For more information on the below items, please contact Tony Cube at ACube@usccb.org
New Resources Relating to Proposed Asylum Ban
On February 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that, if implemented, would place significant restrictions on the right to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Under the proposed rule, non-Mexicans who enter the United States between ports of entry or who present themselves at a port of entry without a previously scheduled appointment will be presumptively ineligible for asylum unless they applied for and were denied protection in a country they traveled through on their way to the United States, subject to certain exceptions. The rule is designed to be in place for 24 months after its effective date, following the lifting of Title 42. The rule is currently subject to a 30-day public comment period that will end on March 27.
Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, denounced the proposal the same day it was published. Earlier this week, Bishop Seitz further expressed concern about the rule in an op-ed published by America Magazine.
An FAQ relating to the proposed rule is available here. View more from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), including templates that both individuals and organizations can use to submit comments, here.
Senate to Hold Hearing on Refugee Admissions Program Featuring NGO Witnesses
On March 22, 2023, at 2:30 PM. ET, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety will convene a hearing entitled “Living Up to America’s Promise: The Need to Bolster the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program”. The hearing will include a leader from the resettlement community and a former refugee. It will be livestreamed here.
USCCB and Partners Respond to Proposed Fee Increases for Immigration Benefits
On January 3, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published proposed increases in fees charged for certain immigration benefits administered by the agency, as well as a series of policy changes. Included among the fee increases would be applications and petitions related to adjustment of status and naturalization, as well as forms utilized by foreign-born religious workers. The USCCB, CLINIC, and Catholic Charities USA submitted joint comments urging USCIS to reconsider many of the proposed changes.
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.
Notable Publications
Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Miami Herald Town Hall: “Crisis in the Caribbean: The impact on South Florida.”
Kenneth Ferrone, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico, Showing up for immigrants through supportive state legislation
Msgr. Owen F. Campion, Our Sunday Visitor, The Church’s Long History of Supporting Immigrants
Migration Policy Institute:
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States
This document is the latest version of its ever-popular resource offering up-to-date and authoritative data about the 45.3 million immigrants in the United States and current and historical U.S. immigration trends.
Congressional Research Service:
The Department of Homeland Security: A Primer
This report provides background on “the mission, structure, staffing, and funding” of the Department of Homeland Security, including relevant historical information.
Radio Maria interview with USCCB/MRS’ Anti-Trafficking Education and Outreach Coordinator Felicitas Brugo Onetti:
Human trafficking, St. Josephine Bakhita, and available resources for your community
Upcoming Events
• 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.
• 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. North
• 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.
• National Immigration Forum Panel Discussion: Welcoming Afghans and the Afghan Adjustment Act, March 16, 2023 at 5:30 PM in Washington DC. Th
• 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.