In an article for National Review, TCA’s Mary FioRito articulates the historic partnership of the USCCB and the federal government in providing resettlement assistance to immigrants who have entered the United States legally. In her article, “The Bishops are Right to Sue the Federal Government over Refugee Resettlement,” she writes:

“Talk about no good deed going unpunished. For 45 years, the Catholic Church in the United States has been helping the U.S. government resettle legally admitted refugees — not immigrants who have entered illegally — in this country. In fact, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and its subsidiaries and subrecipients (generally local branches of Catholic Charities) have assisted more than 930,000 refugees on the path to a new life of stability in America. That’s almost a million good deeds. And, for all that, the Trump administration halted refugee resettlement funding. The result: Catholic bishops took the rare and reluctant step of filing a lawsuit against the federal government.

Good for them.

… It should come as no surprise that the government partnered with the USCCB to serve refugee populations. The Catholic Church is the largest private provider of social services to men, women, and children in the United States. It simply made sense. Refugees who are acclimated into the country through programs supported by the Church are less likely to be dependent on the government and more likely to be self-sufficient — because they are offered a “hand up” rather than a “hand out.” A life of dignity and independence is the goal.”

Read more of Mary FioRito’s article here.