This week, President Biden signed the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, setting the number of people who can be resettled through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) at 125,000. While the goal remains unchanged from last year, the program resettled 100,000 refugees in 2024—the first time that number was achieved since 1994. Meanwhile, the United Nations estimates there are over 120 million forcibly displaced persons in the world, up from 24 million at the end of the twentieth century.

Acknowledging the U.S. Catholic Community’s part in supporting refugee resettlement, Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, stated, “My brother bishops and I could not be more grateful for the witness of faithful Catholics across our country who have, for many decades now, committed themselves to accompanying refugees as a visible sign of Christ’s love in the world. Having just joined our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the Universal Church in marking the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, what better time to give thanks to God for the reciprocal blessings exchanged through these efforts? From life-saving protection for refugee families, to the economic renewal they offer receiving communities, this is part of what it means to ‘love thy neighbor.’ Moreover, as we enter Respect Life Month, we recognize this as one of the many ways in which the consistency of the Church’s concern for the sanctity of human life manifests itself.” Bishop Seitz’s full statement is available on the USCCB website.

New JFI Resource: PAPAL TEACHING AND MIGRATION - Exploring Common Themes in Papal Teaching on Migrants and Refugees

As we close out NMW and WDMR 2024, we have an opportunity to reflect on the longer trajectory of Papal teaching and migration. To that end, JFI has developed a discussion guide that examines several key themes that have consistently emerged in migration day messages during the pontificates of Pope Saint John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis, and emphasize the significant continuity across papacies on the issue of migration. The themes covered in this study guide include reflections on family, accompaniment, evangelization, and “solidarity and shared responsibility”. Please check it out and send to those who might be interested in reading more on this important topic.

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 October 1 CMS Migration Update, which includes:

• Biden Administration Finalizes Border Rule
• Biden Sets Refugee Ceiling of 125,000 for FY 2025
• United States Announces More Assistance to Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

View the September 24 CMS Migration Update, which includes:

• Border Encounters Down Nearly 70 Percent From a Year Ago
• USCIS Extends Green Card Validity for 36 Months

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 1 de octubre que incluye:

• La administración de Biden finaliza la regla fronteriza
• Biden establece un límite máximo de refugiados de 125.000 para el año fiscal 2025
• Estados Unidos anuncia más asistencia a los refugiados rohingya en Bangladesh

Ver la Actualización de Migración del CMS del 24 de septiembre que incluye:

• Los encuentros fronterizos han disminuido casi un 70 por ciento respecto al año anterior
• USCIS extiende la validez de la tarjeta verde por 36 meses

Migration-Related Stories, Op-Eds, Videos and Interviews by Catholic Bishops, (Arch)Dioceses and Catholic Agency Executives

Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s Homily on the feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz at St. Mary Cathedral, Miami:

The World Day of Migrants and Refugees is a call for our solidarity with people on the move

Catholic Bishops of Ohio:

Letter on Migrants and Refugees and Our Haitian Brothers and Sisters

Bishop Emeritus of Brooklyn Nicholas DiMarzio:

New study on Catholic attitudes on migrants, immigration and refugees

Anna Gallagher, Executive – Catholic Legal Immigration Network, INC:

Contemporary icons: Seeing the divine in migrants and refugees

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

Migration Policy Institute: Explainer: Noncitizen Voting in U.S. Elections

It is illegal for noncitizens to vote in U.S. federal or state elections. There is no evidence that unauthorized immigrants, green-card holders, or immigrants on temporary visas are voting in significant numbers, despite some claims that “millions” of noncitizens are voting in U.S. elections. In fact, audits by election officials and numerous studies reflect that voter fraud by noncitizens is extremely rare. For example, one study that examined voting in 42 U.S. jurisdictions found just .0001% of the 23.5 million votes cast during the 2016 election were of suspected noncitizen voting. Forty of the 42 jurisdictions reported no known incidents of noncitizen voting. This explainer from the Migration Policy Institute looks at the evidence regarding noncitizen voting, offering useful information in an accessible way. The explainer also examines the voter registration process and how election officials verify eligibility to vote.

Congressional Research Service: Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview

This report provides information around unaccompanied migrant children’s increased migration over the last decade and the U.S. government's response to it, while giving a general overview of the U.S. agencies involved in care for these children.

American Immigration Council:

Mass Deportation Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy

In recent months, leading politicians and policymakers have renewed calls for mass deportations of immigrants from the United States. While similar promises have been made in the past without coming to fruition, mass deportation now occupies a standing role in the rhetoric of leading immigration hawks. While some plans have envisioned a one-time, massive operation designed to round up, detain, and deport the undocumented population en masse, others have envisioned starting from a baseline of one million deportations per year. Given that in the modern immigration enforcement era the U.S. has never deported more than half a million immigrants per year—and many of those have been migrants apprehended trying to enter the U.S., not just those already living here—any mass deportation proposal raises obvious questions: how, exactly, would the United States possibly carry out the largest law enforcement operation in world history? And at what cost? Read this new publication for some insights.