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"As Pope Leo stated, we must keep order in our communities, but I ask on behalf of our immigrant families and communities that we work for real justice and a system that protects and preserves the dignity of the human person and families regardless of where they live or from where they come.”
–Most Reverend Gregory Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, December 4, 2025
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NEW STATEMENT – Bishop Brennan Issues Statement in Response to Shooting of West Virginia National Guardsmen
Following the tragic shooting of two members of the West Virginia National Guardsmen last week in Washington, D.C., Bishop Mark Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston issued a statement.
USCCB/MRS condemns this inexcusable act of violence. We are praying for the repose of the soul of Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and for the full recovery of Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe.
NEW RESOURCE – Asylum Update
In the wake of the shooting last week, the Trump Administration has announced several policy actions with far-reaching impacts on noncitizens, especially those seeking asylum in the United States. The USCCB has released an explainer on those changes.
In light of these recently announced policy steps, you might also find the USCCB’s updated explainer on the June 2025 travel ban to be helpful.
NEW STATEMENT – “May We Recognize the Rich Gifts That Neighbors From Diverse Cultures Bring to Our Communities” Says Bishop Garcia
In light of recent statements regarding the Somali community in the United States, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, called on all people to remember each person’s God-given human dignity in a new statement:
“May we recognize the rich gifts that neighbors from diverse cultures bring to our communities. The Body of Christ is beautiful in its diversity and each part, while different, is valued and needed. I pray that together, we can be people of welcome, respect, and understanding.”
UPDATED RESOURCE – U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
This new resource from MRS provides an overview of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and an explanation of its current status, including recent reporting about a review of refugees admitted to the United States in recent years.
ADVOCACY – USCCB, CLINIC, and CCUSA Respond to End of Auto-Extension for Employment Authorization Documents
On October 30, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced through an Interim Final Rule that it would be ending the automatic extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for those with pending renewal requests. This policy was put in place by USCIS previously as a response to the lengthy processing times for work authorization, given the agency’s backlogs. This allowed noncitizens to continue to have work authorization until USCIS made a decision on the renewal application. The USCCB, together with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), submitted comments opposing the end of this policy.
More recently, USCIS announced that it would be reducing the validity period for work authorization down to 18 months for many humanitarian categories, including refugees, asylums, and those with pending asylum applications. This is separate from and in addition to the end of the auto-extension for those impacted by processing backlogs.
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VIRTUAL VIGIL – Catholic Public Witness for Immigrants
On December 10th at 5pm PT/8pm ET, Bishop Cahill, the new chair of the USCCB Migration Committee and bishop of the Diocese of Victoria, TX will host a vigil with One Church One Family in solidarity with migrants. Bishop Pham of the Diocese of San Diego will also participate. The vigil will be held primarily in Spanish on Youtube with interpretation into English via zoom. Register for the virtual vigil here. It will also be livestreamed at 1family.us
EVENT IN WASHINGTON DC – Walk with Mary, Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe
On December 13 at 11am, the Archdiocese of Washington will honor Our Lady through a pilgrimage in December through the streets of Washington, D.C. The pilgrimage begins at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart and concludes at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where together we pray the Rosary and celebrate Mass. Learn more about the event here.
ONGOING INITIATIVE – You Are Not Alone
Please reflect on what kinds of support your diocese can provide affected communities and be sure to let us know what you are doing at [email protected] or in this form. Check out our new flier for the initiative: English; Spanish. Please share widely and help others learn about it.
ICYMI – U.S. Bishops Issue a "Special Message" on Immigration
The bishops issued a Special Message addressing their concern for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States. It marked the first time in twelve years the USCCB invoked this particularly urgent way of speaking as a body of bishops.
"We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement. We pray that the Lord may guide the leaders of our nation, and we are grateful for past and present opportunities to dialogue with public and elected officials. In this dialogue, we will continue to advocate for meaningful immigration reform."
Read the full message here (also available in Spanish here).
Watch the Bishops reading the message here (and in Spanish here):
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ICYMI – Press Conference with Archbishop Broglio, Bishop Rhoades, and Bishop Seitz at November Plenary
Their conversation focused on migration and religious liberty as they warned that U.S. immigration enforcement has created a “crisis” undermining human dignity, keeping families in fear, and preventing people from attending Mass or accessing sacraments in detention. As Bishop Seitz said, “For us, this issue is not an abstract one… It’s a personal one because we’re pastors… We care about our people, and we care particularly for those who are most vulnerable and those who are most in need.”
Watch the full press conference here:
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In honor of this year's theme for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees we will share hopeful articles, homilies, and videos in each newsletter. Click here to read Pope Leo's message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
Archbishop Aymond: No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear, Archdiocese of New Orleans:
“No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear heard throughout our communities in Louisiana in the wake of a surge in immigration enforcement actions. I implore all people of faith and goodwill to join me in prayer for our families and our community as we face these challenging times.”
'They are not alone': Migrants rely on faith communities amid immigration crackdown, NPR:
"'To dispel fear, first of all, and also to let them know that they are not alone in this.'... 'For many families, immigrant families, the church is the second home. The church is a place where we feel safe, where we feel like this is my community.'"
