USCCB President, Migration Committee Chairman, and CLINIC Board Chairman Issue Joint Statement: “We Stand in Firm Solidarity with Our Immigrant Brothers and Sisters”

“Together, we must speak out on behalf of the ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ and ask our government to provide fair and humane treatment for our beloved immigrant brothers and sisters.”

In solidarity with immigrants, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio (above, right), president of the USCCB, Bishop Mark J. Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration (below, right), and Bishop Jaime Soto (right), chairman of the board for Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., issued a statement of pastoral concern, which is also available in Spanish.

The text of Archbishop Broglio's address and remarks to the entire USCCB is now available as well as an accompanying video.

Additionally, Bishop Seitz filmed a video: We Have Become a Great Nation Because We Have Welcomed Immigrants

Video en Español: Nos hemos convertido en una gran nación porque hemos acogido a las inmigrantes

There is also this video of the address delivered by Bishop Seitz to the entire USCCB.

Relatedly, there is also a video of a roundtable conversation with the president of the USCCB, chairman of the Committee on Migration, and Bishop Michael Burbidge, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities. The video is titled: Recognizing Human Dignity.

New Resource: Post-Election FAQs

A new resource providing answers to common questions following the 2024 Election is now available.

Legal Update: Keeping Families Together

On November 7, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a final judgement in the case brought by Texas and several other states against the Keeping Families Together parole in place program announced by the Department of Homeland Security in June 2024. The ruling found that the Biden Administration exceeded its statutory authority when creating the program. Per the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website, USCIS is taking steps to:

• Pending Form I-131F applications will not be adjudicated and intake of new Form I-131F applications will cease.
• Anyone with a future Application Support Center appointment in support of a filed Form I-131F should consider that appointment cancelled immediately. Anyone who appears for such an appointment will be turned away.
• External engagements on the KFT parole process are cancelled.

In the coming days, USCIS is expected to publish additional information on how it will handle pending cases and paid application fees.

(Corrected Link) Problem Areas In Immigration Series: Legal Representation for Unaccompanied Children in Immigration Proceedings

Unaccompanied noncitizen children do not have lawful immigration status in the United States nor a legal right to counsel. For these reasons, children who are placed in removal proceedings in the U.S. may have to appear before an immigration judge on their own within the courtroom setting. 

The October issue of our problem areas in migration series focuses on this problem, reviews some of the challenges these children face, and possible improvements that could be made to improve their situations. Please take a moment to read the latest installment in our series.

Registration is now open for the 2025 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG)

Join 10 USCCB departments and 20 national Catholic organizations as we pray, learn, and work to uplift and defend human dignity at home and abroad. CSMG speakers include Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, Dr. Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the USCCB. Register today

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 November 5 CMS Migration Update, which includes:

• Like His Predecessors, Biden was Unable to Fix the Immigration System
• Supreme Court Permits Virginia to Purge Alleged Non-citizen Voters from Rolls

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 5 de noviembre que incluye: 

• Al igual que sus predecesores, Biden no pudo arreglar el sistema de inmigración 
• La Corte Suprema permite que Virginia elimine de las listas a presuntos votantes no-ciudadanos

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

Cardinal Joe Tobin, Archdioceses of Newark: Prayer for migrants Twitter post

Bishop Oscar Cantú echoes U.S. Bishops President Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio’s Call for Prayers and Unity Following Presidential Election

JRS/USA Election Statement: We Urge Incoming Administration to Adopt New Approach to Migrant People

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

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns: Advent Guide 2024: One Family of God

The 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God from the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns contains reflections, questions, prayers, and actions based on each week’s Gospel reading and the experience of Maryknoll missioners who have lived and worked with migrants and refugees from around the world. We invite you to use this guide individually or in small groups to reflect upon your life patterns, to pray more deeply, and renew your spirit to face the realities of our world.

Center for Migration Studies: Proposed 2024 Mass Deportation Program Would Socially and Economically Devastate American Families

In this report, we highlight the devastation of mass deportation on both undocumented residents and their US citizen and legal noncitizen families and communities. We discuss individual, household, and family characteristics of the 10.9 million undocumented residents living in the US, and 4.7 million households with both undocumented residents and residents with permanent legal status (referred to henceforth as “mixed status” households). We investigate the economic effect of the deportation on US citizens and undocumented residents, as well as the negative fiscal impact on the broader economy should mass deportation be carried out.

Migration Policy Institute: The Overlooked Impact of Immigration on the Size of the Future U.S. Workforce 

A new Migration Policy Institute short read, offering first-ever projections of the U.S. working-age population by immigrant generation through 2040, sheds light on the evolving role that immigration could play in shaping the U.S. demographic landscape and future workforce.

American Immigration Council: Unpacking Myths about Noncitizen Voting 

Voting by noncitizens is incredibly rare. These purges only serve to disenfranchise eligible voters and place our democratic process at great risk. This blogpost breaks down the myth of noncitizen voting, showing how the data indisputably proves that undocumented immigrants don’t vote in any significant numbers in U.S. elections. 

American Immigration Council Special Report: The Expanding Role of H-2B Workers in the United States 

Congress established the H-2 visa program in 1952 to allow U.S. businesses to directly hire seasonal foreign guest workers when American workers were not available. There are two separate visas under this category: the H-2A visa, for temporary agricultural workers; and the H-2B visa, for temporary non-agricultural workers. Analysis of Department of Labor data reveals that demand for H-2B workers has risen 46% since 2018. This growth highlights the escalating reliance on H-2B workers, particularly in hospitality and tourism, landscaping, construction, forestry, and seafood processing industries. This new special report explores the role of H-2B workers in the United States, the process for obtaining a visa, and suggestions on how to modernize the program.