October 1, 2015

A welcome dinner for event participants including the migrant community was held on the evening of October 1st.  The dinner program included:

THE FR. LYDIO F. TOMASI, C.S. ANNUAL LECTURE
Introduction
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

“The Theology of Communion”
Dr. Hosffman Ospino (Presentation)
Assistant Professor of Theology and Education and Director of Graduate Programs in Hispanic Ministry
Boston College

IMMIGRANT WELL-BEING AND INTEGRATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF US-MEXICO BORDER BISHOPS
Introduction
Dylan Corbett
Executive Director
Hope Border Institute

Speakers
Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz
Bishop of El Paso

Most Rev.  José Guadalupe Torres Campos
Bishop of Juarez

Most Rev. Oscar Cantú
Bishop of Las Cruces

October 2, 2015

SESSION I: ASSESSING AND MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF THE WORK OF CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS WITH IMMIGRANTS
This panel explored how diverse Catholic institutions define and measure their success in serving and empowering immigrants.

Moderator
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

Speakers
Prof. Margaret F. Brinig
Fritz Duda Family Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame School of Law
Co-Author of Lost Classroom, Lost Community: Catholic Schools’ Importance in Urban America

Rev. J. Cletus Kiley
Archdiocese of Chicago

Marjean A. Perhot
Director, Refugee and Immigration Services
Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Boston

Sr. Norma Pimentel
Executive Director
Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

SESSION II: PARISH-BASED ORGANIZING FOR SERVICE, JUSTICE, AND EVANGELIZATION
This panel discussed innovative, effective, and sustainable ministries within the parish infrastructure that respond to immigrant community needs and engage and promote immigrants as agents of their own development.

Moderator
Dr. Hosffman Ospino
Assistant Professor of Theology and Education and Director of Graduate Programs in Hispanic Ministry
Boston College

Speakers
Rev. Msgr. Arturo Bañuelas
Pastor
St. Mark’s Catholic Church, El Paso, TX

Elena Segura
Director of the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education
Archdiocese of Chicago

Estela Villagrán Manancero
Director of Latino Ministry, Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
President, National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry

THE BORDER ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY, OVERSIGHT, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACT OF 2014 (H.R. 4303)

Presentation by Congressman Beto O’Rourke, US Representative for El Paso, Texas.

Video message from Congressman Steve Pearce, US Representative for the 2nd District of New Mexico (additional words on his behalf by Peter R. Ibarbo, Outreach Director for Congressman Steve Pearce).

SESSION III: IMMIGRATION RESEARCH IN ACTION: AN EXCHANGE BETWEEN RESEARCHERS AND PASTORAL AGENTS
This panel featured a conversation between leading researchers and pastoral agents, seeking to integrate the state of the art in immigration studies with the needs of immigrant religious communities and their service providers.  Among the questions addressed are:  What can scholars do for faith-based organizations working with and for immigrants?  How can religious communities contribute to the production of rigorous and relevant research on immigration? How can academics and religious practitioners working on immigration achieve greater engagement, cross-fertilization, and reciprocal constructive critique?

Moderator
Dr. Manuel A. Vásquez
Professor of Religion
University of Florida

Speakers
Dr. Westy Egmont
Director of the Immigrant Integration Lab
Boston College Graduate School of Social Work

Dr. Brett Hoover
Assistant Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Sr. Sally Duffy
President and Executive Director
SC Ministry Foundation

SESSION IV, PART I: A NEW VISION OF THE BORDER REGION AND NATION
Border Network on Human Rights (BNHR) and Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) have been involved in important work around re-conceptualizing the border from the perspective of discrete groups and sectors of border residents, including the ecumenical faith community.  This two-part session lifted up their vision and highlighted the efforts by the faith community to construct a new narrative of the border.

