JFI Week in Review 8/5-8/9/19

Justice for Immigrants Colleagues,

Please see below for the latest updates from JFI.

In Wake of Horrific, Hate Filled Violence in El Paso, USCCB Chairs Call for Change in Language and Rhetoric of All Americans

On August 8, 2019, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, chairman of the Committee on Migration, Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Bishop of Venice, FL, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Social Development, and Bishop Shelton J. Fabre, Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, issued a statement expressing their deep concern about the racism and xenophobia that apparently motivated this weekend's massacre in El Paso. The bishops lamented the tragic loss of life, which "demonstrates that hate-filled rhetoric and ideas can become the motivation for some to commit acts of violence." They further called on "all to act swiftly to stop using hate-filled language that demeans and divides us and motivates some to such horrific violence." And, instead, asked "our leaders and all Americans to work to unite us as a great, diverse, and welcoming people." Read the full statement.

USCCB Urges Senators to Oppose S. 1494

On July 31, 2019, Bishop Joe S. Vasquez, Chair of USCCB's Committee on Migration, renewed the Committee's call to Senators to oppose the "Secure and Protect Act of 2019" (S. 1494), because it would greatly erode existing safeguards for asylum seekers and unaccompanied children seeking protection in the United States. To learn more, please see the S. 1494 text, the USCCB Letter to the Senate Judiciary (7/31/2019), and our chart summarizing the bill's key provisions.

Asylum Update

Safe Third Country Agreement: On July 27, 2019, the Trump administration signed an agreement with the government of Guatemala. The yet-to-be-implemented agreement would allow the United States to return arriving asylum seekers who transited through Guatemala (and who are not nationals of the country) to Guatemala in order to seek protection there rather than in the U.S. Questions have already been raised with the agreements legality, particularly as Guatemala's constitutional court previously ruled that the country's president, Jimmy Morales, cannot enter into an agreement with the United States without the approval of Guatemala's legislature.

Matter of L-E-A-: On July 29, 2019, Attorney General Barr issued Matter of L-E-A-, apparently attempting to change an important, long-standing tenet of who qualifies for asylum. (AG Decision; Analysis by CLINIC, which represented L-E-A-).This decision would apply to cases in which an asylum seeker requests U.S. asylum on the ground of belonging to a "particular social group," namely his/her family. In other words, the asylum seeker's family member is being persecuted and the asylum seeker thus fears he/she will also be persecuted. Despite years of contrary precedent, the Attorney General declares in the decision that most asylum seekers with such family persecution claims will not qualify for asylum protection.

O.A. v. Trump: On August 2, 2019, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia vacated the Administration's November 2018 Interim Final Regulation (IFR) that attempted to bar from asylum anyone who enters the United States in between official ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexican border without permission (decision). The court held the IFR to be contrary to the federal asylum statute that allows someone to access asylum regardless of how they entered the United States.

Appropriations

On August 2, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, H.R. 3877, that which raises the federal budget limits for each spending area until 9/30/2021 and suspends the federal debt ceiling until 7/31/2021. When Congress returns from their August recess, they will have less than a month to take action on FY2020 appropriations. The House has already passed 10 of 12 FY2020 appropriation bills, including proposed funding of $2.41 billion for Refugee and Entrant Assistance (ORR funding) and $3.532 billion for Migration and Refugee Assistance (PRM funding). The Senate has not introduced any spending bills yet, explaining that they were waiting for the budget and debt issues to be resolved.

Congress and the President have three choices in September: 1) final approval and signing of 1 to 12 appropriations bills; 2) final approval and signing of a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would temporarily extend spending levels at FY2019 levels for those areas that do not have final appropriation bills; and/or 3) shut down of the areas of government activity that do not have either final bills or a CR. Reportedly, some appropriators hope that before FY2020, they will be able to at least complete spending for three areas that constitute 70% of federal discretionary spending: Defense; Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education; and Energy and Water Development.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso and HOPE Border Institute Announce 'Border Refugee Assistance Fund' to Aid Migrants at the US-Mexico Border

On July 29, 2019 Bishop Seitz and Dylan Corbett, executive director of the HOPE Border Institute, announced the launch of the 'Border Refugee Assistance Fund', to assist migrants stranded at the U.S.-Mexico border. Thousands of migrants, mostly from Central America, are currently stranded in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, TX. These migrants have been returned to Ciudad Juárez as a result of the Migration Protection Protocols, commonly known as Remain in Mexico.

