JFI Biweekly Review: December 11-22, 2023

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Migration and Refugee Services at the USCCB!

JFI Colleagues,

Please see below for the latest updates from JFI.

USCCB Chairmen Express Deep Concern About Migration-Related Proposals Reportedly Being Considered in Congress

In recent days, a handful of U.S. senators have been negotiating behind closed doors to reach an agreement on potential changes to U.S. immigration law that could be attached to an emergency appropriations bill focused on international aid. This is in response to calls by some members of Congress to condition the enactment of supplemental funding on the inclusion of extraneous policy provisions for which there is no precedent in the appropriations process.

Proposals reportedly being discussed in the context of these negotiations include curtailing due process through rapid expulsions and nationwide expedited removal, mandating harmful and excessive detention, and making it even more difficult to attain asylum through heightened legal standards. But none of these steps will meaningfully reduce migration to the U.S-Mexico border.

On December 15, four chairmen of the USCCB wrote to Congress, urging legislators to “reject these counterproductive proposals and instead pursue bold and forward-looking solutions”, which include “targeted enforcement measures, combined with actions to modernize and increase capacity at ports of entry, as well as increasing the number of, and access to, lawful immigration pathways.” Additionally, the bishops stressed that “no sustainable reduction in irregular migration can be achieved without a long-term commitment to addressing its root causes in countries of origin.”

TAKE ACTION: Complete and share JFI's action alert to join with the bishops in opposing harmful and counterproductive changes to immigration law as a condition for supplemental funding.

Honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, U.S. Bishops’ Migration Chairman Urges ‘Unconditional Respect for Human Life and Dignity’

On December 12, the Catholic Church commemorated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, first declared “Patroness of the Americas” by Pope Pius XII in 1946, a title later reaffirmed by Saint John Paul II in 1999. Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, issued a statement in which he noted: “Recent policy proposals that would undermine respect for the sanctity of human life, including that of the humble migrant seeking asylum at our border, remind us of the perils of our own culture, in which hope and unity collide with an abundance of fear and division, often yielding indifference to our shared humanity.”

Policy Update / Actualización de Política

We are thankful to the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) for its weekly Migration Update. Please visit their bilingual Migration Updat e page to stay up-to-date on recent migration policy updates.

View the December 20 CMS Migration Update, which includes:

Negotiations on Border Policy to Continue, with a Vote on a Possible Agreement Delayed Until the New Year
United States Announces New Pledges at the Global Refugee Forum
DHS Reaches H-1B Cap for FY 2024

View the December 12 CMS Migration Update, which includes:

Senators Resume Negotiations on Border Policy
DHS Continues Removals to Venezuela
The United States has Resettled Nearly 15,000 Refugees During the First Two months of FY2024

Agradecemos al Centro de Estudios de Migración de Nueva York (CMS por sus siglas en inglés) por su Actualización de Migración semanal. Visite su página bilingüe de Actualización de Migración para mantenerse al día sobre las actualizaciones recientes de la política de migración.

Ver la Actualización de Migración del CMS del 20 de deciembre, que incluye:

Las negociaciones sobre la política fronteriza continuarán y la votación sobre un posible acuerdo se retrasará hasta el nuevo año
Estados Unidos anuncia nuevos compromisos en el Foro Mundial sobre Refugiados
DHS alcanza el límite H-1B para el año fiscal 2024

Ver la Actualización de Migración del CMS del 12 de deciembre, que incluye:

Senadores retoman negociaciones sobre política fronteriza
DHS continúa deportaciones a Venezuela
Estados Unidos ha reasentado a casi 15,000 refugiados durante los dos primeros meses del año fiscal 2024

Migration-Related Stories, Op-Eds and Interviews by Catholic Bishops, and Catholic Agency Executives

Pope Francis:

Message of Pope Francis for the II Global Refugee Forum

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archdiocese of Boston:

Advent Reflection

Kevin Appleby, Senior Fellow - Center for Migration Studies of New: York:

Ukraine vs. the US Border: They are not Alike

Notable New Publications, Reports, Films, Articles, Etc.

Center for Migration Studies of New York:

Will DACA Recipients Return to Their Birth Countries If DACA Is Ended?

Will recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) leave the United States if a legal challenge succeeds in ending this important program? The fate of over 600,000 current DACA recipients may depend on answers to this question in one expert report and one online survey question, which a Texas District Court found to show “a quantifiable percentage” would leave. Had the District Court in its DACA ruling not credited these sources, Texas’ lawsuit could have collapsed, and DACA would persist. The issue of whether DACA recipients will leave if DACA is ended will matter as this case is litigated, most likely to be decided by the Supreme Court. This paper recommends offering DACA recipients and long-term undocumented residents a short path to legal status and citizenship, reassessing whether these two sources can support the conclusions drawn by the District Court; and analyzing the benefits accruing from DACA to Texas and all Texans, including US citizen children of DACA recipients, in assessing the claimed injury to the state.

National Immigration Forum:

Environmental Migration: Finding Solutions for the 21st Century

This new paper explores environmental migration as a potential method of adaptation. First, it analyzes environmental migration as a phenomenon, focused on some of the nuances that make weather- and climate-related forces complicated yet influential factors in the decision to move. Then, it considers existing international mechanisms and U.S. laws that could potentially relate to environmental migration. It briefly discusses how immigrant and diasporic communities are especially vulnerable to environmental harms, even after they have already migrated. Finally, it concludes with policy recommendations on how the U.S. (and other countries) could effectively respond to environmental migration in the 21st century.

JFI Prayer and Devotional Resources

Please take a moment to look over our webpage of prayer and devotionals, which you can use as you contemplate the situation confronting migrant populations and how we might respond to their spiritual and material needs. We hope that as you reflect on migration, it will inspire you to learn more about both what is happening on the ground and what the Church teaches on this issue. Check back regularly as we will provide new prayers and other spiritual reflections that will help you to respond to the Gospel call to welcome the stranger.

Other Upcoming Events, Opportunities, and Resources

Louisiana Interfaith Against Executions (LIFE) Prayer Vigil, January 6, 2024, Time TBD. LIFE will be holding a prayer vigil in front of the entrance of the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Please send us an email for more information.

Ignatian Solidarity Network UNDOCU NETWORK Summit, January 12, 2024 at 8:30 PM Eastern. This gathering at St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown, NJ is open to DACA, TPS, and otherwise undocumented students, as well as folks from mixed-status families who are in college or recent alumni.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Tony

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