Email from USCCB "A litmus test for social justice" Justice for Immigrants Biweekly Review: June 6-June 19, 2026  "A litmus test for social justice today is the treatment of migrants, refugees and those forced to move due to poverty, violence, climate change and environmental disasters. The way a society treats them reveals whether its sense of justice is driven by fear or by the spirit of fraternity.”  –Pope Leo XIV in Magnifica Humanitas Updates and Resources ADVOCACY: Senate Companion to House-Passed Haiti TPS Bill Introduced with USCCB’s Support On June 17, Senators Edward Markey and Lisa Blunt Rochester, together with 17 Senate colleagues, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, announced their introduction of an identical Senate version of a bill passed by the House of Representatives in April (H.R. 1689) that would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti to 2029. In the senators’ press release, the USCCB’s Committee on Migration is listed as an endorsing organization, and a quote from Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the Committee, is featured. Separately, a case addressing the Trump Administration’s attempted discontinuation of Haiti’s TPS designation (along with the designation for Syria), Trump v. Miot, remains pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, with the potential for a decision to be issued in the coming days. Documents that were not available at the time the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case were recently disclosed, indicating the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not consult with the U.S. State Department in accordance with the TPS statute when deciding to end TPS for Haiti. As a result, the plaintiffs representing Haitian TPS holders have asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal brought by the government. The USCCB’s resource will continue to be updated as this situation develops. UPDATED RESOURCES: Informational Resources Amended to Reflect Recent Court Decision The USCCB’s informational resources on the Trump Administration’s nationality-based travel ban and asylum(also available in Spanish) have been updated, following a recent decision in the case Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island v. USCIS. On June 5, the district court ruled against several policies put in place by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), including USCIS’ hold on adjudicating the vast majority of benefit requests submitted by nationals of the 39 countries covered by the travel ban. The Administration has since appealed the ruling, and the appeal is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. In the meantime, USCIS has acknowledged it will comply with the lower court’s ruling pending further judicial review. UPCOMING CELEBRATION – World Refugee Day In honor of World Refugee Day, please reflect on the following announcement released by the Secretariat of Migration at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: One June 20 we celebrate World Refugee Day, which is an opportunity to recognize the God-given dignity, courage, and resilience of refugees and to renew our commitment to walk with them in hope. As Pope Leo XIV reminds us in Magnifica Humanitas, "A litmus test for social justice today is the treatment of migrants, refugees and those forced to move due to poverty, violence, climate change and environmental disasters. The way a society treats them reveals whether its sense of justice is driven by fear or by the spirit of fraternity.” Under U.S. and international law, a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, or a well-founded fear of persecution, based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The Catholic community in the United States has long served refugees and advocated on their behalf as a way of living out Christ’s call to welcome the stranger and affirming the sanctity of every human life. With global displacement higher today than any other time in recorded history, including through a steady rise in religious persecution, this commitment remains more important than ever before. ICYMI - Archbishop Coakley Welcomes Pope Leo XIV’s Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, USCCB: “The Church in the United States welcomes the publication of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, with gratitude and praise. It is a powerful reminder that no technology can replace a child of God, and all technology should be placed at the service of helping humanity thrive. As his predecessor Pope Leo XIII addressed the challenges of the Industrial Revolution in Rerum Novarum one hundred thirty-five years ago, our Holy Father shines the light of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church on the new opportunities and challenges posed by the rise of Artificial Intelligence. The Pope calls us to never lose sight of the inherent dignity of all human life and the moral imperative for technology to support peace and the common good rather than the limited interest of a few." Read Pope Leo's Encyclical here. Check out additional resources here. ICYMI – Letter to Congress on Fiscal Year 2026 Reconciliation Bill On May 15, 2026, Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the USCCB, and Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, urged Republicans and Democrats alike to reject partisan appropriations funding in response to an ongoing effort to provide regular, annual appropriations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection through the reconciliation process. This effort marks the first time in history that Congress is abandoning the standard appropriations process to provide a federal agency’s ordinary yearly funding through reconciliation. The bishops referenced the USCCB’s earlier calls for reasonable conditions that align immigration enforcement more closely with the moral order. “Rather than pursuing such measures through a bipartisan process,” they said, “Congress now risks setting a concerning precedent—one in which furthering the common good is undermined for the sake of political expediency.” Read the letter here.  ONGOING INITIATIVE – You Are Not Alone Please reflect on what kinds of support your diocese can provide affected communities and reach out with questions to [email protected]. Check out our flier for the initiative: English; Spanish. Please share widely and help others learn about it. We are also collecting information on ministry accessibility in detention centers and on events and initiatives occurring in dioceses that are aimed at supporting migrants and their families. If you have relevant experience or information, please share it in this form. Welcomer of the Week Bishop Menjivar-Ayala reflects on the lack of empathy for immigrants: "People go through so much from the very moment they leave their country. They have to say goodbye to what is familiar, to the family, to the culture, to everything. That is already a source of great suffering for people, and the danger they put themselves in... Being an immigrant is not easy... These are people that have a great dream to better their lives, to do whatever they have to do in order to provide for their families." Bishop Menjivar-Ayala recounts the story of the Holy Family: "The whole gospel is a story of human mobility... The parents of Jesus being forced to leave their town, their nation... in order to search for a safe place for Jesus... It was the experience of a family who was persecuted... That is precisely what so many families go through... Jesus understands what families are going through these days." 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