Speakers
Fernando Garcia
Executive Director
Border Network for Human Rights

Dylan Corbett
Executive Director
Hope Border Institute

Ralph McCloud
Director, Catholic Campaign for Human Development
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

SESSION IV, PART II: RETHINKING THE BORDER FROM THE FAITH PERSPECTIVE

Moderator
Jeanne Atkinson
Executive Director
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)

Speakers
Rev. Sean Carroll, S.J.
Executive Director
Kino Border Initiative

Linda Hartke
President and CEO
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)

Rev. Patrick Murphy, C.S.
Director
Centro Scalabrini – Casa del Migrante

Presentation by El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles

Presentation by Professor Margaret F. Brinig

Presentation by Dr. Westy Egmont

Presentation by Professor Hosffman Ospino

Presentatiom by Marjean A. Perhot

Presentation by Sr. Norma Pimentel

Presentation by Elena Segura

Jeanne Atkinson
Executive Director
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Jeanne M. Atkinson is the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC).  Her passion for immigration was sparked while interning with Catholic Charities in 1987, during which time she focused on legalization. Ms. Atkinson served as the long-time director of Catholic Charities’ Immigration Legal Services (ILS) program for the Archdiocese of Washington, where she directed their highly active and successful legal services program, as well as the Catholic Charities’ Refugee Center. She was a partner in establishing the Family Justice Center in Montgomery County and is a member of the board of directors of Catholics for Family Peace. Ms. Atkinson holds a JD from American University’s Washington College of Law and is a member of the Pennsylvania bar.

Rev. Msgr. Arturo Bañuelas
Pastor
St. Mark’s Catholic Church in El Paso

Reverend Monsignor Arturo Bañuelas is pastor of St. Mark’s Catholic Church in El Paso and founding chairman of the board of the Hope Border Institute, a grassroots initiative that works to offer a response to the historical reality of the border by working for social change in the communities of Ciudad Juárez, El Paso, and Las Cruces.

Msgr. Bañuelas was ordained a priest of the Diocese of El Paso in 1976, having obtained a master’s in divinity from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. He earned his licentiate in sacred theology (STL) in 1986 and his doctorate in fundamental theology (STD) in 1988, both from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Msgr. Bañuelas has taught and lectured widely at many institutions of higher learning, including the Catholic Theological Union, Princeton’s Theological Seminary, and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California.

Msgr. Bañuelas was the founding director of the Tepeyac Institute, one of the largest diocesan centers for ministry formation in the nation, which trains leaders for leadership in the Church from the perspective of the realities of the border. He has also provided distinguished service to a number of national and border organizations, co-founding the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States and serving on the board of the Mexican American Cultural Center, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Hispanic Theological Fund, Hospice of El Paso, the Paso del Norte Foundation, Las America Center, and served as past president of the Border Network for Human Rights.

Margaret F. Brinig
Fritz Duda Family Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame School of Law
Co-Author of Lost Classrooms, Lost Community

Margaret “Peg” Brinig is the Fritz Duda Family Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame School of Law, with expertise in law and social science in empirical studies of families, social capital, and social welfare legislation. She sits on the executive council of the International Society of Family Law, and recently published Family, Law, and Community: Supporting the Covenant which offers a distinctive study of legal reform from the perspective of family dynamics and social policy.

At the University of Notre Dame, Professor Brinig is a fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at Notre Dame, and works closely with the institute’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Program. She conducts groundbreaking research with colleague Nicole Garnett on the negative impact of Catholic K-12 school closures on poor neighborhoods.

Professor Brinig was awarded the Distinguished Professor Award at George Mason University and was honored for her research at a Notre Dame football game in 2007. She is a member of the American Law Institute.

Most Rev. Oscar Cantú
Bishop of Las Cruces

Most Reverend Oscar Cantú, STD, is the Bishop of Las Cruces. Born December 5, 1966 in Houston, Texas, he is the son of Ramiro and Maria de Jesus Cantú, natives of small towns near Monterey in Mexico.  He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Houston on May 21, 1994.

