The United States Catholic Bishop Conference states that the Government violates various laws by retaining funds assigned by Congress for refugees.
The Catholic bishops of the United States filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Tuesday for the abrupt financing suspension for refugee resettlement, arguing that it is an illegal and harmful action for newcomer refugees and for the largest private resettlement program of the largest country.
The United States Catholic Bishop Conference (USCCB for its initials in English) states that, when retaining millions of dollars even for the reimbursement of costs incurred before the announcement, the Government violates various laws as well as the constitutional disposition that grants control of The funds to Congress, which had already approved the financing.
The migration and refugee services of the conference have sent 50 workers, more than half of their staff, and additional cuts are anticipated in the local Catholic charities offices that collaborate with the National Office, according to the demand.
“The Catholic Church always works to defend everyone's common good and promote the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the USCCB. “That includes the unborn, the poor, the foreigner, the elders and sick, and the migrants.”
The financing suspension prevents the Church from doing its job, he said.
“From one moment to the other, the conference is unable to hold their work to take care of the thousands of refugees who were welcomed in our country and assigned to the care of the USCB by the government after having received legal status,” Broglio said.
The conference tries to maintain the program in operation, but it is “financially unsustainable,” he added, and said that the United States government meets its “moral and legal commitments.”
The conference is one of 10 national agencies, most of them religious, who provide refugees and have been in trouble since the State Department sent them a letter on January 24 when they informed them of an immediate suspension of Funds waiting for a review of foreign aid programs.
The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court for the Columbia district, ensures that the resettlement program is not even foreign aid. It is a national program to help newcomer refugees – who legally arrive after being evaluated abroad – to meet initial needs such as housing and employment.
“The USCB spends more on the resettlement of refugees every year of what it receives in Federal Financing, but cannot sustain its programs without the millions of dollars in federal financing that provide the basis of this public-private association,” he says In demand.
The complaint states that the government tries to make the “stabille” program, causing long -term damage.
The lawsuit appoints the Departments of State and Health and Human Services, as well as their respective holders, Marco Rubio and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Both agencies have roles in the delegation of the resettlement work to the Bishop Conference.
None of the units presented an immediate response to the court. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said that the agency does not comment on ongoing legal processes.
The USCCB indicated that it is still waiting for around 13 million dollars for reimbursements for expenses prior to January 24.