Trump-era populist nationalism than past bipartisan openness to migration.