Bishop Cantú holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dallas and master’s degrees in divinity and theological studies, both from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He also earned his licentiate in sacred theology (STL), as well as hisdoctorate in sacred theology in dogmatic theology (STD), from the Pontifical Gregorian University, located in Rome, Italy. As a priest of the Diocese of Houston, Bishop Cantú taught at University of St. Thomas in Houston as well as at St. Thomas at St. Mary’s Seminary. During his time in Houston, he was also involved in The Metropolitan Organization (TMO), a grassroots community organization working to address important social issues in the community such as fair housing, immigration, and education.

On April 10, 2008, he was appointed titular bishop of Dardano and auxiliary bishop of San Antonio. On January 10, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him the second bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Bishop Cantú is the current chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on International Justice and Peace.

Rev. Sean Carroll, SJ
Executive Director, Kino Border Initiative

Reverend Sean Carroll, SJ, was born in South Weymouth, Massachusetts on June 24, 1966 but spent most of his childhood in Southern California. In 1988, he graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in history and he entered the California Province of the Society of Jesus in 1989. Rev. Carroll was ordained a priest on May 27, 2000, and served for four years as associate pastor at St. Patrick’s Church in Oakland, California. In 2004, he moved to Los Angeles, where he became associate pastor at Dolores Mission Church. Two years later, while continuing to work at Dolores Mission, Rev. Carroll began to serve as the pastoral ministries assistant for the California Province of the Society of Jesus, helping to coordinate pastoral initiatives among twelve Jesuit parishes in California, Arizona, Utah, and Hawaii. As part of this ministry, he assisted with the exploratory phase of a new migrant ministry in southern Arizona and northern Mexico. These efforts led to the inauguration of the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a Catholic, bi-national, collaborative effort that focuses on humanitarian assistance, education, research, and social-pastoral outreach in the area of migration. Since January 2009, Rev. Carroll has been executive director of the KBI in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and currently serves on the board of trustees of the University of San Francisco and on the board of Southern Arizona Interfaith.

Dylan Corbett
Executive Director
Hope Border Institute

Dylan George Mason Corbett is the founding director of the Hope Border Institute, a faith-based, grassroots initiative that works to offer a response to the historical reality of the border by working for social change. Prior to the Hope Border Institute, Mr. Corbett worked as a staffer to the bishops of the United States at the US Conference of Catholic Bishop’s (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development as well as with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the national anti-poverty and social justice program of the USCCB. He worked in the international development and nonprofit sectors in Washington, DC, Central America and South Asia, and studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

Sr. Sally Duffy
President and Executive Director
SC Ministry Foundation

Sister Sally Duffy is a member of the Sisters of Charity (SC) of Cincinnati and serves as president and executive director of the SC Ministry Foundation. She serves as the chair of the board of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA). Sr. Sally also serves on the boards of directors of TriHealth, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. (CLINIC), Seton High School, and Price Hill Will. She recently completed service on the boards of: Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, St. Francis Medical Center, and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate affiliated with Georgetown University.

Sr. Sally has a master of education degree from Xavier University, a master of public administration degree from the University of Colorado, a master’s in divinity from Loyola University Chicago, and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Mount St. Joseph University. She has served as a high school teacher, coach, guidance counselor, women’s basketball coach, crisis counselor, and college campus minister.

Dr. Westy Egmont
Director of the Immigrant Integration Lab
Boston College Graduate School of Social Work

Dr. Westy Egmont joined the faculty of the Boston College School of Social Work (BCSSW) to teach social policy and build connections between academic work in diversity and the increasing cosmopolitan population of the foreign born in the region.

With a doctorate in pastoral counseling, Dr. Egmont has focused on the human needs and social services of newcomer communities, immigrant rights, and the complex, dynamic two-way process of immigrant integration. His work has led to the creation of BCSSW’s Immigrant Integration Lab, a pioneering endeavor in relating demographic shifts of developed nations, social policy, and social practices that foster the full economic, social, and civic participation of the newcomer to studying the mechanisms of incorporation by the receiving society. Prior work as a missionary educator and in executive leadership of anti-poverty social service agencies makes the issue of applied research his priority. Dr. Egmont is the co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Immigrants and Refugees, having served as an adviser to six governors.

