Immigration and Migration

Violence and conflict leave people’s homes uninhabitable and force them to flee, said experts while discussing the root causes of migration.

To minister to those whose lives have been forever changed by displacement, faith organizations need to collaborate, make connections and advocate for lasting solutions, said a panel of experts at a multifaith event for World Refugee Day.

The changes have reduced the number of illegal border crossings by around 50 percent, according to the Department of Homeland Security. But they’re also putting pressure on shelters in Mexico, where thousands of migrants like Lucena are stranded, as they try to schedule appointments on the government’s app.

Ricardo E. Gonzalez Zayas was one of over 14,000 Cuban children who were part of “Operation Pedro Pan” — a secret, mass exodus to the U.S. via air between 1960-1962 from the newly created communist nation located just 90 miles from our Florida coast.

As Title 42 drew to its scheduled close May 11, Catholic immigration advocates called for public policy on immigration that recognizes the humanity of migrants and asylum-seekers.

Catholics working with migrants welcomed the end of Title 42, saying it had prevented many migrants from applying for asylum and, in many cases, forced people back to dangerous Mexican border towns where they were extorted and kidnapped by police and drug cartels. But they also expressed misgivings about what might replace it.