Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for lost income after refugee aid stopped

By Elaine Mallon

February 19, 2025 11:32 am


The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday evening for withholding millions of dollars of funding approved by Congress that assist in USCCB’s mission of providing relief and relocation to asylum refugees.

For fiscal 2025, the federal government has allocated $65 million to the USCCB “for the immediate physical needs and integration of refugees into their new communities,” but on Jan. 24 the Trump administration halted its payments to the USCCB. The conference now faces $13 million of unpaid reimbursements and owes $11.6 million to its “subrecipients that it is unable to reimburse.”

There are currently more than 6,700 asylum-seekers in their 90-day transitional period delegated to USCCB’s care.

“After refugees have already arrived and been placed in USCCB’s care, the government is attempting to pull the rug out from under USCCB’s programs by halting funding,” the lawsuit stated, according to a copy obtained by the Washington Post.

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