His current courses cover immigration policy and practice and have led to a certificate program for students focusing on the subject including a comparative social policy and action field course on EU and US immigration policies, a US borderland, migrant rights, the needs of unauthorized migrants, and the emergence of divided receiving communities. Dr. Egmont emphasizes the role social work can play in fostering healthy migrant families and communities.

Fernando Garcia
Executive Director
Border Network for Human Rights

Fernando Garcia is founding director of the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR). BNHR supports immigrant border communities by promoting their human rights and demanding humane immigration reform. As director, he is responsible for facilitating the creation of human rights community-based committees and the training of human rights promoters in southern New Mexico, West Texas, Texas Valley, Arizona, Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Jose, and New Jersey.

Under Mr. Garcia’s coordination, BNHR has also worked closely with local elected officials, faith-based institutions, local law enforcement agencies, and community organizations to develop proactive policy recommendations to oppose the militarization of the border, to call for comprehensive immigration reform, and to demand border enforcement oversight and accountability. He has been a member of the Independent Task Force of Immigration and America’s Future convened by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a steering committee member of the Coalition for Accountable, Moral, and Balanced Enforcement Overhaul (CAMBIO), and a board member of the Hope Border Institute.

Linda Hartke
President and CEO
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Linda Hartke has led Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) as president and CEO since February 2010. Driven by a deep commitment to ensuring migrants and refugees are protected, embraced, and empowered, she brings a wealth of leadership experience in faith-based advocacy and social ministry both in the United States and abroad. Ms. Hartke has also served on regional, national, and international boards of directors. She currently serves on the board of the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS).  Ms. Hartke’s vision for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is to be a catalyst in creating communities of welcome where newcomers can thrive.

Dr. Brett Hoover
Assistant Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Dr. Brett Hoover is a Roman Catholic pastoral (practical) theologian. At Loyola Marymount University (LMU), he teaches graduate students in ministry in the pastoral theology degree program as well as undergraduates in courses at the intersection of culture and religious (or spiritual) practice. Through LMU extension, Dr. Hoover facilitated worships in intercultural ministry training, including cultural orientation for international priests beginning ministry in the United States (COPIM) and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ program, Building Intercultural Competency for Ministers (BICM).  He offers presentations to both ecclesial and academic audiences on the role of immigration, culture, and power in understanding historical and contemporary Catholicism. Dr. Hoover is the author of The Shared Parish: Latinos, Anglos, and the Future of U.S. Catholicism (NYU Press 2014). In that book and in much of his other research, he uses qualitative sociological methods to understand the culture clash and complex power dynamics in Catholic parishes shared by distinct cultural groups. Dr. Hoover served on the steering committee for the National Symposium on Catholic Hispanic Ministry in 2014, and is one of the editors of the upcoming book on the symposium.

Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

Donald Kerwin directs the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), a New York-based educational institute/think tank devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and newcomers. CMS was established in 1964 by the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles, Scalabrinians. It is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN), which consists of more than 270 organizations that serve, safeguard, and advocate for migrants throughout the world. Mr. Kerwin previously worked for 16 years at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), serving as that agency’s executive director for 15 years. CLINIC, a subsidiary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, is a public interest legal corporation that supports a national network of charitable legal programs for immigrants. He has also served as interim executive director at CLINIC; as vice president of programs and non-resident senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI); and as an associate fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center and co-director of Woodstock’s Theology of Migration Project. He has also served on numerous boards, commissions, and task forces. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso, Texas.

