JFI Biweekly Review: January 15-26, 2024 JFI Colleagues, Please see below for the latest updates from JFI. As Senate Deal Hangs in the Balance, Potential for Harmful Migration-Related Changes Remains Over the past several weeks, a handful of senators have been negotiating potential changes to U.S. immigration law in an attempt to pave the way for a supplemental funding bill. These changes have primarily related to enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border, though there has been discussion of other issues as well, including more recently an increased number of work visas and efforts to address the situation faced by “Documented Dreamers” (the children of legal immigrants who face the end of the legal status they derive from their parents once they reach 21). In a letter sent on December 15, four chairmen of the USCCB addressed these negotiations and the folly of attempting to solve complex migration-related challenges that have festered for decades in the time-sensitive context of emergency funding. Within the context of the Senate negotiations, the expanded use of expedited removal and a revival of the sort of rapid expulsions witnessed under Title 42 have reportedly been considered. Check out these new explainers discussing both issues and the USCCB’s response: Expedited Removal of Noncitizens in the United States Rapid Expulsions at the U.S-Mexico Border and their Consequences Given recent reporting, it is unclear whether a deal will move forward. Negotiated text could be released in the coming days or the effort could fail before that happens, especially given resistance by several senators and House Republicans. Even if the Senate could muster sufficient bipartisan support to pass a deal, the odds of that being taken up in the House, where the majority has remained committed to the USCCB-opposed Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 2). The USCCB is monitoring this situation closely and will continue to engage as it develops. TAKE ACTION: Please complete and share JFI's action alert to join with the USCCB in opposing harmful and counterproductive changes to immigration law as a condition for supplemental funding. Catholics Play a Vital Role in Defending Religious Freedom, Say Bishop Rhoades in Newly Released Religious Liberty Report As the United States marks Religious Freedom Day today, the Committee for Religious Liberty of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued its first annual report on the state of religious freedom in the United States. The report identifies a wide range of concerns, such as federal agencies misusing laws meant to aid pregnant women in order to promote abortion, threats to the safety of our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, and hostility toward ministries serving migrants and refugees, and suggests how individuals and communities can respond. “Catholics have a vital role to play in defending religious freedom and promoting the common good,” said Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty. Bishop Rhoades offered further remarks about the report in a pre-recorded video (below). TAKE ACTION: Please complete and share JFI's action alert to encourage members of Congress to work toward bipartisan immigration reform that furthers the common good, upholds religious freedom, and respects the God-given dignity of all.  Welcome Circles Milestone MRS’ network has launched 100 Welcome Circles! Check out this video featuring a Ukrainian family resettled by Aletheia Church in Cambridge, MA earlier this year through the Welcome Circles program. We'll spotlight their story for the next few weeks. For more information, please visit: [link removed]  Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita and Upcoming Events On February 8 we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita, which provides the Catholic faithful an opportunity to reflect on the evil of human trafficking and to strategize ways to fight this ongoing scourge. As you prepare for your own celebration, please be sure to check out the St. Bakhita webpage on the Justice for Immigrants site. Here you will find a variety of resources that you can use when engaging on this issue. Be sure to let us know what you are doing to celebrate St. Bakhita and her life as a saint. Join us for an evening mass on February 8th at 5 PM Eastern at St. Vincent De Paul’s Chapel at The Catholic University of America, where will we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita. Unable to join in person? You may also register for a livestream of the Mass. A livestream of an interfaith prayer service will also take place on the evening of February 8th at 7 PM Eastern. It will provide Christian faith leaders an opportunity to bring their collective wisdom, experiences, and ethical perspectives to the problem of human trafficking, and will foster meaningful dialogue, raise consciousness, urge our support of migrants, and advocate for the safeguarding of vulnerable populations. Please register in advance for the prayer service livestream. Save The Date: Spring 2024 Immigration Conference in Washington, DC Please note on your calendars an immigration conference at the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, D.C., on April 10 and 11, 2024. This event is a joint initiative by CUA and the USCCB’s Department of Migration and Refugee Services. More information to come! Here is the conference flyer:    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 Update page to stay up-to-date on recent migration policy updates. View the January 23 CMS Migration Update, which includes: With a Border Agreement Near, House and Senate Republicans are Divided on Its Passage DHS Announces the Protection of Over One-Thousand Migrant Workers Through Enhanced Workplace Investigations Immigration Enforcement Agency Announces Policy on Body Cameras View the January 16 CMS Migration Update, which includes: Border Negotiations Hinge on Humanitarian Parole Issue Biden Administration Asks Supreme Court to Block Texas from Controlling a Portion of the Border DHS Announces Steps to Improve the H-1B Registration Process View the January 8 CMS Migration Update, which includes: Agreement on Asylum and Border Restrictions Possible this Week Biden Administration Sues Texas Over Immigration Law United States Accepts Nearly 22,000 Refugees