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An historic Supreme Court case on immigration and continued appropriations talk made headlines this week in Washington.
Supreme Court DACA Case
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the legality of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The DACA program allows roughly 670,000 unauthorized immigrants brought to the U.S. as children the ability to live and work in the United States. The program was created under the Obama administration establishing temporary protection from deportation for young people who meet certain requirements and pass background checks.
In September 2017, President Trump announced that his administration would discontinue the program, arguing it was established illegally and is unconstitutional. Three federal appeals courts disagreed and ruled that the administration was required to provide a full rationale of the decision due to the broader impacts on the economy. The administration then appealed to the Supreme Court, requesting that they make the final determination. A final decision has not been issued by the Supreme Court.
Catholic Charities USA joined an amicus brief in support of the DACA recipients. In a statement, CCUSA said, "We believe the dignity of every human being, particularly that of our children, must be protected...Their stories are woven into our collective American identity as a nation of immigrants." You can read the full statement here.
Appropriations
House and Senate Appropriations leadership signaled slight progress this week toward passing a spending deal. Leadership has tentatively agreed to pass another short-term spending package, shifting the new deadline to Dec. 20th.
There had been discussions of possibly passing a longer stopgap spending measure into February or March. The Dec 20th deadline appears to indicate optimism that a deal can be hashed out in five weeks. The Democratic and Republican Appropriations leadership are continuing to negotiate over how to allocate spending among the 12 separate appropriations bills. They hope to have an agreement on allocations by Thanksgiving. Any final deal that Democrats and Republicans agree upon must be approved by President Trump.
The White House has indicated that they are looking for $5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security to support the construction of a border wall. Democrats have come out against spending funds on a wall along the southern border. The House and Senate appear to be putting border wall funding on the backburner for now while working out the remainder of the appropriations allocations.
Faith and the Common Good
Bob Funaro, from Ada, Michigan correctly identified the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (OFBNP) established by President George W. Bush as the office designated specifically for strengthening faith-based organizations' capacity to provide federally funded social services.
The OFBNP is a White House Office that is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The OFNBP works to build bridges between the federal government and nonprofit organizations, both secular and faith-based, to better serve Americans in need. The Office advances this work through Centers in various Federal agencies.
The name was slightly changed in 2009 and an Advisory Council was introduced, composed of religious and secular leaders and scholars.
On Sunday, November 17th, the Church marks the third annual World Day of the Poor. In 2017, Pope Francis suggested in his Apostolic Letter, Misericordia et Misera, that on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time we observe a day to reflect on how we encounter our sisters and brothers living in poverty. You can find the Holy Father's 2019 message here.
Prayer for the Care of the Poor
God of bounty, your son Jesus embraced poverty and taught that the poor are blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of God." Help us to step out of our certainties and comforts and keep our eyes fixed on him, so we can both see and serve him in the faces of the poor. Amen.
Trivia
When did Congress hold their first meeting in Washington?
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