JFI Colleagues,

Please see below for the latest updates from JFI.



U.S. Bishops’ Migration Chairman Denounces Proposed Limits on Asylum Access 

On February 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, outlining regulations that, if implemented, would impose punitive restrictions on the right to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, issued a statement in response to the proposed rule. 

The International Catholic Migration Commission and Our Sunday Visitor/Catholic Review both included articles about the proposed rule and the USCCB response.

Justice for Immigrants Website Relaunch 

During the past several months, MRS has engaged in and completed an overhaul of the Justice for Immigrants website. As part of this overhaul, the website features a new look with several new features. These include an emphasis on educational modules that will highlight the Church’s work on migration and a separate section that emphasis Pope Francis’ four verb framework – to welcome, to protect, to promote, and to integrate. This four-verb framework will highlight some of the ways that the Church is engaging migrants, and information how Catholics who are interested in the field can become more involved. Be sure to check out the first educational module, which focuses on debates related to comprehensive immigration reform and commentary on the Church’s work in this arena. Many traditional resources, including action alerts and other advocacy related initiatives, will remain an important aspect of the work, and more policy-related resources will be made available on the MRS portion of the USCCB website going forward. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to reach out and let us know at [email protected].  



Young Adult and Youth Art Contest  

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the pastoral letter Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, issued by the Catholic bishops of Mexico and the United States, USCCB/MRS and Kino Border Initiative (KBI) are sponsoring a migration themed youth and young adult art contest that highlights the subtitle of the letter, which reads “Together on the Journey of Hope.” Young artists are invited to imagine what this “journey of hope” looks like or represent the ways people in migration walk together on the journey, with their families, with others they meet along the way, with communities in the US who receive and accompany them, with advocates who seek more dignified migration alongside them. For more information how someone you know can participate, please visit the art contest website.

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 February 27 CMS Migration Update, which includes: 

• Biden Administration Proposes Rule Which Would Restrict the Rights of Asylum-seekers Who Travel Through Another Country 
• USCIS Provides Clarifying Guidance to Foreign Students Who Request Work Authorization for Urgent Circumstances 
• USCIS Extends Comment Period for New Fee Rule 
• US Supreme Court Cancels Arguments Over Title 42 

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 27 de febrero, que incluye: 

• La administración de Biden propone una norma que restringiría los derechos de los solicitantes de asilo que viajan por otro país 
• USCIS Brinda Orientación Esclarecedora a Estudiantes Extranjeros que Solicitan Autorización de Trabajo por Circunstancias Urgentes 
• USCIS extiende el período de comentarios para la nueva regla de tarifas 
• La Corte Suprema de EE. UU. cancela los argumentos sobre el Título 42 



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

Fr. Wilmer L. Todd, Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux:  

My personal experience in meeting our new Bishop Mario Dorsonville

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

American Immigration Council:  

How To Seek Asylum (Under Biden’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps 

The Biden administration recently announced a proposed regulation that would all but eliminate access to asylum for the overwhelming number of asylum seekers who come to the United States via the southwest border. But the regulation doesn’t put it that way. This document explains the steps needed, given the recent proposal, to seek asylum at the U.S. southern border.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco:

The Role of Immigration in U.S. Labor Market Tightness

Immigrants contribute a large portion of the growth in the U.S. population and labor force. However, immigration flows into the United States slowed significantly following immigration policy changes from 2017 to 2020 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of state-level data shows that this migration slowdown tightened local labor markets modestly, raising the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed workers 5.5 percentage points between 2017 and 2021. More recent data show immigration has rebounded strongly, helping to close the shortfall in foreign-born labor and ease tight labor markets. This analysis looks deeper into this important issue.

Catholic University of America (CUA) - School of Canon Law Event: Migration and Immigration: A Challenge of Our Time for Church and State

Please see the flyer (right) for more information about this upcoming event with the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap at CUA in Washington, DC. Note: This is a live, in-person event.

Other Upcoming Events, Opportunities, and Resources

• Parishes Organized to Welcome Immigrants and Refugees (POWIR) 2023-24 Program Announcement. USCCB is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for the POWIR Program in 2023-24. USCCB strongly encourages applications from resettlement affiliates participating in the FY2023 DOS Reception and Placement Program who have not previously participated in POWIR. POWIR grantees will receive a $25,000 award as well as technical assistance and resources from USCCB staff to support community engagement for the benefit of refugees and immigrants. To apply, carefully review the program announcement and submit your completed program plan and budget to both [email protected] and to [email protected] no later than March 24, 2023. 

• Catholic Diocese of Arlington’s (VA) Annual Peace & Justice Conference: Preserving the Dignity of Human Life: Combating Human Trafficking, March 11, 2023 at 5 PM. Human trafficking is the second largest criminal enterprise in the world - and it is increasing at an exponential rate. More than half of the victims of human trafficking are minors. Northern Virginia and the DC-metropolitan area have among the largest number of cases of human trafficking in the U.S. Find out how you can recognize signs of human trafficking happening in our communities, and help stop this assault on human dignity. Bishop Michael Burbidge will officiate the Mass to open our session. Register today! 

• CLINIC Webinar: Advocate for Asylum Seekers, March 14, 2023 at 2PM Eastern. CLINIC is hosting a FREE webinar on the Biden administration’s new proposed asylum rule. We will cover how this proposed rule is essentially an asylum ban and an entry ban with limited exceptions and how it would negatively and disproportionately impact asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. southern border. We will discuss how you and your organization can stand with asylum seekers by submitting comments to this proposed rule and we will share comment-writing and outreach strategies. A recorded version of the webinar will be posted on CLINIC's website. Please pre-register for this webinar 

• National Immigration Forum Panel Discussion: Welcoming Afghans and the Afghan Adjustment Act, March 16, 2023 at 5:30 PM in Washington DC. There is a reception after the discussion. Learn more about the event and register. 

• Irish Community Services (Chicago) Free Immigration Consultation at Gaelic Park. Legal clinics provide free 30-minute consultations with a qualified immigration specialist. The consultations are hosted in-person on a monthly basis at Chicago Gaelic Park. All information provided is confidential. Contact Irish Community Services for an appointment, 773-282-8445.

• Bilingual Catholic Social Teaching Certificate (CST) for Hispanic/Latino Regional Facilitators. In this program, participants will become familiarized with CST principles and values as well as with bilingual formational materials and resources available to help their local leaders to integrate CST into their formational activities and ministries. This certificate is offered by the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry (NCADDHM) in collaboration with the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development. For more information and to register, please visit the NCADDHM CST page. 

Lenten blessings,

Tony Cube

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