US bishops sue Trump administration over refugee funding

In the lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, the bishops called the suspension “unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees”, The Associated Press first reported.

The lawsuit was filed on February 18.

A USCCB spokesperson told OSV News that the lawsuit urges the US government “to uphold its legal and moral obligations” to refugees, and to restore the funding needed to ensure that faith-based and community organisations can continue their work with refugees.

The USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services is one of 10 national resettlement agencies that work with the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which was established by Congress in 1980.

USRAP was suspended through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20. 

It is being evaluated to see whether refugee resettlement “is in the national interest”.

The US State Department issued suspension notices to domestic resettlement agencies, including the USCCB, on January 24.

USCCB president Archbishop Timothy Broglio told media that “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”.

The USCCB has helped nearly a million people find safety and build their lives in the United States.

The USCCB website states that its Migration and Refugee Services, in partnership with affiliates, resettles approximately 18 per cent of the refugees who arrive in the US each year. It is the largest refugee resettlement agency in the world.

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Bishops sue Trump administration, say halting refugee resettlement funds will cause harm – OSV News (By Maria-Pia Negro Chin/OSV News)