US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration
The Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative examines whether Catholic institutions have maintained their special connection to immigrant communities in the United States and how they can increase and improve their work on immigrant integration, well-being and empowerment. The initiative studies the work of Catholic and other faith-based institutions with immigrants. It also documents and disseminates promising integration programs and practices in parishes, elementary schools, universities, the workplace, immigrant service networks, charities, hospitals, and other institutions and sectors. Its overall goal is to support and expand a growing network of Catholic institutions that are implementing successful integration models within and across sectors.
Virtually all of the Catholic Church’s signature institutions—its parishes, schools, universities, hospitals, charities, fraternal and sororal groups, labor centers and others—arose in response to the needs of past waves of immigrants and their progeny. While the Catholic Church’s work with immigrants remains robust, its US institutions have not fully pivoted to meet the needs and incorporate the gifts of the nation’s record number of immigrants and their children. Put differently, immigrant integration in the Catholic sense—of promoting communion between natives and newcomers, development of “each” person and the “whole” person, and building a better society through the evangelization of culture—has not yet become a unifying institutional priority.
Catholic agencies can play a vital role in fostering civic participation, improving educational outcomes and promoting the socio-economic attainment of immigrants and their families. On the other hand, Catholic institutions can be and, in fact, are being renewed and revitalized by the gifts, contributions and leadership of immigrants, particularly youth. This process should expand and accelerate.
The Catholic Immigrant Integration Project is guided by a national advisory council comprised of more than 30 representatives from national and local service-delivery networks; universities and school systems; pastoral, parish-based and ethnic ministries; and immigrant community groups. This work has received a substantial boost from Pope Francis’ vision, teaching and frequent statements on immigrants and integration at https://cmsny.org/wp-content/uploads/JFI-Kerwin-11.17.15.pdf.
Events
The CRISIS Survey: The Catholic Church’s Work with Immigrants in the United States in a Period of Crisis
On July 14, 2021, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) hosted a webinar and discussion on its report, The CRISIS Survey: The Catholic Church’s Work with Immigrants in the United States in a Period of Crisis.
2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative
The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) and the University of Notre Dame hosted the 2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference on Thursday, October 1 and Friday, October 2, 2020. This annual event is part of CMS’s Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative (CIII) which seeks to understand, expand and strengthen the work of Catholic institutions with immigrant communities.
2019 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference
A Catholic Response to Exclusionary Nationalism, the Global Crisis in Refugee Protection, and Recent Developments in US Immigration Policy
This webinar by Donald Kerwin, Executive Director for the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), will be devoted to a discussion of Catholic teaching on migrants, refugees, and newcomers. Mr. Kerwin will discuss the Biblical touchstones of Catholic teaching on migrant and refugees, key principals that guide the Church’s analysis of this timeless issue, recent developments in US immigration policy and refugee protection, and how the Catholic community views and can respond to them. The presentation will draw on CMS’s scholarship and research.
2017 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference
2016 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference
2015 Catholic Institutions & Immigrant Integration Conference
At Home Together: The Church and the Immigrant Family
Immigrant Integration: Assessing and Improving the Collective Response of the Catholic Church in the United States
Parish-Based Organizing for Leadership, Service, and Justice
The Shared Parish: Latinos, Anglos, and the Future of US Catholicism
2014 Catholic Institutions & Immigrant Integration Conference
Publications
The Local Church Needs to Protect the Lives of Migrants. Pope Francis Shows Us the Way.
Fr. Pat Murphy, c.s. reflects on a violent incident by police against migrants and the necessity of an active presence of the local Church to defend the rights of the immigrants.
Donald Kerwin and Daniela Alulema
The CRISIS Survey: The Catholic Church’s Work with Immigrants in the United States in a Period of Crisis
The CRISIS Survey documents the reach, diversity, and productivity of Catholic institutions that work with immigrants and refugees during a pandemic that has particularly devastated their communities and an administration whose policies and rhetoric made their work far more difficult. At a time of rampant “Catholic decline” narratives, the survey also documents the reach, vitality, and relevance of Catholic immigrant-serving institutions. It identifies the obstacles encountered by immigrants in accessing Catholic programs and ministries – both organizational (funding, staffing, and siting) and exogenous (federal policies, the pandemic, and community opposition). It underscores the threat posed by US immigration policies to immigrants and to the work of Catholic institutions.
