Justice, Peace and Sustainability Weekly Announcement
Oct. 17, 2019
Join in the Third National Catholic Action for Immigrant Children
On Oct. 12, the third national Catholic Action for Immigrant Children was held in El Paso, Texas. This action was organized by the Hope Border Institute and the Latinx Catholic Leadership Coalition. Catholic leaders accompanied 15 asylum-seekers, including three families, into the United States on the bridge between Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso. On the Juarez side, there were prayerful moments and legal advice given to a camp of rejected asylum-seekers and a blessing of the bridge in hopes for their safe passage into the U.S.
Every human being has the right to flee violence and seek safety, but the U.S. is ignoring the needs of asylum-seekers and putting immigrants back into harm’s way or into inhumane detention centers. Click here for a policy analysis. Click here to read a recently released pastoral letter by El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz.
This past Tuesday was a national call-in day to the Department of Homeland Security asking for justice for asylum-seekers. You can join in this action by making your call today.
Call the Department of Homeland Security Comment Line at 202-282-8495 and leave the following message:
Hello, My name is (name) from (city, state). As a person of faith (and an IHM Sister, Associate etc.), I am calling to ask the Department of Homeland Security to honor the dignity and rights of all immigrants and to:
- Recognize the internationally recognized, legal right to seek asylum;
- Stop the Remain in Mexico Program;
- Stop the use of the “metering list;”
- Make due process the standard NOT the exception;
- Collaborate with NGOs and local communities to support and expand humane services for asylum-seekers;
- Provide additional funding for immigration courts and asylum officers;
- Grant Latinx Catholic Leadership Coalition a face-to-face meeting with DHS leadership.
You can also email your comment to publicengagementfeedback@uscis.dhs.gov.
IHM Sister Valerie Knoche recently wrote a reflection on her work with “Strangers No Longer,” a network of Catholics working to create “Circles of Support” for immigrant families in parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit. You can find this reflection on the IHM 2020 Elections Page. In it, Sister Val talks about the challenges of discussing politically divisive issues such as immigration in a parish setting during an election year.