Latest news with #CatholicCharitiesFortWorth
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas refugee aid group sues to unfreeze $36 million in federal funds
Catholic Charities Fort Worth, a nonprofit organization that serves as Texas' refugee resettlement office, has sued the Trump administration, claiming the federal government has withheld more than $36 million in grants, leading its partners to lay off workers and close some offices. The nonprofit has been in charge of the state's refugee resettlement programs since 2017. The state dropped out of the program in 2016, leaving a network of organizations to help refugees acclimate to Texas. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in federal district court in Washington, D.C., names the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The charity claims 750 people have been laid off or furloughed at its partner organizations since the Department of Health and Human Services froze the funds earlier this year. 'These funds, mandated by law for organizations contracted by the federal government to care for these individuals and families, are crucial for providing essential services to those fleeing persecution in their home countries,' said a statement by both Catholic Charities CEO Michael Iglio and Jeff Demers, state refugee coordinator of the Texas Office for Refugees. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to The Texas Tribune's email request for comment on the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, Catholic Charities Fort Worth has tried to access the funds more than 14 times since Jan. 29 without success. Catholic Charities Fort Worth says in its lawsuit that the federal government's 'unlawful behavior' defies the Constitution and has caused 'real-world harm' to the 100,000 people living in Texas who depend on the charity. The organization 'also faces irreparable damage to its reputation, to its ability to work with the community, and to its relationship with its subrecipients and with the federally-documented and lawfully-admitted individuals and families it serves,' the lawsuit says. Through an executive order, the Trump administration paused the federal government's refugee program. However, a federal judge, ruling in a different lawsuit, ordered the Trump administration to restore federal funding for grants and other programs it had abruptly frozen. Since then, other organizations have received federal funds, according to Catholic Charities Fort Worth's lawsuit. Disclosure: Catholic Charities Fort Worth has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. We can't wait to welcome you to the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Step inside the conversations shaping the future of education, the economy, health care, energy, technology, public safety, culture, the arts and so much more. Hear from our CEO, Sonal Shah, on TribFest 2025. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas' refugee designee sues U.S. health department, RFK Jr. over prolonged funding pause
A lawsuit filed on Monday by Texas's refugee services coordinating agency alleges that the federal government has 'unlawfully' deprived the state's service providers of more than $36 million in reimbursements since late January. Catholic Charities Fort Worth, the parent organization for the Texas Office for Refugees, sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alleging that reimbursements to CCFW have not resumed since the Trump Administration rescinded a memo freezing all federal grant payments in late January. '[M]any entities have received their federal funding in the weeks since the attempted funding freeze,' the complaint reads. 'CCFW has not been able to draw down any funds—and has not received any indication why its funds remain frozen.' Recently: Austin refugee organizations panicking amid prolonged halt in federal funding That funding covers the cost of services like workforce development, cash assistance, case management, and English classes for approximately 100,000 authorized immigrants across the state. The lawsuit claims that the Trump Administration has ignored its own January memorandum to resume federal grant payments, as well two federal court orders that mandated the release of federal dollars. Neither the health department nor the Administration for Children and Families, the health department division that oversees the reimbursement-authorizing Office of Refugee Resettlement, immediately responded to a request for comment from the American-Statesman. Along with running its own services, the Texas Office for Refugees is in charge of reimbursing refugee service providers across Texas. Locally, the cut-off has led providers to cease services and furlough staff, the Statesman has previously reported. 'These funds, mandated by law for organizations contracted by the federal government to care for these individuals and families, are crucial for providing essential services to those fleeing persecution in their home countries,' CCFW CEO Michael Iglio and Jeff Demers, State Refugee Coordinator at the Texas Office of Refugees, said in a written statement to the Statesman. 'Despite four attempts in January to secure payment—followed by ten additional requests over the next four weeks—HHS has unlawfully continued withholding the financial support allocated under existing grant agreements.' This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Catholic Charities Fort Worth sues feds over prolonged funding pause