Grants from the fund will be used to support the initiatives and shelters providing for the immediate humanitarian needs of migrants in Ciudad Juárez, the majority of which have been organized by faith communities. You can view a video describing the work the fund will support.

More details and information on how to donate to the fund may be found at the Diocese of El Paso's webpage.

Call to Action on Refugee Resettlement

As reported in the last JFI Week in Review, some in the Administration are calling to zero out the U.S Refugee Admissions Program. We urge you to consider taking two actions during August to help battle against this drastic and negative proposal:

1) Urge your Senators and Representative to become a co-sponsor of the Guaranteed Refugee Admissions Ceiling Enhancement Act (GRACE Act), which would guarantee that the U.S. would resettle at least 95,000 refugees per year to use with Congress). Please give your Senators and Representative this call to action document USCCB has endorsed the GRACE Act.

2) Urge your organization to sign on to the RCUSA-led sign-on letter supporting an FY2020 refugee admission of 95,000 refugees. This important letter is open to national, state, and local organizations and the deadline for sign-on is 10am Wednesday, August 14th. To sign-on, please fill out this short form. Be in touch with [email protected] with any questions. USCCB is considering signing onto the PD letter, and encourages JFI members to consider signing on.

JFI Webinar: World Day for Migrants and Refugees

Please join us next week for a webinar presentation on the World Day for Migrants and Refugees. The webinar is on Wednesday, August 14th at 2PM Eastern. There is more information below on the webinar flyer:

Upcoming Events and Opportunities

8th Annual Barrio Latino Art Festival - August 10, 2019 at 1-11 PM in Toledo, OH: The Barrio Latino Art Festival celebrates diversity, innovation, and achievement. This event features live music, dancing, food, artwork on display, mural painting, crafts, Grito contest, jalapeño contest, art kid's activities and many other special performances. The Barrio Latino Art Festival Parade will kick off the festival. The parade route will start at Danny Thomas Park and end at 1411 Broadway St, Toledo, Ohio 43609. See you there!!

How Parental Incarceration Harms Children and What to Do about It - August 13, 2019 at 1:00 PM Eastern (English); August 20, 2019 at 1:00 PM Eastern (Spanish): The Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition will be host of this webinar, which will focus on the negative effects that parental incarceration has on children. The webinar will also provide helpful tips how you can help to alleviate some of these consequences. Visit the event website for information about how to register.

Praying Together for Peace - August 21, 2019 at 6:30 PM in Tucson, AZ
Join Catholics and other people of faith at our next Praying Together for Peace on Wednesday, August 21st at St. Mark's United Methodist Church, 1431 W. Magee Road, Tucson, AZ at 6:30 pm. Contact Pastor Evy McDonald for more information.

Invitation to Celebrate the 18th Anniversary of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of Good Shepherd - September 19, 2019 at 5:30 PM in Washington, DC: Join in celebrating the National Advocacy Center's 18th Anniversary. Gather on Thursday, September 19th at 5:30 PM at the DC Baptist Building, a short walk from the Dupont Metro. We will celebrate with an awesome Tae Kwon Do demonstration! Also, we will have a poetry fest with everyone invited to share their poems. Light refreshments will be provided. Visit the event website for more information.

The Vatican's World Day for Migrants and Refugees - September 29, 2019: The Vatican's World Day for Migrants and Refugees provides an opportunity to reflect on migration in the world, and the Church's response to this issue. The theme for this year's celebration is "It is not just about migrants," which draws attention to the fact that migration is a multifaceted and complex problem. In anticipation of this celebration, Pope Francis released a message on migration that will assist in our reflections.

Citizenship Clinics in Chicago, IL
Interested in becoming a U.S. citizen? Irish Community Services (ICS) in Chicago, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services and Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, can help with the "New Americans Initiative." If you are a green card holder and interested in pursuing US citizenship, call ICS' office at 773-282-8445 for more information.

In Solidarity,

Mark Priceman