President Trump’s administration halted flow of $11 million dollars in federal funding to a Catholic Charities program run in Florida that serves unaccompanied migrant children – raising questions about the organization and it’s Maine chapter.
The decision targets the organization’s facility in Miami Shores which houses 81 children and provides replacement programs for minors, after Archbishop Thomas Wenski confirmed the program is set to close within three months.
Since the federal government formed a long-standing partnership with the Catholic Charities organization during Operation Pedro Pan decades ago, the funding shutoff comes amid public feud between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV.
Trump recently got into it with the Pope after he criticized U.S. actions in the Middle East and called for the United States to be nice to Iran. President Trump responded, “We don’t like a pope that’s going to say it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope who says crime is OK in our cities. I don’t like it. I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.”
The administration has not provided detailed specification into the termination beyond citation of reduced volume of minor influx, with the funding cut defended by local Department Health and Human Services representatives.
“The ORR is closing and consolidating unused facilities as the Trump Administration continues efforts to stop illegal entry and the smuggling and trafficking of unaccompanied alien children,” said press secretary Emily G. Hilard.
Two years ago, a Florida Statewide Grand Jury examined the organization where it identified multiple compliance and accountability deficiencies.
In documents located under Florida Case No. SC22-792, Catholic Charities in Miami was found operating unlicensed shelters in direct violation of state law, with authorities directing staff to report red flags to federal officials rather local law enforcement. Further testimony disclosed the organization’s high dependency on federal grants that made up nearly all their revenue, with exponential compensation and grants given to foreign entities.
While well south in Florida, the funding cut underscores broader fiscal accountability issues within the organization’s broad network, including documented instances in Maine where affiliates appear to have given cash grants to familiar nonprofits like Gateway Community Services.
Last month, the Maine Wire reported that Catholic Charities of Maine failed two separate audits tied to Medicaid billing and MaineCare claims. In 2020, an audit found the organization failed to provide required records and documents, with repayments ordered initially, then substantially reduced through state appeal. This was tandem to a separate audit that found alleged overbilling for drug tests, leading to forced repayments, also reduced through state appeal.
Mirroring the facility closure in Miami, a Catholic Charities Maine affiliate was ordered to shutdown operations at the Greater Bangor Refugee and Immigration Services center in 2025. Between 2019 and 2024, Catholic Charities of Maine received $19,722,082 in taxpayer funds through Medicaid programs.
Per IRS filings in 2024, Catholic Charities Maine provided money to nonprofits like Gateway Community Services, Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, and the New Mainers Public Health Initiative. Out of the 18 grant recipients, these specific non-profits stand out in a list of local schools that received funding from Catholic Charities Maine, respectively.
According to an IRS Form-990, it shows the Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services received $824,727 from Catholic Charities Maine for language services, supplemental housing, refugee medical promotion, and youth mentoring.
Gateway Community Services went on to receive $77,672 dollars intended for refugee health promotion and youth mentoring.
Trailing last was the New Mainers Public Health Initiative who received just under $50,000 for refugee health promotion.
Interestingly, the New Mainers Public Health Initiative website features addresses at both 124 Lisbon Street and 276 Lisbon Street in Lewiston, which appeared in a local article that identified the address also leased to the Democratic Party through November 2020.
The associations indicate federal and state resources intended for those in need flowing to vast networks of interconnected nonprofits operating without sufficient oversight.
The Miami facility closure affiliated within the same umbrella network operating facilities in Maine forms patterns in a state facing daunting nonprofit-related issues.
All vulnerabilities remain, as the 501(c)(3) beast in Maine’s economy continues its growth under Gov. Janet Mills (D) policy and advocacy for the same groups bankrolling the taxpayer game.