Trump Administration Ends $11 Million Contract with Miami Catholic Charities, Closing a 60-Year Program for Migrant Children

A federal contract cancellation has brought an abrupt end to one of the longest-running migrant child welfare programs in the United States. For more than six decades, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami cared for some of the most vulnerable children in the world — and within three months, that work will stop.

The Trump administration notified the Archdiocese of Miami in late March that it was terminating an $11 million federal contract supporting the program. The affected services include an 81-bed emergency shelter, foster home placements, and family reunification assistance for unaccompanied migrant children. The program is administered through a contract with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which operates under the Department of Health and Human Services.

A Program That Began in 1960

The roots of this program go back to December 1960, when a young Irish priest named Father Bryan Walsh was at Miami International Airport to meet the first planeload of Cuban children arriving alone in the United States. Their parents had sent them without accompaniment across the Florida Straits to keep them safe from Fidel Castro's regime. Over the following two years, Father Walsh's program sheltered more than 14,000 children in what became known as Operation Pedro Pan — the largest recorded mass migration of unaccompanied minors in Western Hemisphere history.

The shelter operating today in Miami bears Father Walsh's name — the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Center. For decades it has offered traumatized children a safe place to stay, regular meals, case management, and a structured path toward placement with family members. Federal officials have at various points held the program up as a national model for child welfare agencies around the country.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami addressed the contract cancellation in a statement to the Miami Herald editorial board. "The U.S. government has abruptly decided to end more than 60 years of relationship with Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Miami. The Archdiocese of Miami's services for unaccompanied minors have been recognized for their excellence and have served as a model for other agencies throughout the country."

What Happens to the Children Currently in Care

Among the most pressing concerns raised by advocates is the fate of children who are currently receiving services through the program. It is not yet clear where those children will be placed once the shelter closes. An associate director at the University of Miami Law School's Children and Youth Law Clinic raised serious concerns about the impact of displacement on young children.

"For little kids, moving repeatedly creates bonding issues and destroys the sense of both self and community. They don't know who they are and where they will be from day to day."

She described the prospect of relocation as "incredibly psychologically harmful" for the children involved.

The reaction within South Florida's faith community has been sharp. CBS News Miami reported that parishioners were "beyond shocked" by the news. Father Federico Capdepom, who spent 33 years serving in the Archdiocese before retiring in 2016, did not mince words.

"The children that we've helped for so many, many years — to abruptly cancel $11 million, I believe, of help for migrants, I think it's totally unacceptable."

At least one parishioner described the decision as simply "disgraceful."

The Government's Explanation

Federal officials have pointed to a dramatic reduction in the number of unaccompanied minors in government custody as the primary reason for the funding cuts. The Department of Health and Human Services says that number has dropped from a high of approximately 22,000 during the Biden administration to around 1,900 today.

Archbishop Wenski acknowledged those figures but argued that declining numbers do not justify ending a program built and refined over generations. He called it "baffling" that the government would dismantle a program "that it would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence" demonstrated by the Church.

A Wider Rift Between the Administration and Catholic Leadership

The contract termination is unfolding against the backdrop of growing tensions between the Trump administration and the Catholic Church. President Trump has been openly critical of Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born pontiff who has spoken publicly against the administration's immigration enforcement approach and its involvement in a U.S.-led conflict with Iran.

Pope Leo has called for peace on multiple occasions, stating in an April homily, "Stop! It is time for peace!" He also posted on social media that "God does not bless any conflict," and has publicly questioned whether the administration's immigration policies are consistent with a "pro-life" position.

President Trump responded last Sunday with a lengthy post on Truth Social, calling Pope Leo "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" and accusing him of "catering to the Radical Left." Trump also told the pope to "get his act together." In a separate post, the president shared an AI-generated image depicting himself in a Christ-like pose, which prompted widespread criticism from Catholic leaders across the country.

Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was "disheartened" by the president's remarks. Bishop Robert Barron, who sits on Trump's own Religious Liberty Commission, called the post "entirely inappropriate and disrespectful" and said the president "owes the Pope an apology."

Pope Leo addressed the conflict directly while speaking to reporters aboard the papal airplane during a trip to Africa. "I have no fear of the Trump administration," he said. "I will continue to speak out loudly." He added on Monday: "Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed."