US Catholic Bishops’ Conference Files Complaint Against Trump
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed a complaint against Trump in court.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been collaborating with the Office of Refugee and Migration Affairs at the U.S. State Department for more than fifty years, receiving approximately 65 million dollars in federal budget annually. However, in January, Donald Trump issued an order to halt foreign aid.
The conference, in response to this directive which cuts aid to refugees and faced with budget reductions, filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. According to the conference’s statement, they received a two-page letter indicating budget cuts, despite having previously made commitments to refugees based on their regular budget.
Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, said during an interview last month regarding the budget paid for refugees: “As a Catholic, I believe the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops should look at itself in the mirror and determine whether receiving millions of dollars to assist in the resettlement of illegal immigrants stems from humanitarian concerns or from a desire to preserve their own interests. I say frankly that the Conference of Catholic Bishops has not been a good partner in implementing the sensible immigration policies that the American people voted for. As a faithful Catholic, I hope they will do better.”
In the complaint filed by the Conference of Catholic Bishops to the court, it states: “The conference has thus far been forced to lay off 50 employees and faces irreparable harm to its long-term refugee resettlement programs, its reputation and relationships with aid recipients, and the refugee populations it serves.”
