US Conference of Bishops sues Trump administration for freezing refugee funds

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is suing multiple officials and departments over the Trump administration's funding freeze of refugee resettlement programs.  

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for District of Columbia, argues the group, which is the official association of Catholic Bishops in the US, cannot continue its refugee services without the "millions" in federal funding that Congress has previously set aside for it, and that the group's involvement in refugee services is a direct result of government policies dating back to 1980 that have relied on nonprofits to resettle refugees. 

"For decades, the U.S. government has chosen to admit refugees and outsourced its statutory responsibility to provide those refugees with resettlement assistance to non-profit organizations like USCCB," the lawsuit reads  "But now, 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 suit alleges that group, since the fund was halted January 24, 2025, has not been reimbursed for refugee services since November 2024, totaling $13 million, resulting in it owning $11.6 million to its sub-recipients having to terminate 50 staff members in its Migration & Refugee Services office.

Defendants are listed as the State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, PRM Secretary Jennifer Davis, the Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  

The lawsuit asks that the funding freeze be declared unenforceable under the Refugee Act of 1980 and for the agencies listed in the case to be required to fully reimburse USCCB.