MIAMI SHORES, Fla. — Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski is urging the Trump administration to reconsider its move to defund a Catholic Charities program that shelters migrant children who arrive in the U.S. alone.

“Who loses? The children lose. The kids lose,” Wenski said.

The Catholic Church’s unaccompanied minors program has been active since the 1960s. Its Miami operation is the longest-running, best known for taking in thousands of children fleeing communism in Cuba under Operation Pedro Pan.

“They gave us the protection and the guidance that we so needed,” said Javier Llorens, a retired dentist who went through the program.

“When I arrived at age 11,” he added.

Llorens says the experience was life-changing.

“When I raised my family, I was always remembering my experience as a child and I am extremely grateful,” he said.

But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which manages the funding, says the program has seen a dramatic decrease in children, with illegal border crossings at record lows.

The agency added the cut is part of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to stop illegal entry and the smuggling and trafficking of unaccompanied children.

Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar and Congressman Carlos Gimenez also sent a letter to the Trump administration, saying that with crises intensifying in Cuba and Haiti, ending the program now is a strategic mistake.

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