The $1.2B Refugee Services Program that Funds Pro-Asylum Religious Groups

In 2021, the Biden Health and Human Services (HHS) department gave $1.2 billion to the obscure “Preferred Communities” grant program – nearly ten times the money it received under Trump. The purpose of these grants was to “support the resettlement of especially vulnerable populations of newly arrived refugees in preferred locations,” according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which administers them.

The largest grantwinners included religious organizations such as the US Conference of Catholic Bishops ($141M), Episcopal Migration Ministries ($80M), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service / Global Refuge ($159M), and Church World Service ($162M).

Each of these organizations is now primarily funded through migrant resettlement grants. Financially, these religious organizations are migrant contractors with a minor stake in churches. Politically, they are fervent and frequently cited critics of Trump’s immigration policies.

Preferred Communities recipients followed a systematic strategy of expanding grants far above their original grant limits of $4.5M per year. Several grant amounts were expanded to over seven times the original limit.

Following the start of the Ukraine war, HHS received $3.78B in funding for refugee resettlement. Based on a Government Accountability Office report, “ORR allocated 47 percent ($1.79 billion) for assistance based on population estimates of Ukrainian beneficiaries,” of which $982M² was strictly allocated to Ukrainian refugees. This leaves $1.99B for “other populations eligible for ORR services.”

These recipients of migrant services grants are vocal critics of the Trump administration’s immigration policy. Their statements frequently mention refugee resettlement, but also broadly oppose Trump’s policies on deportation, border security, and reduction of funding for noncitizens.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is a clear example. According to their own financial audit, the overwhelming majority of USCCB revenue and spending is centered around migration services.

The FY2024 USCCB audit reports revenue of $180.4M from government contracts and grants, 81.8% of USCCB’s revenue. USCCB was awarded a Preferred Communities grant in 2021, for $140.937M over five years. If accrued uniformly, this accounts for almost twenty percent of USCCB government contracts and grants revenue in 2024.

Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) make up the vast majority of USCCB operating expenses.

Migration and Refugee Services pay for $13.4M out of $36.6M in USCCB salaries, taxes, and benefits, or roughly 36.6% of all STBs.

USCCB’s government revenue is broader than PC. The audit breaks FY2024 MRS government revenue into State/PRM Refugee Admissions, ORR Voluntary Agency programs, ORR discretionary grants, Unaccompanied Alien Children, and SEAR/Afghan resettlement.

The USCCB is not alone. Several other large religious organizations claiming to represent the viewpoint of American Christian denominations are primarily funded by Preferred Communities and other migration services grants.

The Preferred Communities program is managed by the Administration for Children and Families under the Department of Health and Human Services. Its congressional authority originates from the Refugee Act of 1980, signed into law by President Carter. The Preferred Communities category was first created in 2004. Prior to 2021, the largest Preferred Communities grant issued was $16M to USCCB.

Approximately $1.02B in Preferred Communities grants are set to expire in 2026. It is unknown whether the ACF under the Trump administration will renew them.

Footnotes

¹ Major Grant Expansions: ACF/ORR Figures and Sources

² “ORR restricted all of the grant funds from the first appropriation ($898 million) to be spent only on Ukrainians, as intended by the law. It also restricted a small portion of the funds from the other two appropriations ($84 million) to be spent only on Ukrainians.”

³ Full Preferred Communities grant table.

FAIN	Recipient	Period	Obligation	Outlays	Source
90RP0117	Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society / Episcopal Migration Ministries	2021-09-30 to 2025-09-30	$79,929,014	$44,310,596	USAspending
90RP0118	Ethiopian Community Development Council	2021-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$124,250,601	$100,088,447	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0119	US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants	2021-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$163,633,523	$122,666,720	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0120	Church World Service	2021-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$161,685,930	$138,728,268	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0121	US Conference of Catholic Bishops	2021-09-30 to 2025-09-01	$140,937,398	$80,173,775	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0122	HIAS	2021-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$139,347,555	$108,640,478	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0123	World Relief	2021-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$103,458,075	$92,771,146	USAspending
90RP0124	Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service / Global Refuge	2021-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$159,316,078	$114,680,042	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0125	International Rescue Committee	2021-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$159,316,078	$134,166,634	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0126	Community Sponsorship Hub	2025-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$2,555,173	$1,413,427	USAspending; TAGGS
90RP0127	Catholic Charities USA	2025-09-30 to 2026-09-29	$4,500,000	$1,629,994	USAspending; TAGGS

⁴ Religious migration services contractors publish statements opposing Trump’s immigration policy: CCUSA / USCCB / CHA; GR; EMM; CWS.

⁵ Excluding assets released from restrictions.

⁶ Episcopal Migration Ministries is not a separately reporting legal entity. Its total revenue is the audited consolidated revenue and support of its legal recipient, the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society and affiliates; the audit separately reports $49.659M of government revenue and states that the government contracts funded EMM refugee-resettlement operations.

⁷ Using straight-line accrual, USCCB's PC award contributes $35.997M of a $189.993M calendar-2024 award-exposure set, or 18.95%. Total grant revenue is slightly different because we assume uniform accounting of grants for the entire 2021-2026 period, which is often but not always the case for all grants and recipients.