Multi-faith vigil prays for immigrants reportedly detained in federal building basement, Fox 5 San Diego:
"Catholic, Methodist, Jewish and other faith groups united for a common cause on Thursday—praying for those who have been detained by immigration enforcement."
Watch the video below to learn more about the vigil:
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Priest walks from Illinois to New York against ‘inhumane’ immigration enforcement, Catholic News Agency:
"After a month and a half of walking an average of 17 miles a day, 67-year-old Father Gary Graf said he is starting to get 'a little pain in one shin,' but his broken ribs are 'getting much better.' On Oct. 6, Graf, a Catholic priest from Chicago, began a journey on foot from Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in Dolton, Illinois, to New York City to bring attention to the plight of immigrants amid the sometimes “inhumane” ways the Trump administration is treating them during its immigration enforcement actions."
To learn more about Father Graf's journey and read his message, check out Step Up Speak Out:
"The cornerstone of our faith and all others flows are values, and central among those values are compassion, humanity, and helping others. What is now happening to immigrant families in the United States, and especially to children, is an assault on those foundational values of people of all faiths."
Watch a video about Father Graf's journey:
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Bishops lead Stations of the Cross at Colorado ICE center, urges dignity for migrants, Catholic News Agency:
"Hundreds of Catholics gathered in front of the Denver Contract Detention Facility — an ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado — on Nov. 22 for Stations of the Cross led by Archbishop Samuel Aquila and Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez of the Archdiocese of Denver."
Watch a local news report about the vigil:
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LA clergy join procession ahead of congressional ICE hearing, Angelus News:
"Catholic clergy marched with demonstrators in downtown LA Monday morning to support hearings into alleged civil rights violations by ICE agents in Southern California. About 100 demonstrators, including LA Mayor Karen Bass, walked Nov. 24 from Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church (“La Placita”) near downtown LA to the Metropolitan Water District, where Bass and U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) hosted a hearing with testimony from community leaders, experts, and affected families about the harm caused by the federal immigration sweeps that began in June."
‘ICE was here’: Dedham church’s Nativity scene protests immigration crackdown, Boston.com:
"The Nativity scene at a Catholic church in Dedham is without the baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, with a sign criticizing federal immigration action instead taking Jesus’s place in the manger. 'ICE was here,' a large sign accompanying the empty manger at St. Susanna Parish said. 'The Holy Family is safe in the Sanctuary of our Church.'"
The US Bishops' You Are Not Alone Initiative, Window Light:
"The initiative encourages Catholics to put the Church’s teachings on migration into practice in a way that can make a difference in the lives of immigrants and that re-imagines the Church’s witness in our current context...The You Are Not Alone initiative is a framework for how dioceses and parishes can carry out the role of field hospital."
Catholic advocates raise alarm at Trump’s call to ‘pause’ migration from ‘Third World Countries’, OSV News:
"Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., or CLINIC, said in a Dec. 1 statement the organization 'firmly rejects any call to ‘permanently pause migration.' As we enter the Advent season, we remember that the Holy Family themselves were migrants seeking safety,' Gallagher said. 'Catholic social teaching is clear: every person has inherent dignity, and those fleeing danger must be protected, not turned away. Proposals like this betray both our moral values and our nation’s long commitment to offering refuge.'"
Who can tame Trump? An unlikely candidate is emerging: the Catholic church, The Guardian:
"Step forward Leo XIV, the 'American pope', backed by the US conference of Catholic bishops and the clergy and grassroots activists of the Catholic church – unexpected, newly emerging standard-bearers for country-wide resistance to the Trumpist scourge. The bishops threw down the gauntlet in a 'special message' this month. Inequality, immigration and civil rights are the battlegrounds on which the church, and some other Christian denominations, have begun to fight."
Catholic bishops push U.S. to end 'dehumanizing' immigration enforcement, PBS Newshour:
"Catholic bishops are speaking out against the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort and its treatment of immigrants in detention. In a special pastoral message, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote, 'we pray for an end to the dehumanizing rhetoric and violence.' Amna Nawaz spoke with one of the bishops behind the message, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas."
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Choose the way of peace, pope says as he leaves Lebanon, OSV News:
"Pope Leo XIV ended his stay in Lebanon with what he termed 'a heartfelt appeal: may the attacks and hostilities cease. We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit,' he said at the Beirut airport before returning to Rome Dec. 2. 'While weapons are lethal, negotiation, mediation and dialogue are constructive. Let us all choose peace as a way, and not just as a goal!'"
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Welcomers of the week
Bishop Tyson reflects on polarized media narratives: "On the granular level in Yakima, English and Spanish, it's pretty relaxed... Most all the radio programming in English and our cable programming all come from thousands of miles away on the East Coast, so it really does not reflect at all the local reality... I am noticing even in the national ecosystem that witness and story are pathways that maybe will get people to consider a reality outside of their own echo chamber."
| | Father Daniel Griffith of the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis speaks about the "Gospel imperative, moral imperative" to accompany immigrant brothers and sisters and various dimensions of Catholic social teaching and migration. Watch his message here: | | | | |
