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Archbishop Thomas Wenski addresses the abrupt cancellation of an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities. The contract supported shelter and care for unaccompanied migrant children entering the United States.<\/p>\n
Pedro Portal<\/p>\n
pportal@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
A Miami facility for unaccompanied migrant children will shutter and more than 80 employees of Catholic Charities will lose their jobs after the Trump administration canceled their multi-million funding contract<\/a>, according to filings made with the Florida Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.<\/p>\n Earlier this month Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami confirmed that it received notice in late March that the Office of Refugee Resettlement<\/a>, part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, was cancelling an $11 million contract that funded Msgr. Bryan Walsh Children\u2019s Village, formerly known as Boystown, which has housed unaccompanied immigrant children since the 1960s.<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s layoff filing shows<\/a> that Catholic Charities notified 84 employees of the layoffs and closure of Children\u2019s Village. Among the positions eliminated are 46 youth care workers, 11 case managers, 6 clinicians, 2 shelter supervisors and several other specialists and care coordinators.<\/p>\n The Archdiocese of Miami confirmed the layoffs on Tuesday to the Herald saying that they are the direct \u201cresult of HHS not renewing funding to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese Miami.\u201d The organization will lay off 84 staff members by May 31 and another 20 employees by June 30, according to Peter Routsis-Arroyo, CEO of Catholic Charities.<\/p>\n The non-profit acted as a federally funded foster care system, independent of state agencies that have custody of abused and neglected children. The decision ended a relationship between the Catholic Church and the U.S. government dating back to the first arrivals of Cuban exiles in South Florida.<\/p>\n During a press conference last week, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and Routsis-Arroyo asked the federal government to reconsider its decision to end the contract that funds the unaccompanied minors program, which is the longest-running of its kind in the country.<\/p>\n READ MORE: \u2018The children lose\u2019: Catholic leaders say Trump shelter closure will scar migrant kids<\/a><\/p>\n In an April 2 letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Routsis-Arroyo called the shelter a \u201ccore program\u201d and said the contract represents over a quarter of Catholic Charities\u2019 total annual budget. He described how the residential facility has long been a model for other programs of its kind. The Office of Refugee Resettlement has previously asked the church to train other organizations and received visits from agency leaders, who have praised the program as a blueprint for unaccompanied minor programs.<\/p>\n Ultimately, the instability will likely result in more trauma for the children, Routsis-Arroyo said: \u201cWho loses? The children lose. The government loses.\u201d<\/p>\n In that same letter, Routsis-Arroyo said that as many as 112 people will lose their jobs due to the contract\u2019s termination, affecting Catholic Charities\u2019 ability to run their other programs, which include adult daycare centers, substance-abuse programs and affordable housing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t feel there\u2019s anyone who can provide the compassionate and quality services that we can \u2026 and we still don\u2019t understand why we were not funded going forward,\u201d Routsis-Arroyo said last week.<\/p>\n This story was produced with financial support<\/a> from Trish and Dan Bell and donors in South Florida\u2019s Jewish and Muslim communities, including Khalid and Diana Mirza and the Mohsin and Fauzia Jaffer Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 3:50 PM.<\/p>\n![\"Archbishop](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_109WenskyPresser16NEWPPP.JPG\" "\\"MIA_109WenskyPresser16NEWPPP.JPG\\"")
Archbishop Thomas Wenski addresses the abrupt cancellation of an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities, in addition to the immediate and long-term impact on services for unaccompanied minors and the broader humanitarian mission of the Archdiocese. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
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