Search
-
February 15, 2025By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press
Catholic Charities Worcester County programs continue, basically unaffected by Trump administration policies, according to Timothy J. McMahon, the agency’s executive director.
The administration has apparently scared some immigrants – whether or not they are here legally – away from seeking emergency services, even though Catholic Charities will not report them to the U.S. government, he said.
But he said the government has not disrupted local Catholic Charities’ immigration services, which are privately funded, or the federally-funded program, which is not available to undocumented persons.
Federal funding
The Senior Community Service Employment Program is the only program for which the local Catholic Charities receives federal funding directly, Mr. McMahon said.
“That [program] was frozen … and then the freeze was lifted,” he said, referring to the Trump administration’s Jan. 27 freeze on federal aid, which included money for Catholic Charities’ work throughout the nation, and U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan’s Jan. 28 temporary block of this order from the Office of Management and Budget. As of Wednesday, the freeze was still blocked.
The local Catholic Charities’ senior employment program is funded by about $800,000 annually from the U.S. Department of Labor, Mr. McMahon said.
The funding enables Catholic Charities to pay minimum wage to about 40 people for working up to 20 hours per week for four years, he explained. They are legally living in the United States (most were born here), and must be at least 55 years old and have limited job skill sets, with an income at or below 125 % of the federal poverty guidelines ($19,562.50 for one person). Some work for Catholic Charities. But, for most, the agency finds host sites it collaborates with, so the workers can develop the skills needed for the hosts to hire them permanently.
“We couldn’t sustain [this program] too long if federal funding” ended and the money was “all coming out of Catholic Charities coffers,” Mr. McMahon said, adding that Catholic Charities’ board of directors has not yet discussed what to do if that happens.
However, the agency discussed the situation with program funders.
“They’re in the dark as well,” unaware of what will happen, he said. “They’re very concerned about it.”
Some Catholic Charities programs funded through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts could also be in jeopardy if the state gets that money from the federal government, he said, but does not know which programs that might include.
Catholic Charities also has other sources of funding.
Money from the annual diocesan Partners in Charity Appeal helps support Catholic Charities’ four regional offices, Mr. McMahon said.
Immigration
Through Catholic Charities’ only immigration services program, the Immigration Legal Assistance Program, a paralegal helps with people’s immigration needs, Mr. McMahon said. He said the program is funded primarily by private donations, so federal financial freezes or cuts should not affect it.
Immigrants and others can also access other Catholic Charities programs, such as emergency assistance for basic necessities.
Catholic Charities clients are not asked if they are legally residing in the United States; that information would only be needed from those who want help with immigration.
Nevertheless, Catholic Charities is hearing that some immigrants are afraid to seek help, whether or not they are here legally, Mr. McMahon said.
“They’re just uncertain of what the future holds for them” under President Donald Trump, who is pushing for immigrants’ deportation, he explained.
“We try to do as much outreach as we can,” he said. “We’ll serve anyone who comes,” but don’t have a way to seek out those who aren’t coming.
The number of people seeking Catholic Charities’ emergency assistance decreased during President Trump’s first term, clients returned under President Joe Biden’s administration, and started leaving again around the time President Trump was re-elected last fall, Mr. McMahon said.
Catholic Charities is usually unaware of clients’ immigration status and wouldn’t turn them in to the government even upon learning that they are here illegally, he said. Instead, the agency tries to help them get legal status.
If federal agents “appeared with a warrant [that allowed them to arrest people legally], we would comply with that warrant” by allowing the agents to come on Catholic Charities’ property, Mr. McMahon said. But “we would not search for [people here illegally] or turn them in.” Catholic Charities does not yet have specific, concrete plans for how to handle such a situation should it arise, he said.
Mr. McMahon said that, each quarter, five or six people contact Catholic Charities to express anger that the agency helps people who do not have legal status. On Feb. 7 he received a call from a man who thought that Catholic Charities uses federal funds to help such people, he said. The caller asked how the agency would pay the government back. That was indicative of the “level of hostility” in society, Mr. McMahon said.
Catholic Charities is not asking for a specific response to an attempted freeze of federal funding for programs that help undocumented immigrants, he said, but “it would just be nice if people showed some compassion.”
