Pastoral Work

Pastoral Migratoria

Pastoral Migratoria – Developing and Strengthening Immigrant Leadership One Parish At the Time

CMSONAIR | Bishop Mark J. Seitz on “Night Will Be No More” and What It Means to Be a Border City

This 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.

Migrant Children and Blessings at The Casa

In early 2019 life at the Casa changed dramatically when men started arriving with children. “We were being invited to become more welcoming to an entirely new population,” writes Fr. Pat Murphy, c.s. in this blog. “I am amazed at how rapidly things can change in the world of migration and how rapidly we are invited to adapt in helping the migrants we are called to serve. The good news is that I believe we have adapted well to serving our new population at the Casa.”

Reflections from the Border: The Elephant in the Room

In reflecting on all that has been happening at the US-Mexico border over the last 10 months, it occurs to me that there is an elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge. While unpopular to say, it’s...

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....

CMSOnAir | Joanna Williams on the Kino Border Initiative

This episode of CMSOnAir features an interview with Joanna Williams, director of education and advocacy for the Kino Border Initiative (KBI). KBI is a bi-national organization based in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico that works to “affirm the dignity of the human person and a spirit of bi-national solidarity.” In this episode, Williams details KBI’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid, education, and advocacy to deportees from the United States, migrants who have crossed the border without authorization, and Central American asylum-seekers. She recounts the impact of various changes by the Trump administration on KBI’s work and migrant communities, including the elimination of prosecutorial discretion and the implementation of policies (such as the Migrant Protection Protocols/Remain in Mexico policy) that force asylum seekers to wait in Mexico. Williams also discusses the recent report, “Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences,” co-authored with CMS and the Jesuit Conference’s Office of Justice and Ecology. The study examines the characteristics of deportees and the effects of deportation, and places the findings in a broader policy context.

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.

Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences

This paper examines the characteristics of deportees from the United States and the effects of deportation on deportees, their families, and their communities. It analyzes the findings from 133 interviews with deportees at a migrant shelter in Sonora, Mexico and interviews with family members of deportees and others affected by deportation in three Catholic parishes in the United States. These findings include: 1) the deportees had established long and deep ties in the United States, including strong economic and family ties, 2) deportation severed these ties and impoverished and divided affected families, 3) most deportees planned to return to the United States, and 4) the US deportation system treated deportees as criminals and the Trump administration sought to instill fear in immigrant communities. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to mitigate the ill effects of the administration’s policies and promote the integrity of families and communities, including: using detention as a “last resort”; reducing funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and limiting collaboration between police and ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

2018 Whole-of-Community Conference | Opening Remarks

In July 2018, scholars, researchers, community organizers, service providers, local officials, leaders of faith communities, immigrant advocates, and others gathered together for a three-day event on how diverse groups in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana are working together to meet...

Reflections from the Border: Violence, Caravans, Troops at the Border, and Hope

The last couple of months of 2018 are shaping up to be some very interesting times in Tijuana. Several converging themes lead me to paraphrase the great Charles Dickens: “These are the best of times and these are the worst...