Catholic Charities Fort Worth has dropped its lawsuit against the Trump administration over $47 million in refugee funding the federal government initially withheld from the organization.
Ted Waters, an attorney for Catholic Charities, told The Texas Newsroom late Tuesday that the case against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is over.
“Right now, the refugee resettlement program seems to be working pretty good, so we didn’t want to overstay our welcome at the courts,” he said.
In March, Catholic Charities sued HHS and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding they “un-freeze” the money. The nonprofit houses the Texas Office of Refugees, which manages the distribution of those federal dollars to organizations that work with refugees. It’s a program the state of Texas was responsible for until it withdrew from the program in 2016.
A federal judge ordered the government to release the $47 million to Catholic Charities in mid-March, but the case wasn’t dismissed then.
The Trump administration’s delay in releasing funds to Texas forced more than two dozen refugee organizations to cut staff and services. The money helps refugees from countries like Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine with job training, English-language classes and programs for seniors and children.
The Texas Newsroom reached out to Catholic Charities Fort Worth and HHS but did not immediately hear back.
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