In an unexpected move this week, the Trump administration withdrew an $11 million agreement with the Archdiocese of Miami’s Catholic Charities, ending more than sixty years of cooperation to shelter unaccompanied migrant children. The decision arrived just days after President Trump launched a series of public attacks on Pope Leo XIV, prompting church officials to decry the coincidence.
For decades, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami operated the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Center, an 81-bed emergency shelter offering foster care and family reunification for minors arriving without an adult guardian. Founded in 1960 by Father Bryan Walsh during Operation Pedro Pan, the center became a national model whose practices were studied and replicated by agencies across the country.
The Trump administration this week canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, abruptly terminating a partnership that sheltered unaccompanied migrant children in South Florida for more than sixty years. Church leaders across the country say the two events are inseparable.
“The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski wrote in a statement to the Miami Herald. Wenski, who defended the pope amid his clash with Trump—saying he “doesn’t have to please anybody except the Lord”—noted that the Archdiocese’s program “has been recognized for its excellence and has served as a model for other agencies throughout the country.” Dismantling it, he wrote, is “baffling.”
In late March, Catholic Charities received official notice that the contract would end, giving the agency roughly three months to wind down operations. Children are currently in its care, and there is no public plan for their relocation.
Administration’s Rationale and Response
The Department of Health and Human Services cited a drop in border crossings—down from a peak of 22,000 under the Biden administration to roughly 1,900 today—as justification. “ORR is closing and consolidating unused facilities,” HHS press secretary Emily G. Hillard said, without naming the Miami program directly.
Wenski rejected that reasoning: “It is baffling,” he wrote, “that the U.S. government would shut down a program that it would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence” demonstrated by the Church.
Escalating Tensions with the Vatican
The funding cut follows a rapid escalation in President Trump’s feud with Pope Leo XIV. In an April homily, the pontiff urged leaders to “Stop! It is time for peace!” and questioned whether the administration’s immigration policies align with a truly “pro-life” stance. Trump responded on Truth Social by branding Leo “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” accusing him of “catering to the Radical Left,” and posting what appeared to be an AI-generated image depicting himself in a Christ-like pose.
The backlash inside the Church was swift. Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened” by the president’s words. Bishop Robert Barron, a member of Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, called the posts “entirely inappropriate and disrespectful” and said the president owed the pope an apology. Conservative commentator Erick Erickson warned that Christian Trump supporters “who have stood with him through Iran” were “waking up to his blasphemy.”
Local Impact and Reactions
In South Florida parishes, the contract cancellation has hit home. Father Federico Capdepom, retired after 33 years of service in the Archdiocese, told CBS News Miami, “I feel very sad. Disappointed,” and added, “To abruptly cancel $11 million of help for migrants — I think it’s totally unacceptable.” A parishioner labeled the decision “disgraceful.”
President Trump won 55 percent of the Catholic vote in the 2024 election, but his approval among Catholic voters has dipped below 50 percent amid the Iran war and his public spat with the pope. The Walsh Center is slated to close in the coming months, and no alternative arrangements for the children have been announced.