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Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Spanish-speaking Catholics participate in a Way of the Cross outside Sacred Heart of Jesus-Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in Highlandtown. (Courtesy Archdiocese of Baltimore)

Archdiocese of Baltimore responds to growing immigration enforcement


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Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Hispanic Ministry, Immigration and Migration, Local News, News

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With the rise of more rigorous federal immigration enforcement in the city, the Archdiocese of Baltimore is encountering immigrant parishioners across all its parishes facing precarious situations. Families are abruptly losing loved ones and their lives become especially difficult when a parent or primary breadwinner is deported. They are left without the funds or resources for immediate needs such as rent and utilities or legal consultation.

“We were getting many calls almost weekly from parishioners,” said Lia Garcia, Director of the archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry. “We were getting requests from people whose husbands have been taken by ICE, people who were looking for legal aid relief, just all sorts of situations. We were getting requests from pastors who heard of a parishioner who had been affected, detained or deported.”

In response to the struggles parishioners are facing, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has established the Immigration Task Force. Garcia is spearheading the initiative alongside Redemptorist Father Ako Walker, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus-Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in Highlandtown. Father Walker is also vicar for Hispanic Catholics and co-chair of the Immigration Task Force.

While important efforts are already underway through parish outreach, Catholic Charities programs and legal services, the task force is intended to strengthen and coordinate those initiatives. The goal is to build a more unified and organized support network for individuals and families affected by deportation. 

“We were certainly having discussions with the archbishop,” Father Walker said. “He agreed that we needed to form this task force to include a broader spectrum of talent within the archdiocese so that we put all our talents together to deal with the multiplicity of complex issues that we face.”

The task force is made up of 25 individuals, including representatives from Catholic schools, several pastors and directors from various departments of the archdiocese. The group meets monthly to assess current needs and develop future plans.

Identifying gaps in preexisting pastoral care, legal assistance and community support is a primary focus of the Immigrant Task Force. Filling those gaps and expanding on these services is essential for identifying what struggling families actually need.

Legal aid has especially become a growing concern as many families can’t afford legal fees after a primary breadwinner is deported. The task force works to provide not just finances for legal consultation, but also real legal support that actually benefits them.

“There are fraudsters and scammers out there pretending to be Catholic charity attorneys,” said Becca Swaintek-Green, an attorney and volunteer with St. Ignatius, a Jesuit parish in Baltimore, who is working to provide legal aid to immigrant parishioners. “We just put together a one-pager on how to check that your attorney is real because that’s where we’re at right now.”

Swaintek-Green said the task force is developing an emergency planning clinic.

“We’re trying to provide free consults to immigrants so they can go over their situation,” she said.

The Immigration Task Force also emphasizes coordination among Catholic entities and its partners, creating a more unified approach to the ongoing deportation concerns. It strives to develop a clear set of priorities and actionable steps to address this issue. This unified structure is so important to support impacted families.

The creation of the task force is similar to the You Are Not Alone Initiative, a nationwide immigrant support program through the Catholic Church. It encourages dioceses across the country to strengthen and coordinate their efforts in providing assistance and advocacy for immigrants and refugees.

It also resembles the emergency task force established during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the group would meet frequently to determine how it could help families and parishes within the archdiocese. The pandemic actually spawned Archbishop William E. Lori’s mental health initiative, which has continued since 2020 and plays a crucial role in the plans of the Immigration Task Force.

“It’s not easy for the community, what some immigrants are facing right now,” said Dinorah Sherman, a lead volunteer from St. John the Evangelist in Columbia who also works with other parishes to implement social ministries. “People are depressed about what is happening. They don’t know how to handle their emotions, their frustration about being here for a long time and now what’s going to happen if they have to go back. There are so many things happening right now with mental and emotional health. We also need to encourage other parishes. That’s what I’m doing as well, trying to educate.”

Mental health awareness is crucial during crises like this. Providing resources and support for families facing mental health issues is a top priority of the Immigration Task Force.

“We are just getting started,” said Yvonne Wegner, director of Community Affairs in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, who has been leading the subcommittee on mental health since 2021. “We’re looking to plan a retreat for late summer or late fall that would offer Spanish-speaking Catholics the opportunity to come together and hear from mental health practitioners. We would like to include a resource fair at the retreat where people can get additional information. We are also looking to develop a resource guide that pastors and parish teams can have on hand.”

As of now, the task force plans to follow the work it has laid out and continue monitoring what’s happening in the state of Maryland with regard to immigration laws. The task force is also looking ahead to explore future ways to advocate and support parishioners facing deportation.

“One of the things we’re looking at is finding a way to highlight the World Day of Migrants and Refugees that’s coming up in September,” Father Walker said. “That’s one of the things we want to capitalize on to spread the message about how immigrants contribute to society.”

In addition to establishing the task force, the archdiocese has developed the Immigrant Family Emergency Assistance Fund designed to further assist families facing immigration-related crises. The Office of Hispanic Ministry proposed the $30,000 fund because pastors often lack the resources to provide immediate support to impacted parishioners.

The core purpose of the fund is to offer short-term financial assistance to families whose primary income earner has been detained or deported. That might include partial subsidies for legal consultation, temporary funding for rent or housing costs, coverage of necessary utilities and any other urgent fundamental needs discussed with the pastor. The goal is to stabilize families immediately following a crisis, not to fully cover expenses.

“We know we don’t have that much money, and we know that it’s going to run out fast,” Garcia said. “But if we can help one family then we’ll feel happy about that.”

To ensure the funds are allocated properly, requests must be submitted by a pastor or another authorized representative in the parish. Also, aid is only eligible for those who have lost the family’s provider and will not be available for those convicted of a felony or facing serious criminal allegations.

The Office of Hispanic Ministry will collaborate with the Department of Management Services to oversee and administer the fund. The hope is the funding will continue to grow externally through volunteers in the community looking to help.

“We’ve also heard people who call the office saying they want to help the immigrant community,” Garcia said. “People who are offering their services, but also offering their financial support.”

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