in the First Three Months of FY 2024 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 23 de enero, que incluye: Con un acuerdo fronterizo cerca, los republicanos de la Cámara y el Senado están divididos sobre su aprobación DHS anuncia la protección de más de mil trabajadores migrantes mediante investigaciones mejoradas en el lugar de trabajo La Agencia de Control de Inmigración anuncia política sobre cámaras corporales Ver la Actualización de Migración del CMS del 16 de enero, que incluye: Las negociaciones fronterizas dependen de la cuestión de la libertad condicional humanitaria La administración de Biden pide a la Corte Suprema que impida que Texas controle una parte de la frontera DHS anunció pasos para mejorar el proceso de registro H-1B Ver la Actualización de Migración del CMS del 8 de enero, que incluye: Acuerdo sobre asilo y restricciones fronterizas posible esta semana La administración de Biden demanda a Texas por su ley de inmigración Estados Unidos acepta casi 22.000 refugiados en los primeros tres meses del año fiscal 2024 Migration-Related Stories, Op-Eds and Interviews by Catholic Bishops, and Catholic Agency Executives Sr. Tracey Horan, SP – Kino Border Initiative, Associate Director of Education and Advocacy: Immigration as a pro-life issue Notable New Publications, Reports, Films, Articles, Etc. American Immigration Council: Understanding the Importance of Humanitarian Parole in the U.S. Immigration System Parole is an essential component of U.S. immigration law. It can be an important tool to manage the processing of migrants at U.S. borders; a powerful response to humanitarian crisis; and a way to allow people in the United States to work legally and become self-sufficient. As Congress considers changing the law governing parole, it is critical to understand how parole works now, and how changes would affect the immigration system. Journal on Migration and Human Security: The Gendered Effects of Multilayered Immigration Enforcement: Sanctuary Policy and Police-Community Relations in New Mexico This study explores the relationship between “sanctuary policies” that bar local law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration authorities and immigrant attitudes toward law enforcement agencies. Our findings suggest that promoting sanctuary policies to immigrant communities, particularly through immigrant-serving agencies, may be nearly as critical in improved immigrant-police relations, as adopting sanctuary policies. The Department of Homeland Security and the courts should therefore adopt a uniform definition of sanctuary and disseminate it to state and local officials — especially in law enforcement — throughout the country. Furthermore, localities that adopt sanctuary policies should publicize them as widely as possible so that they have the desired effect in immigrant communities and facilitate the improvement of police-community relations in particular. National Immigrant Justice Center: Too Fast for Fairness: “Expedited Removal” And The Family Expedited Removal Management Program This paper addresses the reported expansion of FERM (President Biden’s deportation program for families) as another item the White House and Senators are considering in their anti-asylum and anti-immigrant border negotiations. This explainer also follows Reps. Jayapal and Barragán’s press release that only 2.6% of families placed in FERM had legal representation. Human Trafficking Webinar Please join the Alliance to End Human Trafficking and National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd on February 12, 2024 at 11 AM Eastern for the first of three webinars focused on advocacy to break the link between human trafficking and forced migration. Click here to register today! You may also register at [link removed]. To learn more about the project, visit Human Trafficking & Forced Migration - Alliance to End Human Trafficking. Thank you - and please spread the word! Other Upcoming Events, Opportunities, and Resources Pax Christi USA Forum: Building a world without nuclear weapons: An urgent imperative, January 27, 2024 at 2 PM Eastern. As we celebrate the third anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the second anniversary of Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace, Archbishop John Wester’s pastoral letter calling for nuclear disarmament, Pax Christi USA and dozens of other co-sponsors, will offer an online forum focused on the grave concern regarding the increasing threat of nuclear war and what ordinary citizens can do to prevent it. Please join us. CLINIC Webinar Training: Hot Topics in Adjustment of Status for Afghan Nationals, January 31, 2024 at 2 PM. For nonprofits interested in representing clients before the immigration court using non-attorneys who have Department of Justice (DOJ) full accreditation, join CLINIC staff for a FREE webinar on how you can expand access to removal defense representation by obtaining DOJ full accreditation for your partially accredited staff. We will discuss the eligibility requirements for full accreditation and how they differ from partial accreditation, the process of preparing for full accreditation with training and mentoring, elements of a strong application, the adjudication process, and next steps after approval. Learn More and Register. Anti-Trafficking Webinar: Breaking the Link Between Human Trafficking and Forced Migration: Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, February 12, 2024 at 11 AM Eastern. On this webinar learn more about the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2023 (H.R. 5856) moving through Congress now, and how the legislation would address forced migration, one of the root causes of human trafficking. Register today. Birmingham (AL) Migrant Transit Project Welcomes Donations. We continue hosting migrants through the Project. We are in need of winter clothes for people released from detention centers across the South and brought to Birmingham to travel to their destinations. Please text (205) 945-0777 or email [email protected] to donate. In solidarity, Tony Cube Stay Connected Visit the JFI website to learn about us, read policy recommendations and letters to Congress, find materials for your parish, get advocacy resources, access previously recorded webinars, and more! 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