Speeches
CMS publishes speeches, talks and other presentations in order to provide a platform for scholars, policymakers, civil society leaders and migrants to share their ideas, findings and personal reflections. CMS speeches enliven the study and analysis of international migration through the lens of multiple disciplines, competencies and actors.
Speeches
Donald Kerwin
Intervention from the Floor by Donald Kerwin at the IMRF Multi-stakeholder Hearing
Donald Kerwin spoke about CMS’s Democratizing Data initiative at the 2022 International Migration Review Forum, which addresses the GCM’s Objective 1 to produce “accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies.”
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Silas W. Allard
Christianity and the Law of Migration: A Dialogue in Social Responsibility
On December 7, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) hosted the 2021 Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Lecture on International Migration. Silas W. Allard delivered the lecture, “Christianity and the Law of Migration: A Dialogue in Social Responsibility.” The event also featured responses from Kristin Heyer and Raj Nadella – co-editors with Allard – of the new book Christianity and the Law of Migration (Routledge 2021).
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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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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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Most Rev. John Stowe, OFM Conv.
Address by Most Rev. John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop of Lexington
The Most Reverend John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop of Lexington, addressed the CMS conference "Promoting Just and Inclusive Communities in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana: A “Whole of Community” Approach to Immigrants and Refugees" in Cincinnati, Ohio from July 16-18, 2018. Bp. Stowe addressed the cruel enforcement actions against immigrants and refugees, the need for comprehensive immigration reform, and the work of local and regional groups to protect and care for the vulnerable populations impacted by harsh government policies....
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.”...
Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ
Migrants and Refugees in Pope Francis’s Transformative Vision of Church and Society
The 2016 Father Lydio F. Tomasi, c.s. Annual Lecture delivered by Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ, Distinguished Scholar in Pastoral Theology and Latino Studies and Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, on November 28, 2016 at the fourth national gathering of the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative in San Diego, California....
Robert W. McElroy
Remarks by Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy, Bishop of San Diego
Remarks by Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy, Bishop of San Diego, on November 28, 2016 at the fourth national gathering of the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative in San Diego, California....
Kevin Casas-Zamora
The Roots of Central America’s Exodus
Kevin Casas-Zamora, Senior Fellow and Program Director at The Inter-American Dialogue, delivered this address at the DACOR Bacon House Foundation 2016 Annual Conference “The Challenges of Contemporary Mass Migration.” In his speech, Casas-Zamora discusses the structural problems affecting the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador causing emigration, particularly by children and family units....
Meditation for Prayer Service Led by Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, Florida
Shelly Pitterman
“Empathy and a Sense of Responsibility Motivate Communities Around the World to Help Refugees”
We’re about to commemorate another World Refugee Day. While we all hope for peace, millions languish and remain on the move: 263,000 Burundi refugees, 987,000 refugees and IDPs [internally displaced persons] fleeing violence in Central African Republic, and then more than twice as many from the Democratic Republic of the......
C. Mario Russell
Due Process for Immigrant Children and Families: More Than Legal Representation
The due process clause is one of America’s great inspirations, one of its better angels. Indeed, the clause’s birth in 1868 — over presidential veto by Andrew Johnson and conjoined with the equal protection and birthright citizenship provisions — firmly rooted it at the center of the American legal experience......
Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Ph.D., D.D.
Advancing Immigrant Integration, Well-Being and Empowerment
Allow me first to thank the co-organizers of this important event – the National Partnership for New Americans and the New York Immigration Coalition – for bringing us together and for their important work on these issues over so many years. Thanks as well to the event’s executive committee, to its sponsors......
David A. Martin
Immigration’s Enigma Principle: Protection and Paradox
I’m going to talk today more about prudence than about law. In part is this because I am discouraged about the current refugee situation – not despairing, but leaning pessimistic, which is uncharacteristic for me. The world is more dangerous, governance structures are weakening, conflict is more widespread and vicious,......
Hosffman Ospino
Immigration and Communion: Building American Catholicism in the 21st Century
The 2015 Father Lydio F. Tomasi, c.s. Annual Lecture delivered by Hosffman Ospino, Ph D, Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College, on October 1, 2015 at the third national gathering of the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative in El Paso, Texas....
Elizabeth Ferris
On Climate Change, Migration and Policy
I want to highlight the difficulties with understanding mobility in the context of climate change:
First, how can we responsibly deal with the multi-causal nature of population movements? Can we even talk of “climate change-induced displacement or migration?” We know that decisions to move are rarely mono-causal and that the line between “voluntary” and “forced” is often quite blurry.
Secondly, there is no consensus in our field about the appropriate terms to use about the people we are talking about.
Thirdly, there is the difficulty of how to situate those who move because of the effects of climate change in the broader context of population movements undertaken for other reasons. The fundamental question is: Should people displaced by the effects of climate change receive preferential treatment compared to those displaced by volcanoes or tsunamis, in comparison with those forced to leave their communities because of wars or grinding poverty?
A fourth difficulty in the policy realm is that we really don’t know how many people we are talking about.
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Donald Kerwin
International Migration, Human Dignity, and the Challenge of Sovereignty
Address delivered at the 5th International Forum on Migration and Peace in Berlin, Germany....
Donald Kerwin
Mainstreaming Migration: The Merits and Potential of the Migration and Development Framework
Donald Kerwin, Executive Director for the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), delivered this address at a joint conference entitled, "Mainstreaming Migration into Development Planning: Assessing the Evidence, Continuing the Dialogue," co-hosted by CMS and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). ...