18 Texas Faith Leaders Sign Letter Calling on Texas to "Legislate With Love"

During Texas House of Representatives’ State Affairs Committee hearing last week, Texas Impact presented a letter signed by 18 Texas bishops and other denominational leaders, including the Rt. Rev. David Reed, Bishop of the Diocese of West Texas, and the. Rt. Rev. Rayford High, Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of West Texas. The open letter called on legislators to “lead and legislate with love” by opposing several immigration-related bills filed in the House. Texas Impact is an interfaith nonprofit organization, bringing together Texans to advocate on behalf of the common good. Click the link below to read more.

A Dream Uncaged: Part One

Jessica was 14 when she and her family fled Nicaragua separately. In the days leading to their departure, Jessica's father received a number of death threats for opposing the ruling party of the Nicaraguan government. "You must keep running toward the U.S. border agents no matter what," her mother said. "Do not stop running if you see that we have been caught." A long, dangerous journey to the United States ensued. After several days in Customs and Border Protection custody, an officer told Jessica and her family they'd be expelled into Mexico. To continue reading Jessica's first-hand experience, shared as part of a storytelling project by Catholic Legal Immigration Network, click the link below.

"President Joe Biden’s decision to lift the public health emergency for COVID-19 on May 11... may also mean the end for a controversial border policy that has been tied up in the nation’s highest court," begins an article from NBC News. "Policymakers of both parties as well as Department of Homeland Security officials have widely predicted a large increase in the number of migrants crossing the border when the policy lifts, adding to the already record high of border encounters seen in the past year.”

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"Several bills that would create an exceptionally harsh system of deterrence and punishment for immigrants and asylum seekers in need of protection are being considered by the Texas state legislature," writes TAHIRIH Justice Center. "If passed, [House Bill 20] and [House Bill 7] would lead to criminalization, imprisonment, or expulsion back to dangerous conditions that survivors of violence originally fled when coming to the U.S. seeking safety."

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"A Mexican court issued arrest orders Thursday for six people in relation to the fire that killed 39 migrants at a detention facility this week in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, according to the federal prosecutor leading the investigation. Sara Irene Herrerías said they include three officials from the National Immigration Institute, two private security guards contracted by the agency and the detained migrant accused of starting the fire. She said five of the six had already been arrested and would face charges of homicide and causing injuries."

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In a keynote lecture at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA, the secretary general of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo, said "that western cultural and governmental contexts are often responsible for the root cause of global migration, and this followed by hostility to migrants when they arrive in those countries." Poggo continued, “When we participate in the work of God, we can expect even more opposition. What if we played our part in advocating for action on climate change, campaigning against war. Even our own individual contribution is important in not exacerbating the root causes of forced migration.” 

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Join Georgetown University for "Human Dignity and the Migration Crisis at the U.S. Southern Border," on Monday, April 24 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. CDT. The humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border has reached an unprecedented level of urgency. This livestreamed gathering will examine the costs of a broken immigration policy and what obstacles and opportunities exist to build a new approach that upholds human dignity and advances the common good. 

Click here to learn more or register.

Join the Global Detention Project on April 25 at 3:00 p.m. CDT for the fourth in its series exploring how organizations can effectively promote the rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in immigration detention. In this webinar four global experts on human trafficking will share how the principle of non-punishment can be used to protect victims of trafficking who are detained for migration-related offenses.

Click here to learn more and register.