Advocate for Refugees with Refugee Council USA
From June 2 to 4, hundreds of refugees and advocates will descend on Capitol Hill for the Refugee Advocacy Days, an event organized by the Refugee Council USA. The advocates…
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
Protect Immigrant Families: Stop Mass Deportation
The mass deportation plans in the United States will separate families – the Center for Migration Studies estimated on May 1 that 3.8 percent of all U.S. citizen children (2.7…
Maryknoll OGC Joins Statement in Support of the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 800 other institutions in endorsing the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which would protect schools and houses of worship from deportation raids.
Ask Senate for Accountability on Migrants Sent to El Salvador
Ask your senators to support accountability for the treatment of migrants and inmates imprisoned in El Salvador, using the form below. Since March 15, when the Trump Administration sent 238…
Write to Congress for Religious Worker Visa Reform
We ask for your help in urging Congress to fix the broken Religious Worker Visa Program. An increasing number of foreign-born priests, brothers, and sisters in the United States—including Maryknoll…
Honor Pope Francis for Earth Day
Earth Day takes on special meaning this year, arriving as it does at the beginning of the Easter Season, and amid global mourning for Pope Francis. Choosing the name of…
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….
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…