Texas' refugee services coordinator sues federal government over prolonged funding pause
Austin American-Statesman - Austin, TX
by Emiliano Tahui Gómez
March 3, 2025
“A lawsuit filed on Monday by Texas’s refugee services coordinating agency alleges that the federal government has ‘unlawfully’ deprived the state’s service providers of more than $36 million in reimbursements since late January.
Catholic Charities Fort Worth, the parent organization for the Texas Office for Refugees, sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alleging that reimbursements to CCFW have not resumed since the Trump administration rescinded a memo freezing all federal grant payments in late January.
‘[M]any entities have received their federal funding in the weeks since the attempted funding freeze,’ the complaint reads. ‘CCFW has not been able to draw down any funds — and has not received any indication why its funds remain frozen.’
That funding covers the cost of services like workforce development, cash assistance, case management, and English classes for approximately 100,000 authorized immigrants across the state.”
