MIAMI — "We ask the U.S. government to reconsider the cancellation of an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities, given the immediate and long-term impact on services for unaccompanied minors and the broader humanitarian mission of the archdiocese," said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami at a press conference on April 15.
For decades, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami has partnered with the federal government to serve vulnerable children and families. The sudden termination of this contract ends a more than 65-year relationship that began with Operation Pedro Pan, which resettled approximately 14,000 Cuban children who were fleeing the Castro regime in the United States.
Wenski called for a review of the decision to cut funding for the Unaccompanied Minors Program of Catholic Charities.
"It is baffling that the U.S. government would shut down a program that would be hard-pressed to replicate at the level of competence and excellence that Catholic Charities has achieved, if and when future waves of unaccompanied minors reach our shores," he said.
The U.S. government oversees the care of unaccompanied minors and partners with organizations such as Catholic Charities to provide services.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has long funded Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami through the Unaccompanied Minors Program since 1960 to provide shelter and services to thousands of unaccompanied minors.
Federal spending data shows that Catholic Charities received $11 million from HHS in fiscal year 2025, but the award ended March 31. The abrupt end will force the organization to shut down services within three months.
The decision comes as President Donald Trump has publicly criticized Pope Leo XIV. However, Wenski said the funding decision is unrelated to those tensions.
The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children's Village, formerly known as Boys Town —established during the Pedro Pan exodus in the early 1960s — can house up to 81 children today.
"Our track record in serving this vulnerable population is unmatched. Yet Catholic Charities' services for unaccompanied minors have been stripped of funding and will be forced to shut down within three months," Wenski said.
Reps. María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Giménez of Florida, both Republicans, also issued a letter to ORR urging the agency to reconsider.
"South Florida has always been the front line of humanitarian migration in our hemisphere," the April 3 letter stated. They also warned of potential future migration from Cuba and Haiti.
"Catholic Charities provides what cannot be quickly replaced: trained staff, proven infrastructure, and decades of expertise," they wrote. "Losing this capacity now will make future response efforts more costly, slower, and less effective."
For those who lived it, today's crisis is personal
Javier Llorens, first vice president of the Pedro Pan board of directors, arrived in the United States in 1962 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, years before his parents could join him. He spent five years in shelters run by the Catholic Welfare Bureau, the predecessor of Catholic Charities.
"It wasn't just shelter — it was care, education, and formation," said Llorens, now a dentist. "That model showed how to care for refugee children the right way."
With federal funding now cut for programs serving unaccompanied minors, Llorens warned today's children risk losing that support.
"I understand budgets can be evaluated," he said. "But what matters is the care of the children. Without it, they are left without assistance and without support to integrate into this country."
Graciela Anrrich, director of the Pedro Pan board of directors, shared a similar experience. She arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1961 with her sister and spent months in the program before reuniting with her parents.
"The care we received was extraordinary," said Anrrich, now a professor at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. "We were placed with a wonderful foster family and supported during a very difficult time."
Both say the program changed their lives — and fear others may now miss that opportunity.
"We have to call the attention of the government," Llorens said. "They are making a mistake. We only want to help the children."
Contract funded care for unaccompanied migrant children
Recently, the Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children's Village shelter was housing five children.
Four minors were transferred to a new center, and the last one is expected to reunite with his or her family. After that, the facility will no longer house children.
Peter Routsis-Arroyo, executive director of Catholic Charities, said similar programs across the country are also being affected.
"Programs that received funding starting April 1 will continue. We are currently seeking a 90-day no-cost extension, not yet officially approved, to provide proper notice to staff, severance pay, and the transfer of cases dating back to the 1960s. We may request an additional extension if needed," he said.
Routsis-Arroyo said the organization received no warning.
"We were negotiating a new budget right up to the time of the cancellation letter. We were even approved for staff hiring the week before notification arrived," he said.
He added that the Administration for Children and Families' Office of Refugee Resettlement informed them by email March 24 that their application was not selected for funding.
"It appears we scored very well but were not awarded bonus points," he said.
Catholic Charities has no alternative funding to continue the program.
"Children are referred to us by ORR. Without a contract, ORR will not send children to us," Routsis-Arroyo said.
The Unaccompanied Minors Program has operated continuously since 1960, making it the longest-running facility of its kind in the country. Contracts are currently awarded every three years.
Routsis-Arroyo said no other agency has provided this level of care for more than 65 years, beginning with Operation Pedro Pan. The Msgr. Bryan O. Walsh Children's Village was specifically designed, in collaboration with ORR, to provide optimal care for unaccompanied minors.
"If funding is not restored, we will have to transition to other residential programs. Once we do, ORR will lose our capacity to serve this population," he said.
The current federal process does not allow for an appeal, leaving reconsideration or legal action as the only options.
This story was first published by the Florida Catholic and is reprinted here with permission.
