Press Releases

 Expiration of Federal Contract Leaves Vulnerable Children Facing Proceedings Alone   WASHINGTON, D.C., August 5, 2026—On Friday, July 31st, the Trump administration ended a critical federal contract with the Acacia Center for Justice providing legal services and representation to children who entered the United States without a parent or guardian. The decision dismantled a network of nearly 100 legal service providers, including Church World Service, and leaves over …

 CWS Urges Stronger Political Commitment to Protection of Refugees and Access to Asylum   WASHINGTON, D. C., JULY 28, 2026—As the world marks the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention today, Church World Service (CWS), the international humanitarian and social justice organization, urges stronger political commitment to refugee protection and access to asylum. Seventy-five years after nations came together to establish a framework for protecting people fleeing …

Killing of Johan Sebastian occurred less than a week after Houston shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo  WASHINGTON, DC, JULY 14, 2026—Church World Service today expressed its condolences and a message of mourning and solidarity following another fatal ICE shooting, this time in Biddeford, Maine. The victim, Johan Sebastian, was a 26-year-old Colombian national with work authorization, and media reports assert …

CWS Calls for Accountability WASHINGTON, D.C., July 10, 2026 — Church World Service issued a statement today expressing its profound condolences to the family, loved ones, and neighbors mourning the loss of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Houston resident and father who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents on July 7 in the city’s East End. CWS joins the growing …

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2026—Today, the international humanitarian and social justice organization Church World Service welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Barbara affirming that the Constitution guarantees citizenship to those born on U.S. soil, while decrying two SCOTUS rulings last week allowing the Trump administration, respectively, to turn away asylum seekers at the border and to terminate Temporary …