Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today decried the final passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The legislation will harm American communities, especially those who are already facing scarcity. CWS—which has fought for the alleviation of hunger, poverty, and displacement for over 75 years—sees this Act as a clear infringement on access to health care, food security, children’s rights, and due process protections.
In response, Erol Kekic, Chief Strategy Officer at Church World Service, issued the following statement:
“Today’s legislation betrays the displaced, the disabled, and those most in need in our country. It is passed in the name of correcting our deficit, but will add trillions to our debt. It will deprive millions of our neighbors, including children, from needed food and medical care, while endowing unpopular agencies like ICE with tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to carry out inhumane policies that will tear apart families and treat children as criminals.
As people of faith, we will continue to lead in the tradition of welcoming immigrants, loving our neighbor and caring for the hungry and the sick. And we remain steadfast in our commitment to oppose attempts by those in power to use fear and enforcement against the most vulnerable. “
Among many other alarming provisions, this bill will:
- Present the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance (SNAP) in history, with more than 17 million people projected to lose Medicaid coverage due to new eligibility restrictions;
- Deprive more than 2.6 million children in the United States from the anti-poverty benefits of the Child Tax Credit—simply because a parent lacks a Social Security Number;
- Strip refugees, asylees, and other humanitarian entrants—all of whom are here lawfully—from accessing Medicaid, Medicare, food assistance (SNAP), the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP);
- Use these cuts to provide $150 billion to ramp up immigration enforcement, including for the hiring of more ICE agents, the jailing of families, and the indiscriminate deportations of immigrants contributing to our communities; and
- Decimate protections for immigrant children, allowing them to be jailed indefinitely and allowing officials to conduct invasive examinations of their bodies.
Since its inception, Church World Service has upheld its mission of transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster.
For more information, or to speak with CWS experts, contact media@cwsglobal.org.