Nonprofits that cater to illegal aliens are facing massive financial shortfalls after losing federal subsidies cut by the Trump administration. Groups that once depended on taxpayer funding to provide housing, food, education, and legal services to border crossers are now pleading with private donors to stay afloat.
Organizations such as Estrella del Paso in El Paso, Texas, have seen their budgets slashed by up to 75 percent. Executive Director Melissa Lopez reported that the group expected a $7.5 million budget for 2025, but lost $5 million in federal funding after Trump-era cuts were enforced. “We are doing our best to find alternatives,” Lopez said, adding that the group has filed multiple lawsuits to reinstate its government support.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which has long received federal funds through USAID to resettle migrants across the United States, is also feeling the pinch. Bishop Mark J. Seitz, chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration, voiced concern over the elimination of hundreds of millions in government funding. Seitz has urged Catholics to donate through the Catholic Diocese of El Paso’s Border Refugee Assistance Fund, which has raised nearly $160,000.
Programs across the country are being canceled, workers laid off, and illegal aliens turned away as resources dry up. Groups including the Jesuit Refugee Service are among those hit hard by the funding freeze. Rather than adjusting to the loss, many organizations have turned to litigation, filing lawsuits in an effort to force the federal government to resume funding.
The USCCB filed suit in February seeking to overturn the Trump-era funding cuts. Critics have long pointed out that these faith-based groups use taxpayer dollars to facilitate the mass settlement of illegal migrants into U.S. communities, often without local input or consent.
Despite the financial challenges, these nonprofits continue pushing for taxpayer support while asking private donors to fill the funding gap. Some groups have launched campaigns on platforms like GoFundMe, but have so far raised only a fraction of what they previously received from the federal government.
