Amid growing tension between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV, the U.S. government decided to cancel a million-dollar contract with an organization linked to the Church for the care of illegal immigrant minors.
The decision involves the cancellation of an 11 million dollar grant for Catholic Charities, an organization that for decades worked to receive undocumented children who entered the United States illegally.
The program was funded through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Trump administration reportedly notified the entity at the end of March of the cancellation of funding, ending an institutional relationship that went back more than 60 years.
Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV
The organization operated a federally funded welfare system, separate from state child protection agencies
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In parallel, the Republican administration highlighted the sharp reduction in the number of unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors under state guardianship. According to official data, the current daily figure is around 1,900 children, well below the peak of 22,000 recorded during Joe Biden's previous administration
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The press secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Emily G. Hillard, explained that “the ORR is closing and consolidating disused facilities while the Trump Administration continues its efforts to stop illegal entry and the smuggling and trafficking of unaccompanied foreign minors,” in line with the Executive's immigration policy.
Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV
The controversy between Trump and the Pope
The measure came amid tension between the White House and the Vatican, following a series of public statements by the Pope questioning US foreign and immigration policy
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In this context, Donald Trump came out to respond firmly and questioned the pontiff's position, considering that his interventions go beyond the religious level.
The president stated that the Pope should focus on his spiritual role and avoid interfering in international political and security decisions.
The differences also deepened after the pontiff's recent international agenda, which included trips to Muslim countries and visits to mosques, while Christians suffer severe persecution in those places.
