Immigration and Migration

A federal judge declared unlawful a revised version of a program that offers protection from deportation to certain immigrants brought to the country as children. The program has been in place for more than a decade and has nearly 600,000 recipients.

A New Orleans-based federal appeals court has issued an order allowing buoys installed by Texas to deter migrants from crossing the Rio Grande to stay in place for now.

The Justice Department on July 24 sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over a floating barrier recently installed on the Rio Grande, part of the Republican governor’s latest attempts to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico as part of his “Operation Lone Star” program.

The coalition, known as CHIRLA — along with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Central American Resource Center, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, city and county officials — had been meeting since 2022 to prepare for these exact scenarios.

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.