March 7, 2025

Trump Administration Cancels USCCB Refugee Contract

Late last week, the Trump administration notified the USCCB that its contract with the U.S. government to resettle refugees was “immediately terminated” effective February 27th, along with government contracts with other refugee service providers.  The administration had suspended the contract weeks before, leading the USCCB to file suit for reimbursements for services already rendered.  The termination notification leaves refugees already approved for re-settlement in a legal limbo, and has led the USCCB to lay off numerous employees working on the program. The USCCB has reported that as many as 6,700 refugees they were serving were still within their 90-day transition period, the grace period allowed under the program during which refugees receive federal aid to re-settle in the U.S.  

Refugees are foreign nationals that are displaced from their country of origin and are fearful of returning due to their race, religion, or political opinions, and a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country. They are vetted by U.S. authorities outside the U.S. and approved for entry, unlike asylum seekers who request asylum after arriving here.  During the final year of the first Trump administration, the number of refugees authorized for admission to the U.S. was 62,500. That number increased during the Biden administration and stood at 125,000 from 2022-2024. In 2024, 100,034 refugees were officially admitted for settlement in the U.S., the largest number settled in 30 years.

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Funding Freeze for Foreign Aid

In a brief 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court this week rejected the Trump administration’s freeze of foreign aid payments for contractors who had already performed work. Justice Roberts, joined by Justice Barrett, Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Brown-Jackson ruled against the administration and ordered a lower court to clarify when the administration must release $2B in payments, since an earlier deadline had passed pending the appeal. Following the Supreme Court’s order, the lower court set Monday as the deadline for the administration to comply.

President Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office freezing spending on foreign aid while the administration reviewed the efficacy of foreign aid programs, which make up approximately 1-2% of the entire U.S. annual budget.  U.S. foreign aid assistance has been devastated, and many foreign aid workers have been furloughed, including many working for Catholic Relief Service (CRS), a Catholic foreign aid organization started after WWII.  

According to court documents, of the USAID contracts in place at the time of the executive order, 5,800 have been terminated while only 500 have been retained. 4,100 State Department foreign aid contracts have been terminated and 2,700 retained.  While the Supreme Court’s order doesn’t mean terminated contracts will be re-instated, it will likely mean funds already committed will have to be paid, and does provide insight into how the high court might split going forward on these issues.

Deacon Tyler