A growing battle between the Trump administration and U.S. Catholic leaders escalated on Tuesday when Catholic bishops filed a lawsuit over refugee resettlement funds.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops argued in the suit that the administration’s sudden funding freeze in late January violated several laws, including the Constitution’s guidance on congressional action.
The lawsuit raises questions not just about the future of refugee resettlement in the U.S., but also about the past. Catholic leaders claimed the Trump administration is refusing to pay for services rendered before the funding freeze was in place.
“The USCCB said it is still awaiting about $13 million in reimbursements for expenses prior to Jan. 24,” The Associated Press reported.
Administration officials did not respond to the AP’s requests for comment on the new lawsuit, but they’ve previously criticized Catholic leaders for becoming reliant on federal funding and for pushing back against “common sense” changes, as the Deseret News has reported.
The church has “not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement,” Vice President JD Vance said during a January interview with CBS News' “Face the Nation.”
Refugee resettlement in the U.S.
The Trump administration hit pause on the federal refugee resettlement program as part of a broader push to limit immigration.
Hours after returning to office, President Donald Trump ordered private resettlement agencies that had long partnered with the government to stop their work and cut off their access to federal funding.
Trump’s orders sent shockwaves through American faith groups, which, for decades, have played a leading role in refugee resettlement.
“Out of the 10 federally funded national agencies that resettle refugees, seven are faith-based,” per The Associated Press.
The Trump administration’s decision also disrupted the lives of refugees already in the U.S. Some are now uncertain if they’ll be able to be joined by family members, and some are struggling to access food, clothes and other goods typically provided by resettlement agencies that are now rapidly running out of money.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops criticized the Trump administration’s immigration-related moves in a Jan. 22 statement, arguing that its efforts to boost national security would actually empower wrongdoers in other countries and punish people in need.
“Indefinitely halting refugee resettlement is unmerited, as it is already proven to be one of the most secure legal pathways to the United States,” the statement said, in part.
Vance vs. Catholic bishops
Vance addressed that Jan. 22 statement in his interview with “Face the Nation,” arguing that Catholic leaders are putting their own needs ahead of the needs of the country.
“I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” he said.
In a Jan. 26 statement and again in the new lawsuit, Catholic bishops denied Vance’s claim, noting that the government funds they receive are not enough to cover the work they do with refugees.
“USCCB spends more on refugee resettlement each year than it receives in funding from the federal government, but it cannot sustain its programs without the millions in federal funding that provide the foundation of this private-public partnership,” the lawsuit said, per the AP.
The bishops have repeatedly said that their work is motivated by religious teachings on serving vulnerable communities, not by a desire for federal funds.
In that way, they’ve echoed Pope Francis, who has criticized the Trump administration for denying basic human dignity.
“The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all — as I have affirmed on numerous occasions — welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable," the pope wrote in a Feb. 11 letter to U.S. Catholic leaders.
Lawsuit from Catholic leaders
The new lawsuit from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“The lawsuit names the departments of State and Health and Human Services as well as their respective secretaries, Marco Rubio and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Both departments have roles in delegating resettlement work to the bishops conference,” the AP reported.
The lawsuit is similar to but separate from suits filed earlier this month by other refugee resettlement agencies over the funding freeze and by 27 religious organizations over a policy that may lead to more ICE raids in houses of worship.