MIAMI SHORES, Fla. \u2014 Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski is urging the Trump administration to reconsider its move to defund a Catholic Charities program that shelters migrant children who arrive in the U.S. alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho loses? The children lose. The kids lose,\u201d Wenski said.<\/p>\n
The Catholic Church\u2019s unaccompanied minors program has been active since the 1960s. Its Miami operation is the longest-running, best known for taking in thousands of children fleeing communism in Cuba under Operation Pedro Pan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey gave us the protection and the guidance that we so needed,\u201d said Javier Llorens, a retired dentist who went through the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I arrived at age 11,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Llorens says the experience was life-changing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I raised my family, I was always remembering my experience as a child and I am extremely grateful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which manages the funding, says the program has seen a dramatic decrease in children, with illegal border crossings at record lows.<\/p>\n