Rev. J. Cletus Kiley
Archdiocese of Chicago

Reverend J. Cletus Kiley is a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and special advisor to the Most Reverend Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago. In his 39 years as a priest, he has served in many capacities. Since 2010, Rev. Kiley has been the director for immigration policy for UNITE HERE, working on immigration reform strategies with the union’s national leadership and its local members throughout the United States. Rev. Kiley serves as a trustee of UNITE HERE Health. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Center for Research for the Building Trades (CRBT), and he leads a project to train a new generation of Catholic Labor priests. Previously, Rev. Kiley was president and CEO of the Faith and Politics Institute where he worked closely with Congressman John Lewis to bring members of Congress on the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Alabama to reflect on the values and lessons of the US Civil Rights Movement for our contemporary national life. He was also the executive director of the Secretariat for Priestly Life and Ministry for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Before joining USCCB, Rev. Kiley was pastor of St. Agnes of Bohemia parish in Chicago and president of St. Joseph College Seminary. He also served as a member of the College of Consultors for the Archdiocese; as acting vicar for religious; chairman of the Comision del Plan Pastoral Hispano; as asesor for El Movimiento del Encuentro Conyugal Arquidiocesano; and as associate dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary.

Rev. Kiley graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 1970 and received a bachelor’s in sacred theology and a master’s in divinity from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 1974, a master’s degree in applied spirituality (Ignatian) from the University of San Francisco in 1980, and a doctorate in ministry from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 1980.

Estela Villagrán Manancero
Director of Latino Ministry, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
President, National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry

Estela Villagrán Manancero, born in Uruguay, has extensive experience in community development and pastoral ministry in a multi-cultural setting. Her passion for missionary work has led her to minister in numerous countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, Egypt, and China. Mrs. Manacero’s formation in business administration, experience in community organizing, and success in pastoral ministry come together to produce a highly effective lay ecclesial minister in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, where she is currently the director for the Office of Latino Ministry. She is also the president of the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry.

Ralph McCloud
Director, Catholic Campaign for Human Development
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Ralph McCloud is the director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), an anti-poverty program of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). CCHD works to break the cycle of poverty by helping low-income people participate in decisions that affect their lives, families, and communities.

Prior to working at USCCB, Mr. McCloud worked as director of pastoral and community services in the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas. In this capacity, he supervised the departments of Family Life, Peace, and Justice, African American Ministry, Ministry to the Incarcerated, Ministry to People with Disabilities, Hospital Ministry, and Hispanic Ministry.

He has served as president of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators and as a board member of both the National Black Catholic Congress and the Roundtable Association of Social Action Directors. In addition, Mr. McCloud served four terms on the Fort Worth City Council from 1997–2005 and three terms as mayor pro tempore. He chaired the County Homeless Commission and was named Tarrant County’s First Racial Reconciliation Award Winner by the Tarrant County Community of Churches. Mr. McCloud is also the recipient of the State of Texas Courage Award from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. In 2009, he was awarded the History Maker Award from the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 2009 and Catholic Charities USA’s Martin Luther King “Keep the Dream Alive” Award in 2010.

Mr. McCloud currently serves on the board of the Center for Migration Services of New York (CMS).

Rev. Patrick Murphy, CS
Director
Centro Scalabrini – Casa del Migrante

Reverend Patrick Murphy, CS, is director of the Casa del Migrante in Tijuana, Mexico. Born in New York City in 1952, he completed his seminary studies in New York, Chicago, and Toronto, and graduated from Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois in 1974 with a bachelor’s in psychology. In 1979, Rev. Murphy completed his master of divinity degree at the University of Toronto. He also received a master’s in pastoral studies from Loyola University Chicago in 1985.

Rev. Murphy has been a member of the Missionaries of St. Charles, Scalabrinians, since his first profession in 1976. He was ordained a priest in August 30, 1980, and since then his ministry commitments have included the following: associate pastor in two multicultural parishes in the suburbs of Chicago; provincial vocation coordinator for the Scalabrinians; pastor of a large Hispanic parish in Los Angeles; provincial for the Scalabrinians Western province; and director of Hispanic Ministry in the Archdiocese of Kansas City.

Congressman Beto O’Rourke
US Representative for El Paso, Texas

Congressman Beto O’Rourke was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. He has been deeply involved in civic, business, and community efforts in his hometown. Mr. O’Rourke was elected to represent the people of the 16th District of Texas in November of 2012. Prior to his congressional service, he served two terms on the El Paso City Council.