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His Eminence Cardinal Michael F. Czerny, SJ
Mobility and Lockdown: Challenges to the Human
The 2020 Father Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration was delivered by His Eminence Cardinal Michael F. Czerny, SJ, Under-Secretary for the Migrants & Refugees Section of the Vatican Dicastery for Human Development.
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Donald Kerwin
Immigrant Integration and Disintegration in an Era of Exclusionary Nationalism
This is a working paper and draft chapter for the forthcoming book, Christianity and the Law of Migration, eds. Silas W. Allard, Kristin E. Heyer, and Raj Nadella (London: Routledge, 2021).
Will the nation’s historic genius at integrating immigrants persist? With a record 44 million foreign-born U.S. residents and nearly double that number counting their US-born children, the stakes could not be higher. This chapter will explore the integration successes and challenges of U.S. immigrants and their progeny. It examines the conditions in receiving societies that improve and diminish the integration prospects of immigrants. These include, on the one hand, rising nationalism, nativism, and a rapidly changing labor market due to automation, robotization, and artificial intelligence, and, on the other hand, integration initiatives and strong mediating institutions. The chapter will begin by exploring different conceptions of integration, and conclude by reflecting on how Christianity might inform national and local integration policies. While this chapter focuses on the U.S. context, the issues discussed are pertinent in a wide variety of countries experiencing significant immigration.
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CMS Estimates on DACA Recipients by Catholic Archdiocese and Diocese
This paper provides estimates on beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) by Roman Catholic archdiocese and diocese (“arch/diocese”) in order to assist Catholic institutions, legal service providers, pastoral workers and others in their work with DACA recipients. In addition, the paper summarizes past estimates by the Center for Migration Studies about DACA recipients, which highlight their ties and contributions to the United States. It also offers resources for Catholic institutions, educators, and professionals that serve this group.
Donald Kerwin and Mike Nicholson
The Effects of Immigration Enforcement on Faith-Based Organizations: An Analysis of the FEER Survey
This paper analyzes the impact of the Trump administration immigration policies on Catholic organizations, presenting the results of CMS’s Federal Enforcement Effect Research (FEER) Survey. It finds that US policies in the Trump era have significantly increased immigrant demand for the services provided by Catholic institutions and, in general, that these institutions have expanded their services in response. However, 59 percent of respondents – the highest total for this question – identified “fear of apprehension or deportation” as “negatively” impacting immigrants’ access to their services. In addition, 57 percent reported that immigration enforcement has “very negatively” or “somewhat negatively” affected the participation of immigrants in their programs or ministries. The FEER Survey illustrates the need for broad immigration reform. It shows that the status quo prevents immigrants from accessing the services they need and it impedes people of faith from effectively exercising their religious convictions on human dignity, protection, and service to the poor and vulnerable.
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Fr. Eduardo C. Fernandez, SJ
A Catholic Reflection on Host Communities
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2, NRSV). As these words from Sacred Scripture indicate, the Judeo-Christian tradition commands the believer to provide a sympathetic welcome to foreigners. Yet, the passage reveals that the giver of......
Mike Nicholson
Breaking Down Barriers and Welcoming the Stranger: 2019 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference
On March 12 and 13, 2019, 181 representatives of Catholic immigrant-serving organizations from around the country convened at Santa Clara University School of Law to take part in the Center for Migration Studies’s (CMS’s) annual Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference. The conference highlighted the tireless and groundbreaking work that Catholic......
Most Rev. Oscar Cantú
Address by Most Reverend Oscar Cantú, Bishop of San Jose
On March 12, 2019, Most Reverend Oscar Cantú, Bishop of San Jose, delivered the welcoming keynote at the 2019 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference at Santa Clara Law School in Santa Clara, California. In his remarks, Bishop Cantú considers how the Church has and can deploy its limited resources and implement successful models of integration to better address immigration and better welcome immigrants.
