The Trump administration has reportedly canceled an $11 million contract with the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, which offers shelter and care to migrant children entering the United States.
The decision comes amid tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo, the leader of the Catholic Church, over issues about the war in Iran.
Trump has launched a series of attacks against the American-born pontiff, including suggesting Leo was “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” The 79-year-old president also received intense criticism after he shared an image depicting himself as Jesus Christ on social media.
Writing for the Miami Herald, Thomas Wenski, archbishop of Miami, said it is “baffling” that the government would want to shut down a service that has helped thousands of children who entered the U.S. without parents or guardians since the 1960s.
“The Archdiocese of Miami’s services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country,” Wenski wrote.
“Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched. Yet, the Archdiocese of Miami’s Catholic Charities’ services for unaccompanied minors has been stripped of funding and will be forced to shut down within three months.”
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has paid Catholic Charities for numerous years to house immigrant children entering the U.S. without adult supervision. The federal government contacted the charity about the cancellation in late March, according to The Miami Herald.
The HHS said that the cancellation was motivated by a falling number of migrant children entering the country without parents or adult supervisors.
Robert Latham, associate director of the Children and Youth Law Clinic at the University of Miami Law School, said that it may be “incredibly psychologically harmful” for the children, who have already been through so much, to be relocated.
“For little kids, moving repeatedly creates bonding issues and destroys the sense of both self and community. They don’t know who they are and where they will be [from day to day,]” Latham told the Herald.
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