Mr. O’Rourke is a graduate of Columbia University and he has had different committee assignments, including: the Subcommittee on Readiness and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel at the House Armed Services Committee, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Subcommittee on Health at the House Committee of Veteran’s Affairs.

Dr. Hosffman Ospino
Assistant Professor of Theology and Education and Director of Graduate Programs in Hispanic Ministry
Boston College

Dr. Hosffman Ospino was born in Colombia where he pursued undergraduate studies in philosophy. He worked for the National Confederation of Catholic Education of Colombia. Dr. Ospino holds a master’s in theology with a concentration in Church history and a doctorate in theology and education from Boston College. His research concentrates on the dialogue between theology and culture and the impact of this interchange upon Catholic theological education, catechesis, and ministry. Dr. Ospino has lectured nationally and internationally on these areas.

Dr. Ospino was the principal investigator for the National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry; a co-principal investigator for the National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families, and he is working in two books one on Catholic Multicultural Congregations and another on the Hispanic Catholic Experience. He is an office of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS).

Marjean A. Perhot
Director, Refugee and Immigration Services
Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Boston

Marjean A. Perhot has been fortunate to work with refugees and immigrants since 1995, when she moved to Boston as a Marist volunteer after graduating from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. As a Marist volunteer, she was selected to serve at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston. Ms. Perhot held various positions at Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services until September 2000 when she was hired as the director of Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services, Diocese of Cleveland.

In September 2005, she returned to Catholic Charities Boston as the director of the Refugee and Immigration Services Division. Ms. Perhot is responsible for Community Interpreter Services, a social enterprise of Catholic Charities, Immigration Legal Services, and Refugee Resettlement. She works with the president of Catholic Charities to measure and report on agency-wide performance to the board of trustees. For over 20 years, Ms. Perhot has provided interviews and commentary for local and national media outlets on immigrant and refugee issues. She is thankful for the opportunity to continue the long tradition of Catholic Charities’ commitment to serving refugees and immigrants.

Sr. Norma Pimentel
Executive Director
Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley

Sister Norma Pimentel is a sister with the Missionaries of Jesus. As executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley for several years, she oversees the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville, providing oversight of the different ministries and services in the areas of the Rio Grande Valley through emergency assistance, homelessness prevention, disaster relief, clinical counseling, pregnancy care, food program(s), and the Humanitarian Respite Center.

Sr. Pimentel chairs the local Emergency Food and Shelter Program that distributes federal funds to local agencies providing assistance to the area’s poor. She also serves as co-vicar of religious, organizing different events for religious in the Diocese of Brownville. In addition, Sr. Pimentel leads efforts in the community that respond to emergency needs and provide relief in times of disaster and crisis in the valley. She was instrumental in quickly organizing community resources to respond to the surge of Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States and setting up the Humanitarian Respite Center at the Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas. These efforts captured the world’s attention, drawing news media from around the globe to the Rio Grande Valley, to cover the plight of the countless and distressed refugee individuals and families; thereby compelling thousands from this country and others, to contribute their time, talents, and treasures to serve and support the cause. All these efforts brought Sr. Pimentel recognition as a recipient of the 2015 Martin Luther King, Jr. “Keep the Dream Alive” Award from Catholic Charities USA and awards from the University of Texas – Pan American, the Texas Medical Association, and nomination for “Texan of the Year.” In January 2015, she testified before the US Commission on Civil Rights on the “State of Civil Rights in Immigration Detention Facilities.” In March 2015, Sr. Pimentel spoke on “Women Upholding Human Dignity” at the United Nations. Previously, she was one of the leaders directing Casa Oscar Romero — a shelter for Central Americans fleeing their war-torn countries. The shelter provided emergency relief and temporary housing for a vast amount of refugees. Sr. Pimentel earned her bachelor’s in fine arts from Pan American University, a master’s in theology from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, and a master’s in counseling psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Elena Segura
Director of the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education
Archdiocese of Chicago

