Resources for March-April 2015 NewsNotes
Resources on International Women’s Day, World Water Day, Earth Day, the crisis at the border, and more …
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
Central America: Biden Plan is more of the same
The following article was written by Marek Cabrera, the Central America intern for the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, and was published in the March-April 2015 NewsNotes.
Say no to anti-migrant HR 1148
The House Judiciary Committee will be considering the Michael Davis Jr., in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act (HR 1148), a very negative bill that would harm our communities and congregations.
Support the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act of 2015
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns endorses the recently introduced End Modern Slavery Initiative Act, sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).
Immigration reform: Your Lenten promise
Justice for Immigrants’ Lenten toolkit contains weekly resources to accompany you through your Lenten journey.
Protect Haitian migrants in Dominican Republic
On January 27, 51 people, including 30 Dominican-born children, some of their mothers and 14 other adults were deported without due process to Haiti from the Dominican Republic. More mass deportations of Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitian migrants are feared.
2014 vigil at SOA, Stewart Detention Center
On November 21-23, over 2,000 people gathered at the gates of Ft. Benning in Columbus, GA to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murders of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter at the Universidad Centroamericana (University of Central America, UCA) in El Salvador. Those responsible for the massacre were military leaders who had trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA), located at Ft. Benning; the program has been re-named the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC).
No longer slaves, but brothers and sisters
Pope Francis’ address for the World Day of Peace, January 1, 2015 was a strong condemnation of the various systems of slavery that deny our shared humanity.
Call Congress this week; urge just, humane immigration reform
Take action and call Congress during National Migration Week, Jan. 4-10, 2015.
National Migration Week 2015
National Migration Week is celebrated each year by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“No longer slaves, but brothers and sisters”: Pope Francis’ 2015 World Day of Peace statement
Pope Francis gives a strong statement condemning modern-day slavery in his 2015 World Day of Peace message.
Baptism of our Lord
Fr. John Sivalon, MM, who served in Tanzania, wrote the following reflection. It is also published in A Maryknoll Liturgical Year: Reflections on the Readings for Year B, available from Orbis Books.
National call in days to protect families from deportation, Dec. 9-12
Another round of call in days will be held this week, Dec. 9-12, to urge Congress to protect families from deportation.
Maryknoll responds to Obama’s decision to defer deportation for millions
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns congratulates President Obama for his Nov. 20 announcement to take executive action to provide protection from deportation for possibly five million undocumented persons.
Contact the White House and urge broader relief for undocumented immigrants
Immigrant rights groups and faith communities across the country have been urging the administration to take bold, concrete actions to stop the pain that families and communities face due to deportations.
Congress must address factors driving migration
The following is an excerpt from a letter sent in October to Congressional leaders as they work on the Fiscal Year 2015 State and Foreign Operations bills; it was signed by 52 faith-based, humanitarian, labor, and human rights organizations including the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (MOGC).
Time for a new sanctuary movement
That there is an immigration crisis in this country with great humanitarian concerns is widely acknowledged; the question remains how to address this complicated legal, political and community issue.
U.S. funds create “21st century border”
According to a report crafted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Jesuit Conference of the United States, the recent drop in the number of migrants from Central America trying to enter the U.S. through the southern border can be attributed to the policies being implemented by the Mexican and Central American governments at the behest of, and with funding from, the U.S. government.