Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 19, 2025 / 17:40 pm

Local Catholic Charities agencies across the country are being forced to lay off staff and weigh shutting down programs in the wake of the Trump administration’s 90-day federal funding freeze.

Upon taking office last month, President Donald Trump issued directives that, among other measures, paused grants to organizations that aid migrants and refugees.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), on Feb. 18 filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over what the bishops say is an unlawful suspension of funding for refugee programs in the United States, many of which are run by Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities Santa Rosa: Aid for legal migrants cut

Last week Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, California, became one of the first local agencies to comment publicly on the impact of the Trump administration’s funding freeze on its services for legal immigrants, noting that funding for its citizenship classes had been cut off.

Jennielynn Holmes, a spokesperson for Catholic Charities Santa Rosa, told CNA that on Feb. 4, the agency received a four-sentence email from the Grants Branch Chief of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Mary Jane Sommerville, informing them their funding had been revoked.

According to Holmes, the freeze suspended nearly $500,000 in expected reimbursements from the federal government. The move, she said, was “unprecedented.”

“We’ve never had this happen before in any funding stream, but definitely not mid-contract year,” she said.

The email, reviewed by CNA, states: “Pursuant to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s memorandum dated Jan. 28, 2025, and effective immediately, your grant from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is frozen.”

“We recognize this will have an impact on your organization. We are unable to provide a timeline on this freeze,” the email added.

“I think what was most alarming to us was who these services were for,” Holmes said. “These services were not for individuals who were undocumented. These were for individuals who are legally here [who] did everything right in a very broken immigration system.”

“They did everything right,” she continued, “and now, in an indirect way, they are being targeted through this loss of funding.”

Catholic Charities in Santa Rosa’s immigration center provides citizenship classes and naturalization legal services to aid legal migrants through the process of becoming U.S. citizens. The center has nine Board of Immigration Appeals accredited staff, according to Holmes, who also said there are about 20-30 people enrolled in citizenship classes and several hundred more who are working through various stages of the naturalization process.

Holmes told CNA the agency has no plans to stop providing its services, despite the funding freeze.

Santa Rosa is currently working to apply for funding through the state of California after lawmakers set aside $50 million for different initiatives, including those that serve migrants. “We’re hopeful that we might be able to apply for some of those funds,” Holmes said, noting that the organization is in touch with state policymakers.

Catholic Charities in Syracuse cuts jobs

According to a local report, a local Catholic Charities in Syracuse, New York, recently slashed 51 jobs from its refugee resettlement program after the Trump administration blocked $1.7 million in government grants it was set to receive this year.

The Onondaga County Catholic Charities refugee program specifically assists migrants when they first arrive in the U.S., providing grants for food and housing, as well as job assistance in their first 90 days stateside.

“Catholic Charities provides support for refugees the moment they arrive in Syracuse, connecting refugees to education, housing, jobs, English language class, health care, and more,” the program website states. “Programs for children and youth help young refugees acclimate and find success.”

Catholic Charities Dallas: Nearly 60 employees laid off

According to a local NBC News report, Catholic Charities Dallas was forced to lay off 59 of its employees after federal funding for its refugee program was suspended last month.

The program, which is almost entirely funded by the State Department, serves documented migrants in north Texas. The program recently received roughly 180 migrant families, which it must seek alternative funding to support, the report said.

Iraqi and Afghan refugees who aided the U.S. government overseas are among the program’s beneficiaries, according to the program website.