Elena Segura is a visionary leader of social ministries to the poor whom she has served in urban and rural communities for over 35 years. An immigrant herself from Peru, she is the founding director of the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education, which serves the Archdiocese of Chicago’s 353 parishes (including 120 Hispanic and 40 Polish). Ms. Segura’s office grew out of the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform in response to the call of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). She facilitated formation of pioneering networks such as the Priests for Justice for Immigrants (over 200 priests), Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants (59 religious orders), and Immigration Parish Coordinators (127 non-immigrant parishes). The immigrant leadership ministry (e.g., Pastoral Migratoria, Polish Immigrant-to-Immigrant Ministry) has formed and is empowering over 250 immigrant lay leaders in 45 Hispanic and six Polish parishes in the Chicago Archdiocese to respond to their baptismal call to engage in service and justice actions in their parish communities. Pastoral Migratoria is based in the methodology espoused by Pope Francis in Aparecida (developed by the Latin American Bishops while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires). Pastoral Migratoria has become a parish-based model for immigrant integration and is exploring a national expansion pilot in other dioceses and parishes.

Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz
Bishop of El Paso

On May 6, 2013, His Holiness Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop Mark J. Seitz, DD, of Dallas as the sixth bishop of El Paso.

Bishop Seitz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began his priestly formation in 1972 at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas on May 17, 1980. Bishop Seitz holds a bachelor’s in philosophy, a master’s in divinity and a master’s in theology from the University of Dallas. In 1985, he received a master’s in liturgical studies from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. In 2004, Pope John Paul II named him a Prelate of Honor with the title of monsignor. On March 11, 2010, Bishop Seitz was named auxiliary bishop of Dallas and took as his motto, “Paratum cor meum” – My heart is ready.

He has been an outspoken advocate for immigration reform and has testified before the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee about the crisis of unaccompanied children crossing the US-Mexico border.

Bishop Seitz serves on the Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as on the board of directors of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC).

Most Rev. José Guadalupe Torres Campos
Bishop of Ciudad Juárez

Most Reverend José Guadalupe Torres Campos was named the fourth bishop of Ciudad Juárez by His Holiness Pope Francis on December 20, 2014.

Bishop Torres Campos was born in León, Guanajuato. He completed his seminary studies at the Diocesan Seminary of León and was ordained a priest of the Diocese of León on June 12, 1965. Bishop Torres Campos continued his studies at the Pontifical Atheneum of Saint Anselm in Rome, Italy, specializing in sacred liturgy. He served as the rector of the Seminary of León from 1974 to 1979 and later as vice rector of the Pontifical Mexican College in Rome, Italy from 1981 to 1983, after which he returned to León to serve as a parish priest.

In 1988, Pope Saint John Paul II appointed him the bishop prelate of the Prelature of Madera, Chihuahua and in 1994 as the auxiliary bishop of Ciudad Juárez.

Bishop Torres Campos served as chairman of the Mexican Episcopal Conference’s Commission on Human Mobility from 2000 to 2006.  In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed his as a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.

 

Richard D. Wiles
Sheriff of El Paso County

Sheriff Richard D. Wiles was raised and educated in El Paso, graduating from Andress High School in 1979. He joined the El Paso Police Department in 1982 and rose quickly to leadership positions, serving as a patrol officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, deputy chief, assistant chief, interim chief of police, and was appointed chief of police in 2004. In December of 2007, Sheriff Wiles retired from the Police Department to run for El Paso County Sheriff and after being elected, took office in January of 2009.

He was named Andress High School’s Outstanding-Ex in 2004 and he attended the University of Texas at El Paso where he earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice in 1995. Sheriff Wiles graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy, the National Executive Institute, and the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. He has a master of science degree in criminal justice from Sul Ross State University in 2001, where he was also named Outstanding Criminal Justice Graduate Student.

Sheriff Wiles has taught at the El Paso Community College, Park University, and still instructs at the University of Texas at El Paso. He has extensive experience in the area of local law enforcement and immigration, as well as border security. As a result, Sheriff Wiles’ input is sought out at both the state and federal levels.