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Msgr. Arturo J. Bañuelas
Border Spirituality: ‘Tu eres mi otro yo’
The 2019 Father Lydio F. Tomasi, c.s. Annual Lecture on International Migration was delivered by Msgr. Arturo J. Bañuelas, Pastor of St. Mark’s Parish in El Paso, TX on March 12, 2019 at the sixth national gathering of the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative in Santa Clara, California.
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Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone
Address by Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco
On March 13, 2019, Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, delivered a keynote address at the 2019 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference at Santa Clara Law School in Santa Clara, California. In his remarks, Archbishop Cordileone discusses: the Catholic Church’s concern for men, women, and children “on the move”; common themes found throughout the Church’s pastoral vision and the conference goals; immigrant contributions; how changing US immigration and refugee polices are affecting Catholic institutions and integration efforts; and promising and successful programs and ministries with immigrants.
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Kimball Baker
The Worker/Immigrant Link: America’s Driving Force
Kimball Baker (author of “Go to the Worker”: America’s Labor Apostles) examines the role of immigrants in America’s labor unions and worker centers.
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Kimball Baker
Justice Junction in the Heartland: A Labor Day Reflection on the Catholic Church’s Commitment to Immigrant Justice, Then and Now
In 1828, an immigrant to America, young Italian Samuel Mazzuchelli, braved the challenges of the US frontier. He became a Dominican priest and traveled widely throughout the Midwest, ministering first to Native Americans and fur trappers, then to the Irish lead miners of the Upper Mississippi Valley. In 1847, he......
Donald Kerwin and Kyle Barron
Building Structures of Solidarity and Instruments of Justice: The Catholic Immigrant Integration Surveys
In this report, CMS details findings from two surveys distributed to two broad sets of US Catholic institutions – (1) Catholic social and charitable agencies and (2) parishes and schools – to capture their work in helping integrate immigrants in the United States. ...
Donald Kerwin
Pope Francis, Migration, and the Journey to Human Development and Peace
Donald Kerwin, CMS’s Executive Director, provides an overview of the VI International Forum on Migration and Peace, organized by the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN) in late February 2017 in Rome, Italy....
Donald Kerwin
Our Religious Obligations to Refugees and Migrants
Donald Kerwin, CMS's Executive Director, presented this address at the Seminar on Migration and Religion at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands held on February 9 and 10, 2017....
Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Ph.D., D.D.
Address by Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn
The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, addressed the SIMN VI International Forum on Migration and Peace in Rome, Italy from February 20-22, 2017. Bishop DiMarzio spoke national engagement on the panel, “Mapping the Migration Activities of Catholic Organizations.”...
Donald Kerwin
The Catholic Church’s Commitment to Immigrants and Refugees at the Dawn of the Trump Era
Donald Kerwin, CMS' Executive Director, reflects on the 2016 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference and the Catholic Church's commitment to migrants and refugees as President Trump takes offices....
Stephanie L. Canizales
Support and Setback: Catholic Churches and the Adaptation of Unaccompanied Guatemalan Maya Youth in Los Angeles
Stephanie L. Canizales, a PhD Candidate at the University of Southern California, examines the role of religion and religious institutions in the adaptation of unaccompanied Central American youth in Los Angeles....
Donald Kerwin, with Breana George
US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Will The Church Rise To The Challenge?
US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Will The Church Rise To The Challenge? arises from a multi-year process led by the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), to engage the leaders of diverse US Catholic agencies, academics and others on immigrant integration as......
Multimedia
CMSOnAir | Students at the University of Notre Dame Present their Migration-Related Research
Feb, 19 2021This episode of CMSOnAir features four students at the University of Notre Dame who are doing research about international migration. Syeda (Fiana) Arbab, Sofia Piecuch, and Kara Venzian are graduate students pursuing their Masters in Global Affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough School. They partnered with Catholic Relief Services on a research project about how internally displaced persons and refugees describe and create home. Elsa Barron examined migrant integration, dialogue, and religious acceptance using the first mosque in Athens, Greece as a case study. An undergraduate student, Elsa conducted her research with support from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Here’s Elsa, Fiana, Sofia, and Kara describing the findings of their research at the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference.
