On Thursday, March 13, the General Leadership Team of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross released a statement responding to executive orders by the Trump administration. The Sisters criticized Trump's actions dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, neglecting refugee resettlement programs, firing public service workers, pursuing deportations and backing down from environmental commitments.
“These and other edicts represent a crisis of morality and compel us to speak and say that such actions are not of God. They sow fear and threaten the dignity and freedom of our sisters and brothers. They are a betrayal of the fundamental teachings of Christ, who calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to care for the ‘least of these,’ and to be stewards of the creation entrusted to us,” the statement read.
Following taking office on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump signed the executive order titled “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid” that proposed a 90-day pause on United States foreign assistance funds, apart from those sent to Israel and Egypt, for review, arguing such funds were “antithetical to American values.”
With a recent internal memo from the Trump administration to reorganize foreign aid and federal agencies, it has led to mass layoffs of governmental workers and aid reorganization. A majority of USAID have also been let go and more than 80% of their allocated funds have been discontinued.
On Thursday, March 13, two federal judges, Judge James Bredar of Maryland and Judge William Alsup of California, called for the Trump administration to reinstate nearly 25,000 probationary workers. The majority of these workers are now placed on administrative leave, which the Justice Department described as “the first step towards fully reinstating them.”
On the same day Trump took office he also signed the executive order “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” which declared the suspension of the program until “such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.”
On Tuesday, January 21, the Trump administration lifted restrictions on where federal immigration agencies can make arrests, now permitting arrests at schools, hospitals and churches. This reversed a 2011 memorandum, which established sensitive locations that limited the powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Protection.
The Sisters of the Holy Cross issued a similar statement on this issue in 2017 where they denounced Trump’s executive orders on immigrant enforcement and refugee entry.
The Sisters of the Holy Cross urged readers to advocate for “vulnerable” communities affected by Trump's current policies.
“The Sisters of the Holy Cross call on all people of faith, government leaders, and all those with the power to influence change to reflect on the values of mercy, solidarity and stewardship. Let us work together to build a more just and compassionate world where the vulnerable are not forgotten and where the earth is cared for as a sacred gift,” the statement read.
