Another major church is splitting with the Trump administration over refugees

Yahoo

12-05-2025

On April 7, the Catholic Church announced that it was cutting ties with the federal refugee resettlement program.
Now, another major religious denomination is following suit.
The Episcopal Church announced on Monday that it will stop participating in the program, thereby ending a major funding partnership with the federal government.
In a letter to church members, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, explained that the decision stemmed directly from the Trump administration's recent decision to prioritize the resettlement of white South Africans, who are also known Afrikaners.
'It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years,' the Rev. Rowe wrote.
As was the case with the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church's decision to exit federal funding partnerships will drastically reshape its refugee resettlement program — at least in the short term.
The Rev. Rowe's letter noted that Episcopal Migration Ministries had been receiving about $50 million annually from the United States government, too much to replace with private donations.
'We are hard at work on a churchwide plan to support migrants and refugees' in new ways, reads an explainer on the change that was also released by the Episcopal Church on Monday.
Even before President Donald Trump signed an executive order on prioritizing white refugees from South Africa, the Episcopal Church was struggling with his administration's approach to refugee resettlement.
Trump froze federal funding for resettlement after returning to office in January, which led Episcopalians, Catholics and other faith groups to reconsider their funding partnerships with the government — and some to file federal lawsuits seeking to block Trump's move.
Since late January, 'virtually no new refugees have arrived, hundreds of staff in resettlement agencies around the country have been laid off, and funding for resettling refugees who have already arrived has been uncertain,' the Rev. Rowe wrote in his letter.
He explained that the order on white Afrikaners broke an already crumbling relationship.
'Just over two weeks ago, the federal government informed Episcopal Migration Ministries that under the terms of our federal grant, we are expected to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees. In light of our church's steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,' the Rev. Rowe said.
In response to earlier pushback from Catholic leaders, the Trump administration accused faith groups of becoming too reliant on federal funds.
'I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?' Vice President JD Vance said in a January interview with CBS News, as the Deseret News reported at the time.
The Rev. Rowe noted in Monday's announcement that Episcopal Migration Ministries has been serving refugees for four decades.
Similarly, the Catholic Church's break with the federal government brought an end to a 50-year partnership.
As the Catholic Church did in April, the Episcopal Church has promised to continue serving refugees in multiple ways moving forward.
'Jesus tells us to care for the poor and vulnerable as we would care for him, and we must follow that command. Right now, what that means is ending our participation in the federal government's refugee resettlement program and investing our resources in serving migrants in other ways,' the Rev. Rowe wrote.
The Episcopal Church's funding partnership with the U.S. government will end in September.