CMSONAIR | Staying Connected to Urban Students and Their Parents
Nov, 30 2020 Posted in CMSOnAirPartnership Schools, a network of nine elementary and middle schools in urban areas of New York and Cleveland, is trying to stem the tide of Catholic school closings. Their network is taking a unique approach to funding, relying heavily on philanthropic support and keeping costs down, while maintaining high-quality education.
Welcome and Opening Prayer | 2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference
Nov, 13 2020 Posted in Event VideoCMS and the University of Notre Dame welcomed participants to the 2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference.
Plenary Panel I: Identifying and Engaging the Pressing Challenges of Immigrants and Refugees
Oct, 01 2020 Posted in Event VideoPanelists presented their perspectives on the major challenges facing immigrants, refugees, and their families, both in the broader society and in their faith communities, including new challenges related to COVID-19 and related policies.
Plenary Panel II: Building a More Prophetic, Faithful, and Hopeful Church
Oct, 01 2020 Posted in Event VideoMigrants, refugees, their families, and communities face multiple crises – historically high levels of forcible displacement, the inequalities and injustices exacerbated by the pandemic, the loss of life and opportunity, and exclusionary attitudes and policies. This panel spoke to these conditions and challenges and offered ideas and insights on how the Church can respond to the gifts and needs of migrants in a more prophetic, faithful, and hopeful way.
Plenary Panel III: Ireland’s Attempt to Build Communities of Belonging
Oct, 01 2020 Posted in Event VideoRoderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children, Disability, Equality, and Integration, describes Ireland’s efforts to build communities of belonging.
Plenary Panel IV: How Should Catholic Institutions Adapt Their Work?
Oct, 01 2020 Posted in Event VideoPanelists discuss ways that Catholic parishes, hospitals, refugee and legal services programs, charities, and other institutions and ministries can rise to the immense challenges now facing immigrants, refugees, and their families and communities.
Plenary Panel V: Overcoming Political Obstacles to Building Communities of Belonging
Oct, 01 2020 Posted in Event VideoAt a time of harsh and restrictionist federal policies, many states and localities have opted to treat immigrants and their families as full members of their communities, extending to them a range of services, programs, and benefits.
Plenary Panel VI: How Can Catholic Institutions Better Promote Integration, Protection, and Defense
Oct, 01 2020 Posted in Event VideoPanelists explored how Catholic institutions can strengthen their work in promoting the integration, protection, and defense of persons with strong roots in sending and receiving communities.
Plenary Panel VII: Mainstreaming Catholic Teaching on Immigrants and Refugees
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoThis panel discussed ways to build parish communities of belonging, hope, and sanctuary, and to mainstream Catholic teaching on immigrants and refugees to the broader Catholic Church.
University of Notre Dame Student Panel
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoA discussion with Notre Dame Students doing work with migrants and refugees.
Plenary Panel VIII: A Reflection on Migration, Protection, and Race
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoThe final panel of the conference reflected on the interrelated themes of migration, protection, and race in the context of Pope Francis’ call to Catholics to go to the peripheries.
Simultaneous Session I: Community Sponsorship Models for Immigrant Integration
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoSession I: Community Sponsorship Models for Immigrant Integration in Europe and North America: Challenges and Opportunities
Simultaneous Session II: Working Through Cultural Obstacles to Integration and Empowerment
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoSession II: Working Through Cultural Obstacles to Immigrant Integration and Empowerment: Understanding Differences in Attitudes Toward Migrants in North America and Europe
Simultaneous Session III: Addressing the Legal Obstacles to Immigrant Integration
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoSession III: Addressing the Legal Obstacles to Immigrant Integration, Protection and Defense
Simultaneous Session IV: Bringing Research to Bear on the Needs of Catholic Institutions
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoSession IV: Bringing Research to Bear on the Needs of Catholic Institutions, and the Migrant Populations They Serve
Simultaneous Session V: Reflections on the Role of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Integration
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoSession V: Reflections on the Role of Catholic Colleges and Universities On Immigrant Integration and the Challenges They Face in their Service to Immigrants
Conference Adjournment & Closing Reflections | 2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in Event VideoConference Adjournment & Moderated Discussion With Conference Participants: Ideas for Strengthening the Catholic Church’s Work With Immigrants and Closing Reflections
CMSONAIR | Serving People on the Move Under Stay at Home Orders
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in CMSOnAirThe mission of the Scalabrinian order is to accompany people on the move. In the COVID-19 era, it is harder than ever to live out that mission.
