Take Action for Haiti and Haitian Immigrants
Write to your members of Congress on behalf of Haitian immigrants. Nine months into the U.S.-backed, Kenyan-staffed police mission to restore peace and order to Haiti, the mission is floundering….
Migration
Maryknoll missioners have worked with migrants and people on the move for decades. They have served Burmese refugees in Thailand, Filipino and Thai workers all over Asia, Burundian and Rwandan refugees in East Africa, and have accompanied Guatemalans, who, after years in Mexico, returned home to start anew in a more peaceful country. Our faith compels us to stand in solidarity with migrants.
In the United States, we are profoundly affected by the contribution of migrants in our society, and we have a responsibility to treat them, like all the rest of God’s creation, with dignity and respect. Maryknoll missioners work in ministries serving migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. In our work on U.S. migration policy, we focus on access to asylum and humanitarian protection, refugee aid and resettlement, and access to citizenship.
Maryknoll Joint Leadership Statements on Migration: Toward Global Solidarity (2006) and Statement on the Migrant Caravan (2018)
Policy Brief: Justice for Immigrants and Refugees in U.S. Policy
Tell Congress: Hold the Administration Accountable on Immigration
March 17 marked the 45th anniversary of the Refugee Act, the law which established the right of migrants to seek asylum in the United States. It was a somber milestone…
Maryknoll OGC Speaks Out Against Invocation of Alien Enemies Act of 1798
President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 the weekend of March 15 and sent over 200 Venezuelan migrants to prison in El Salvador, despite a court order against it. The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns response to the concerning series of events is below.
Maryknoll OGC Joins Interfaith Letter to Congress on Sanctuary Cities
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined an interfaith letter in support of jurisdictions that support and protect immigrants. The letter was sent to members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ahead of hearings on sanctuary jurisdictions. It requests that Congress oppose policies that strip critical funding from communities through sweeping measures like H.R. 32, the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, which would indiscriminately cut off health, education, and infrastructure funds for everyone in a respective state or locality, including citizens.
Foreign Aid Cuts Leave Afghan Refugees Adrift
Two State Department programs that helped Afghans refugees were halted when the new administration froze foreign aid. Now they are terminated.
Justice for Immigrants Says, “Protect the Persecuted!”
Our friends at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops prepared the following action to urging the protection of refugees.
Letter from Pope Francis and Reply from U.S. Catholic Bishops
Pope Francis took the unusual step of publishing an open letter to the Catholic Bishops of the United States to thank them for their work for migrants and refugees and urge their steadfastness in their defense of the dignity in the face of political pressure and initiation of a program of mass deportation. The letter and the response from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ President that came the day after, are below.
African Migrant Laborers Need Jubilee
Burdensome public debt in the continent has induced African youth to migrate for employment driving greater risks of exploitation and modern slavery.
Maryknoll OGC Joins Letter to Secretary of State Rubio urging Reinstatement of Foreign Aid
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined a letter with faith-based groups to newly-appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to request that he restore foreign aid programs, reopen critical refugee resettlement programs, and fully reinstate USAID. Read this letter as a PDF. February 14, 2025 Dear Secretary Rubio, Congratulations on your confirmation as Secretary of State. This…
Maryknoll OGC Joins Letter to Trump Administration Urging Renewal of Refugee Resettlement
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 1,051 faith leaderss and 176 organizations in writing to the Trump Administration asking for the resumption of refugee resettlement, restoration of humanitarian assistance, and assurance that the faith community can take care of newcomers according to their traditions. Read the letter as a PDF. February 13, 2025 Dear President…
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Responds to Trump Day One Executive Orders
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan. 21, 2025 WASHINGTON, DC – In response to the executive orders signed by President Trump on the first day of his second term, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns offered the following statement from its director, Susan Gunn. “The executive orders signed by President Trump make us ask how will the…
Defend Justice for Immigrants
Jan. 13, 2025 With less than one week until the start of a new Trump presidency on Jan. 20, we are preparing to respond to major changes in policies that…
USCCB Statement of Solidarity with Immigrants
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, USCCB president, Bishop Mark Seitz, chair of the Committee on Migration, and Bishop Jaime Soto, chair of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., issued a statement of pastoral concern on November 14, 2024. The following article was published in the January – February 2025 issue of NewsNotes. Compelled by the Gospel of Jesus…
Immigration Concerns Under Trump Administration
President-elect Trump has promised sweeping changes to immigration policy under his new administration starting on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025. The following article was published in the January – February 2025 issue of NewsNotes. Some of the second Trump Administration’s proposed immigration policies risk severe consequences, including the separation of families and the emotional and…
Fourth Sunday of Advent
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” LUKE 1:43 Sometimes an encounter with a person fills me with wonder and gratitude and opens my heart to a long-lasting friendship. It…
Third Sunday of Advent
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. God indeed is my salvation; I am confident and unafraid. ISAIAH 12:2 What should we do? A people “filled with expectation” pose this question to John the Baptist. How often do our own hearts burn with the same question? Look…
Second Sunday of Advent
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight God’s paths… Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one crying out in the desert… What is the prophet Isaiah trying to say to his…
First Sunday in Advent
This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads, because your redemption is at hand. LUKE 21:28 The first scripture readings for the Season of Advent tell of difficult times ahead. In the gospel reading from…