Catholic Bishops Sue President Donald Trump’s Administration, Reason Emerges
US

Catholic Bishops Sue President Donald Trump’s Administration, Reason Emerges

  • U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sued President Donald Trump's administration for halting funding to a refugee resettlement program, which they claim is illegal and impacts over 930,000 resettled refugees
  • The USCCB argues that the funding freeze has forced them to off-roll 50 employees focused on refugee resettlement
  • This lawsuit adds to a series of legal challenges against the Trump administration's funding cuts for various government programs and agencies

Washington, D.C., USA – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sued President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday for halting funding to a refugee resettlement program.

The USCCB's filing joins a series of lawsuits seeking to prevent Trump from ending funding for various government programs and agencies.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sued President Donald Trump's administration for halting funding to a refugee resettlement program.
Catholic Bishops gives reason for suing President Donald Trump’s administration. Photo credit: Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

According to Fox, the suit relates to the Refugee Act of 1980, under which the USCCB collaborated with the U.S. government to resettle over 930,000 refugees, the lawsuit claims.

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Trump’s order: Nigerian Senate summons security chiefs over USAID terrorist financing allegations

Claims of unlawful funding halt

The lawsuit, as reported by the Catholic Herald, states, "For decades, the US government has chosen to admit refugees and outsourced its statutory responsibility to provide those refugees with resettlement assistance to non-profit organizations like USCCB. But now, after refugees have 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 State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration issued a suspension letter for the program shortly after Trump entered office, although the USCCB argues the letter indicated that the department would reimburse the USCCB for its work up to January 24.

Impact and legal arguments

The USCCB lawsuit contends that it has not received reimbursement up to January 24 and that it is illegal for the Trump administration to unilaterally cut off congressionally approved funding.

The funding freeze has forced the USCCB to begin off-rolling 50 employees focused on refugee resettlement.

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This lawsuit follows a federal judge's order compelling the Trump administration to lift its three-week funding freeze on U.S. foreign aid last week.

Judge Amir Ali noted that the administration argued it needed to shut down funding to review each program thoroughly but failed to justify a "blanket suspension" before the review.

US speaks as allegation swirls over USAID

Legit.ng earlier reported that the United States (US) on Tuesday, February 18, said comprehensive monitoring and evaluation systems are in place to help verify that America's assistance reaches intended recipients.

In a tweet on its official X (formerly Twitter) page, the US mission in Nigeria said America condemned the violence and blatant disregard for human life perpetrated by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the most populous black nation on earth and the region.

It said the secretary of state designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation on November 14, 2013, "to block the organisation’s assets and fundraising efforts, prosecute individual members, and restrict their travel to the US." Read more: https://www.legit.ng/nigeria/1641279-breaking-mission-breaks-silence-prominent-nigerians-allege-usaid-funds-boko-haram/

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.

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