The workshop "Neighboring the Dear Neighbor," planned and sponsored by Sr. Christine Schenk's own Congregation of St. Joseph in Cleveland, brought together groups serving migrants to share how anyone can help.
A U.S. policy change easing R-1 visa restrictions offers modest relief for foreign-born religious workers, but advocates say ongoing immigration hurdles continue to disrupt ministries and the communities they serve.
Sinsinawa Dominicans are bringing food to immigrants, providing legal aid, giving rides to Latino teachers afraid to go to work, and helping pay bills for those staying in their homes for fear of arrest and deportation.
The border is not a "happy place" to be these days, nor is any migrant community in the U.S. Our reality is complex, and happiness is not the same as hope.
As U.S. agencies send clear messages about who is welcomed and who is not, St. Joseph Sr. Kari Pohl has created the migration mysteries: a rosary rooted in Jesus' own story of migration.
More than 2,000 faithful gathered to pray outside the Broadview ICE Detention Center Nov. 1, but the group's main request — to bring Communion to detainees — was rejected by federal immigration officials.
A coalition of Catholic organizations held prayer vigils across the country on Oct. 22 for what organizers called "a national day of public witness for our immigrant brothers and sisters."
The R-1 Visa program, which allows foreign religious workers into the United States, is seeing changes, say Catholic Legal Immigration Network officials.