CMSONAIR | COVID-19 Testing Where Immigrants Feel Safe
Nov, 02 2020 Posted in CMSOnAirLa Casita has shifted many of its regular services to remote platforms and sent food boxes to community members. Sr. Gabriela has also been instrumental in making COVID-19 testing available to immigrants at local parishes.
2020 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration | Mobility and Lockdown: Challenges to the Human
Oct, 14 2020 Posted in Event VideoEstablished in 2014, the Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration addresses a migration-related topic of pressing concern to faith communities. Fr. Tomasi, a founding member of the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), directed the institute from 1968 to 2001. Co-sponsored with the University of Notre Dame, the 2020 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration was delivered by His Eminence Cardinal Michael F. Czerny, SJ, Under-Secretary for the Migrants & Refugees Section of the Vatican Dicastery for Human Development.
CMSONAIR | Anna Gallagher on Supporting Immigrants and Their Lawyers
Oct, 02 2020 Posted in CMSOnAirThis episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with Anna Gallagher, the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC). She explains how CLINIC supports lawyers across the country as they adapt to the fast-paced policy changes of the current administration. She also discusses her concerns about access to asylum on the US-Mexico border and CLINIC’s Estamos Unidos Asylum Project in Ciudad Juarez — a response to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or “Remain in Mexico” program.
CMSONAIR | Bishop Mark J. Seitz on “Night Will Be No More” and What It Means to Be a Border City
Nov, 26 2019 Posted in CMSOnAirThis episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso Texas. CMS’s communications coordinator Emma Winters asks Bishop Seitz about his recent pastoral letter, “Night Will Be No More.” The letter, a direct response to the August 3 [2019] Walmart massacre, condemns racism and white supremacy, examines the legacy of hate in the borderlands, and says to all: “Tú vales, you count.” Bishop Seitz also discusses the 2019 Border Mass, the El Paso Diocese fund to aid asylum seekers stuck in Ciudad Juarez, and why families should be at the heart of our immigration system.
CMSOnAir | Joanna Williams on the Kino Border Initiative
Apr, 03 2019 Posted in CMSOnAir
2019 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration | Border Spirituality: ‘Tu eres mi otro yo’
Mar, 25 2019 Posted in Event VideoEstablished in 2014, the Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration addresses a migration-related topic of pressing concern to faith communities. Co-sponsored with the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University, the 2019 Tomasi Lecture was delivered by Msgr. Arturo J. Bañuelas, S.T.D., Pastor of St. Mark’s Parish in El Paso, Texas at the fifth national gathering of the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative in Santa Clara, California.
2017 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration
Mar, 12 2019 Posted in Event VideoFor 2017, the Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, CS Annual Lecture on International Migration and the Loyola Marymount University Hispanic Ministry and Theology Lecture jointly presented Dr. Maria Clara Bingemer, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC) and Brazilian Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Democracy and Human Development in the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
2015 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2015 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session I
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2015 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session II
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2015 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session III
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2015 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Special Session
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2015 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session IV, part I
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2015 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session IV, part II
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
WEBINAR | US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Webinar
Parish-Based Organizing for Leadership, Service, and Justice
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2014 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Welcome and Session One
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2014 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Keynote
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2014 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session Two
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2014 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Update
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2014 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session Three
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2014 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session Four
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos
2014 US Catholic Institutions and Immigrant Integration: Session Five
Oct, 12 2017 Posted in Videos