Migration and Immigration

The Jesuits have made a longstanding commitment to serve and walk with migrants throughout their journeys. This commitment means that we advocate for comprehensive and humane immigration reform that honors the inherent dignity of each and every migrant. In our advocacy, we support decreasing spending on detention and deportation, strengthening due process, accountability, and transparency in our immigration enforcement system, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, passage of the Dream Act, and expedited family reunification.

Pathway to Citizenship

There are an estimated eleven million undocumented immigrants living in the United States today. Eleven million people who are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers; in other words, real people with real lives and roots in our country.

The increased use of detention and deportation in recent years has had profound effects on the families and communities we serve, and we are concerned that mass deportation is a flawed response that lacks compassion. Instead, we seek comprehensive reform of our immigration system, including a pathway to citizenship.

Our country has a special responsibility to welcome those migrants who came to this country as children. The Dream Act would allow for a path to becoming a U.S. citizen for individuals who came to this country as a child and who serve in our military or complete college degrees. Young people are our nation’s future; immigrant youth who have been raised in our country and only lack citizenship should not be punished for decisions their parents made.

Humane Enforcement

In FY 2016, the United States deported more than 240,000 migrants, or a little more than 650 people a day. The way deportations are often conducted places migrants in unnecessary danger. For instance, many migrants are separated from their travel companions, or released to dangerous border communities in Mexico without consulting with Mexican migration authorities.

As government spending on securing the border has rapidly increased over the past decade, little has been done to address the humanitarian and civil rights crisis at our border. Countless immigrants are denied their fair day in court and are given prison sentences for immigration offenses, which were previously civil offenses, through programs like Operation Streamline.

The Jesuit Response

Many Jesuit high schools, universities, and parishes in the United States were founded to serve immigrants. The Jesuits in the United States have continued this longstanding commitment to serving migrants in a variety of ways. The Kino Border Initiative, a bi-national migrant ministry, serves deported migrants in Mexico and educates and advocates on behalf of migrants and humane enforcement policies in the United States. Loyola University Chicago was the first university in the United States to accept DREAM students into its medical school. The Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University New Orleans does research, advocacy, and community education on migration issues in the Gulf South. The Jesuits also operate a number of parishes that serve immigrants, like Dolores Mission in Los Angeles and Sacred Heart Parish in Richmond, Virginia.

The Office of Justice and Ecology, alongside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, upholds a vision for comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship. We also advocate for compassionate and humane immigration policies that honor the human dignity of migrants within the U.S. and at its borders. Since a holistic approach to immigration reform must include programs and policies to address the reasons people migrate, we also support our Jesuit partners in Central America, advocating for smarter U.S. policies in the region.

Reports, Statements, and Sign-On’s

• Know Before You Go: Jesuit Collaborators Offer Migration Training in Honduras
• Letter from the Jesuit Conference President on the Trump Administration’s Rescission of DACA
• Report available “Documented Failures: the Consequences of Immigration Policy on the U.S.-Mexico Border.” Download the full report here. Download a summary of the report here.
• Report: Our Values on the Line
• Report: Intake Without Oversight: Firsthand Experiences with the Customs and Border Protection Complaints Process
• Jesuit Conference President’s Letter to Speaker Boehner on Child Immigrants
• Jesuit Sign-On in Support of Immigration Reform
• Jesuit Conference and JRS/USA Infographic on Unsafe Deportations

Resources

• Voice your support for comprehensive immigration reform. Contact your elected official, and remind them of the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
• Justice for Immigrants campaign