What is the Catholic Church doing during the immigration crisis? On Wednesday, July 14, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) will host a webinar and discussion on its forthcoming report, “The CRISIS Survey: The Catholic Church’s Work with Immigrants in the United States in a Period of Crisis.” This event is based on the Catholic Refugee and Immigrant Service Integration Survey (the “CRISIS Survey”) from December 14, 2020 through February 5, 2021. Registration for the webinar is required.

The first one hundred days of the Biden administration have passed. Justice for Immigrants, sponsored by the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops, has reflected on the accomplishments of the new administration in light of Catholic teaching that every person has the God-given right to a safe and dignified life.

“Migrants and refugees and today’s biblical”. Reflect on the theological and pastoral studies led by a distinguished panel of experts brought together by the Scalabrini International Migration Institute in a three-day virtual program on September 20 to 22. See details and registration information.   

Justice for Immigrants now has a video rosary. JFI has developed a rosary for migrants and refugees. You can now recite the rosary in conjunction with leaders on video.

Bishop Seitz met with Vice President Harris to discuss border needs.  Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas joined other advocates in El Paso in meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris to share his long experience in helping migrants and refugees on both sides of the U.S. – Mexico border. Bishop Seitz encouraged the vice president to recognize the humanity of those seeking to enter the United States and to work with faith communities to alleviate hardships. See details about the visit here.

Asylum restrictions eased. A recent decision by the U.S. Department of Justice modified restriction on asylum seekers that had been imposed by the last administration. In several decisions, the Department of Justice had stacked the deck against those seeking asylum because of family violence, gender-based violence, gang brutality and persecution against families. New policies will afford protection for those fleeing their homeland for these reasons. See background and expectations.   

DACA applications are still backlogged. Since DACA applications were accepted as required by court order in December, 55,000 applications have been filed but only about 880 have been approved. Advocates, including Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), are loudly protesting these unwarranted delays. DACA registration protects undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children from deportation, but also allows issuance of work permits and social security cards as well as state driver licenses.  

ICYMI — Do You Want More? Immigration news and policy modifications are coming from the government daily. Do you want to receive more action alerts on migration, weekly reviews, updates on webinars, backgrounders and much more? Go to http://justiceforimmigrants.org, scroll to the bottom of any page and fill out the form. Justice for Immigrants stays on top of changes for you.

Vision forward for unaccompanied migrant children. Children, usually between ages 15 and 17, flee their home country in order to escape violence, trafficking, gang recruitment, extreme poverty and natural disasters in their home countries. United States law requires that the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) place these children in the least restrictive custody in their best interests. OOR currently has custody of nearly 18,000 such children who lack sponsors in the United States. The USCCB Migration and Refugee Service along with Catholic University of America has produced a research study with recommendations for care of these children. See the executive summary and report.  

“Remain in Mexico Policy” has been terminated. This policy, formally known as the Migrant Protection Policy has been terminated effective June 1, 2021. The policy required that asylum seekers at our southern border be returned to Mexico until their cases were decided. Those returned to Mexico (even if they were not Mexican citizens) were left for many months in dangerous and unhealthy conditions. The constitutionality of the policy was challenged in federal court and the USCCB and CLINIC filed briefs asserting that the policy was both unconstitutional and immoral. With the administration’s change in policy, the court case is now moot, but the problems for thousands of asylum seekers at the Mexican border remain. 

ICYMI — Do You Want More? Immigration news and policy modifications are coming from the government daily. Do you want migration more action alerts, weekly reviews, updates on webinars, backgrounders and much more? Go to http://justiceforimmigrants.org, scroll to the bottom of any page and fill out the form. Justice for Immigrants stays on top of changes for you.

DACA is nine years old! President Obama instituted the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012 by executive order so that individuals brought to the United States at an early age could obtain deferral of deportation. The executive order was issued with the expectation that Congress would enact legislation these individuals. Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, issued a statement marking the anniversary. The bishop also noted the need for congressional action to protect DACA registrants on a permanent basis.

Solidarity with seafarers as key essential workers. Sailors, fishers and their families live as people vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and human trafficking.  See the Solidarity with Seafarers toolkit, which includes background information, prayers, social media and other materials for knowledge and advocacy.  

Immigrant integration. Every immigrant has a personal story and those stories can extend to following generations. Laura Niño, a project coordinator with CLINIC, shares her story as a second-generation descendant of immigrants from Colombia.

ICYMI – Do you want more? Immigration news and policy modifications are coming from the government daily. Do you want migration more action alerts, weekly reviews, updates on webinars, backgrounders and much more? Go to http://justiceforimmigrants.org, scroll to the bottom of any page and fill out the form. Justice for Immigrants stays on top of changes for you.

The Asian Pacific American Heritage month is being celebrated in May.

Special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS): SIJS is an immigration status that allows children who have survived parental abuse, neglect or abandonment to apply for permanent residency in the United States. Congress created SIJS — with its direct pathway to a green card — to provide young people with tools to achieve stability: eligibility for federal financial aid for college, work authorization and protection from deportation. Applicants, however, face multiple years waiting for administrative processing. A group of 400 professionals and child protection organizations, including Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), has written to senior immigration officials requesting action to eliminate the backlog. Read the statement from CLINIC and follow the links to learn more.

Future of DACA. All agree that the Obama administration program for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was a temporary measure which has remained in effect since 2012 and that Congressional action is needed. The Trump administration tried unsuccessfully to halt the program and the Biden administration has continued it by executive order. Felicia Escobar Carrillo, chief of staff in the office of the director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, spoke in the annual convening of CLINIC and outlined additional proposed administrative action. Ms. Carillo acknowledged the logjam of actions due to staff reductions and COVID-related issues, but assured attendees that the administration was committed to preservation of DACA and had increased budgets for staff. Nonetheless, only Congress can institute real reform. Read more here.

Irwin County Detention Center. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will cancel its contract with a private contractor for detention of immigrants. The cancellation follows allegations of mistreatment of detainees, including hysterectomies for which women had not given consent.

ICYMI – Do you want more? Immigration news and policy modifications are coming from the government daily. Do you want migration action alerts, weekly reviews, updates on webinars, backgrounders and much more? Go to http://justiceforimmigrants.org, scroll to the bottom of any page, and fill out the form. Justice for Immigrants stays on top of changes for you.