Pope Francis’ top aide on migration and development has criticized the Trump administration’s actions on immigration and foreign aid, warning that sweeping cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and a crackdown on migrants are jeopardizing humanitarian efforts and leaving people “terrorized.”
Cardinal Michael Czerny, a Czech-born Canadian Jesuit, leads the Vatican’s office for migrants, environmental issues and international charity work. He urged the U.S. government to uphold Christian principles in its policies, particularly concerning vulnerable people.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration’s policies have led to the suspension of most USAID programs worldwide after a funding freeze initiated by the White House. USAID, which managed over $40 billion in appropriations in 2023, plays a key role in international development, including efforts supported by Catholic Relief Services and global charity network Caritas Internationalis. The cuts have sparked alarm among faith-based organizations that rely on USAID funding for humanitarian work.
Additionally, the administration’s aggressive stance on migrants has resulted in the arrest of over 8,000 people since Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Some detainees have been held in federal prisons, while others are reportedly being housed at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.
What to Know
Czerny acknowledged that any new administration has the right to reassess foreign aid allocations, but argued that dismantling an agency after making funding commitments creates instability.
“There are programs underway and expectations and we might even say commitments, and to break commitments is a serious thing,” Czerny said in an interview with the Associated Press on Sunday. “It would be good to have some warning because it takes time to find other sources of funding or to find other ways of meeting the problems we have.”
Trump administration officials have defended the USAID cuts as an effort to eliminate what they describe as “ridiculous” and “malicious…pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight,” particularly those promoting gender-related initiatives. Czerny, however, argued that reforming programs should be the approach rather than wholesale elimination.
“If the government thinks that its programs have been distorted by ideology, well, then they should reform the programs,” he said. “Many people would say that shutting down is not the best way to reform them.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently acting administrator of USAID, and Newsweek emailed the State Department for its response to Czerny’s remarks.
Despite concerns about the USAID freeze, some Catholic leaders have continued to support the Trump administration due to its stance on abortion. Trump secured 54 percent of the Catholic vote in the 2024 election, up from 50 percent in 2020, in part due to his role in appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned federal abortion protections in 2022.
What People Are Saying
Cardinal Michael Czerny said: “A crackdown is a terrible way to administer affairs and much less to administer justice…I’m very sorry that many people are being hurt and indeed terrorized by the measures.”
Newsweek has emailed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE for a response to Czerny’s remarks.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a January 22 statement, said: “Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us.”
What’s Next
The future of USAID funding remains uncertain as court battles continue over the legality of the Trump administration’s sweeping budget freezes.
This article contains reporting by the Associated Press
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