The Trump administration has canceled an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami.
This ends a long-term arrangement to shelter and care for unaccompanied migrant children. President Donald Trump is currently involved in a public dispute with Pope Leo XIV over immigration and the war in Iran.
The contract, managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement at the Department of Health and Human Services, provided housing and services for children who entered the United States without a parent or legal guardian.
The termination puts a longstanding South Florida program at risk of closing within three months, according to a report from the Miami Herald.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski noted that this decision ends a 60-year relationship between Catholic Charities in Miami and the federal government. In a statement shared by multiple outlets, Wenski said, “The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami.”
He mentioned that the group’s services for unaccompanied minors “have been recognized for their excellence” and stated that the program now will be “forced to shut down within three months.”
“The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami,” Wenkski wrote. ‘The Archdiocese of Miami’s services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a…
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Federal officials indicated that the move related to a decrease in the number of children in government custody, not the conflict between the White House and the Vatican. HHS reported that the daily number of unaccompanied migrant children in federal care had dropped to about 1,900 during the Trump administration, down from a peak of approximately 22,000 during the Biden administration.
The Miami program originated from South Florida’s response to Cuban child migration in the early 1960s. Its shelter, the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children’s Village in Cutler Bay, can accommodate up to 81 children. It is part of a system that also includes foster homes, family reunification support, and trauma-related care, according to local reports.
The cancellation of the contract comes during a heated feud between Trump and Pope Leo, the first American pope. As previously reported on The Inquisitr, Trump criticized Leo as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” after the pontiff spoke out against war and tough immigration policies. Leo replied that he did not fear the Trump administration and would continue promoting peace.
BREAKING: Pope Leo XVI says the world is being ‘ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ during a visit to Cameroon.
The remarks come amid his feud with U.S. President Donald Trump over the war in Iran.https://t.co/1wxbrJ2Hxo
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This dispute provides the political context for the funding cutoff, although no public evidence suggests the cancellation was a retaliation against the pope or the church. Reports on the contract decision coincide with the ongoing conflict between the White House and the Vatican.
The decision also follows previous disputes between the Trump administration and Catholic agencies that assist migrants and refugees. AP reported last year that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops ended its refugee-aid partnerships with the federal government after funding cuts and a legal battle over unpaid reimbursements.
For Catholic Charities in Miami, the immediate concern is what will happen next for the children currently in its care. Local church officials express that the administration’s decision will dismantle a program they believe is one of the country’s effective models for helping vulnerable minors arriving alone in the United States.
