The Trump administration has canceled an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities, ending a funding relationship that spanned more than 60 years. The Office of Refugee Resettlement, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, has funded Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami since the 1960s, according to the Miami Herald.
The federal funds have supported shelters for unaccompanied migrant children. Church officials said the abrupt loss of funding could lead to the organization shutting down its migrant outreach program within the next few months, according to the Miami Herald.
The cancellation follows public friction between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over migration and foreign policy issues. The pontiff has publicly opposed the U.S. war with Iran and has voiced concerns for the welfare of migrants, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
Despite these tensions, the cuts do not appear directly linked to those tensions, noting the federal government contacted the charity about canceling funding in late March, according to the Miami Herald.
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski shared the decision is likely related to the administrations federal funding decisions and resource allocation more than anything else, according to CBS News.
“The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami,” Wenski wrote a statement for the Miami Herald’s editorial board. “The Archdiocese of Miami’s services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country.”
Wenski went on to reference Operation Pedro Pan, a 1960s partnership between the government and the church, which provided support to thousands of unaccompanied Cuban children who came to the U.S.
The Department of Health and Human Services told the Miami Herald the number of unaccompanied children in daily care at the agency was “significantly lower” under the current administration down to 1,900 from a peak of 22,000. While Wenski acknowledged the decrease and noted that some services could be scaled back, he called the federal cut in funding “baffling.”