The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities USA are among more than 200 non-governmental organizations named in a congressional probe for aiding immigrants its leaders call “inadmissible aliens” during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, R-Tenn., and Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Accountability Chairman Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., announced their investigation June 11.
According to a June 11 press release, “The chairmen are examining whether these NGOs used taxpayer dollars to facilitate illegal activity, as the previous administration incentivized millions of inadmissible aliens to cross our borders — many of whom were subsequently aided by NGOs after being released at the border under the Biden-Harris administration’s mass catch-and-release policies.”
Biden was U.S. president from January 2021-January 2025. He was preceded and succeeded by President Donald Trump.
In letters sent to the NGOs, Brecheen and Green “request each NGO complete a survey that includes questions on the government grants, contracts, and disbursements they have received; any lawsuits against the U.S. federal government they are petitioning; amicus briefs they have filed in any lawsuit brought against the U.S. federal government; any legal service, translation service, transportation, housing, sheltering, or any other form of assistance provided to illegal immigrants or unaccompanied alien children since January 2021; and more.”
The USCCB and Catholic Charities USA did not immediately respond to OSV News’ request for comment. Catholic Charities has long denied claims it facilitates illegal immigration.
On its website, the USCCB states that the Catholic Church does not support illegal immigration but advocates for “changing a broken law so that undocumented persons can obtain legal status in our country and enter the United States legally to work and support their families.”
Before the Trump administration suspended a federal refugee resettlement program and froze federal reimbursements, prompting the USCCB to significantly reduce its staff, the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services described itself as “the largest refugee resettlement agency in the world,” and said that in partnership with its affiliates, it resettled approximately 18% of the refugees that arrived in the U.S. each year legally through its refugee programs.
In April, the USCCB said it would not renew its cooperative agreements with the federal government related to children’s services and refugee support after its longstanding partnerships with the federal government in those areas became “untenable.” Meanwhile, the bishops are seeking reimbursement for more than $24 million in federal funding for services already provided.
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