For nearly a decade, Catholic Charities of East Tennessee has relied on federal funding to provide legal aid to victims of elder abuse, domestic violence, and child sexual and physical abuse. But this summer, the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs informed the Knoxville nonprofit that it could no longer receive public crime victim funding if the victims being served were immigrants.
When staff inquired about a new federal grant to continue helping children victimized by abuse, trafficking, and other crimes, they were told funding was limited to U.S. citizen children only.
Related posts
This Article Includes
- 0.1 Related posts
- 0.2 Police searching for missing 17-year-old from Whitehall, Ohio
- 0.3 Kentucky father arrested after 5-year-old son brutally beaten, pushed down stairs, and killed
- 1 Funding Cuts Affect Nonprofits Across Tennessee
- 2 New Rules Demand Cooperation with Immigration Enforcement
- 3 Advocates Warn of Increased Fear and Underreporting
- 4 Nonprofits Face Difficult Choices
“The response we got was that the goal is to serve American children only,” said Alessandra Ceccarelli-Masters, the agency’s immigration services manager. “Why are we differentiating between kids who have gone through the same horrific experiences?”
Funding Cuts Affect Nonprofits Across Tennessee
Catholic Charities is among dozens of Tennessee nonprofits now grappling with a wave of federal and state directives restricting services to immigrants. These changes come as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on illegal immigration, reshaping how crime victim funding is allocated.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) provides the largest source of funding for many Tennessee domestic violence shelters, hotlines, sexual assault centers, and child counseling programs — organizations that historically did not ask victims about immigration status.
Some nonprofits depend on federal grants for half or more of their operating budgets, collectively serving over 95,000 victims in Tennessee each year.
New Rules Demand Cooperation with Immigration Enforcement
In July, the DOJ’s Office of Victims of Crime announced that states and nonprofits receiving federal grants must agree to support federal immigration enforcement, including granting federal agents access to their facilities.
New grant descriptions now require nonprofits to outline how they will use funds to support law enforcement operations, specifically immigration enforcement, and prioritize services for American victims and children.
On August 22, the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs issued another memo warning against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for nonprofits receiving federal grants, raising concerns that outreach efforts to Black, Hispanic, LGBTQ, and immigrant communities might violate funding rules.
Late last month, the DOJ issued yet another directive barring federal dollars from funding legal services for crime victims living in the country illegally, according to Reuters.
As a result, on June 30, the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence shut down a long-running legal clinic that had helped immigrant survivors secure visas granted to those cooperating with law enforcement against their abusers.
“There are barriers being created at every turn,” said Cecelia Friedman Levin, advocacy coordinator for the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors.
Advocates Warn of Increased Fear and Underreporting
Advocates say these restrictions jeopardize decades of work building trust with immigrant communities.
“We’re seeing safeguards overshadowed by an enforcement-over-everything mentality,” Friedman Levin said. “Victims no longer feel safe seeking help, which compromises community safety and undermines efforts to hold perpetrators accountable.”
A national survey conducted this spring by the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors found that half of immigrant crime victims are now avoiding police and courts out of fear of deportation.
Local law enforcement has observed the same trend. In Nashville, after mass traffic stops in May involving ICE and the Tennessee Highway Patrol led to 200 detentions, police reported a sharp decline in calls for service from immigrant-heavy neighborhoods.
“People are more concerned and worried,” said Officer Mario Diaz, Nashville Police’s Hispanic community liaison, who emphasized that Metro police are not collaborating with ICE.
Nonprofits Face Difficult Choices
Many Tennessee nonprofit leaders fear that speaking out against these rules could further threaten their federal funding. Several declined to comment publicly on how restrictions affect their ability to assist victims.
Catholic Charities, however, has decided to continue serving all victims, regardless of immigration status, by relying on private donations and sliding-scale fees instead of federal funds.
“In February and March, we were reluctant to talk about this,” Ceccarelli-Masters said. “But people need to know what’s happening. These policies mean we can’t provide services to survivors who are not citizens. It’s shortsighted — we’re setting ourselves up for cycles of violence to continue.”
This article has been carefully fact-checked by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and eliminate any misleading information. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity in our content.
