MIGRATION UPDATE
CMS Migration Update is a weekly digest of news and other information related to national and international migration.  It is designed to educate faith leaders regarding vulnerable immigrant populations, developments in the immigration field, pastoral resources and the religious touchstones of diverse faith traditions on migrants and newcomers. It should not be relied upon to provide advice or counsel in immigration cases. The publication is provided by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), an educational institute/think-tank devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees and newcomers. CMS is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network, an international network of shelters, welcoming centers, and other ministries for migrants.
Thomas J. Shea
Editor
Rachel Reyes
Communications Coordinator
March 31, 2015

Jesuit Law Schools Address Immigration Flood

The National Law Journal (March 17, 2015)
 
To address the influx of families and unaccompanied children fleeing violence in Central America, 13 Jesuit Law Schools have formed a consortium with Jesuit Refugee Service/USA to write policy guidance on the legal procedures available to this vulnerable population.  The consortium will rely on the first-hand experience of their staff who work directly with the Central American refugees.  The article quotes Dean William Treanor of Georgetown University Law Center who states: “Our Jesuit identity is reflected in our commitment to this critical issue.”
 
To read more, visit http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202720836302/Jesuit-Law-Schools-Address-Immigration-Flood.
 

Violent Reality in Honduras Highlighted with Documentary Release on 35th Anniversary of Archbishop Oscar Romero’s Death 

"La Voz Del Pueblo" Documentary Short on Honduras (March 24, 2015)
America Media, Ignatian Solidarity Network, and the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
 
Produced from the perspective of journalists from Radio Progreso in Honduras, this 18-minute documentary interviews Hondurans coping with the current violent reality in the country.  Only a 2.5-hour flight from Houston, Honduras has the highest homicide rate in the world.  Over a seven-year period, murders in Honduras of women and girls have increased 346 percent and murders of men and boys have increased 292 percent.  The insecurity and violence comes not just from gangs and narco-traffickers but from the police and trans-national corporations. Staggering poverty and violence are major reasons why thousands of Honduran children have migrated to the United States in recent years .
 
To view the video, visit http://ignatiansolidarity.net/la-voz-del-pueblo/.
 
To read “La Voz del Pueblo Toolkit:  Addressing Human Rights in Honduras,” visit http://ignatiansolidarity.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/La-Voz-Del-Pueblo-Toolkit-3.24.15.pdf.

Appeals Court Sets April Hearing on Obama Immigration Action

ABC News (March 24, 2015)
 
The United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit scheduled a hearing on April 17th in Texas v. United States, which challenges the constitutionality of two of President Obama’s executive action programs, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).  The hearing will help to determine whether to lift the lower court’s preliminary injunction halting the implementation of the two programs.  The 26 states suing the Obama administration claim that they would suffer irreversible economic harm without the order.  The Obama administration argues that the preliminary injunction must be lifted because it is interfering with the ability of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to “protect the country and secure the borders.”
 
To read more, visit http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/appeals-court-sets-april-hearing-obama-immigration-action-29882249.

Syria and Iraq Conflicts See Asylum Seekers up by 45% - UNHCR

BBC News (March 26, 2015)
 
Last year (2014) saw a 45 percent increase over 2013 in the number of people seeking asylum in developed countries.  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the conflicts in Iraq and Syria drove this increase to the highest level in 22 years.  The 44 countries listed in the report received an estimated 866,000 new asylum claims, with Germany receiving the most at 173,000, followed by the United States, Turkey, Sweden, and Italy. These five countries received approximately 60 percent of all the asylum claims. UNHCR called upon European countries to open their doors and “respond as generously” as they did during the Balkan wars 22 years ago.  Notably, the report does not include the millions of Syrian refugees receiving protection in Jordan and Lebanon.
 
To read more, visit http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32066108.

Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran Bishops Visit Texas Detention Facility, Call for an End to Detention of Families

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) (March 27, 2015)
 
Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran Bishops recently visited families from Central America who are detained in the Dilley Detention Center in Texas.  These young mothers and their children fled violence in their home countries to seek protection in the United States.  Faith leaders also wrote to President Obama calling upon him to end family detention and to use humane alternatives to detention for families, such as community-based case management programs. The faith leaders noted that vulnerable populations should not be subjected to detention because it is harmful to their “physical, emotional, and mental well-being”.  They further argued that placing traumatized people in detention only “adds to their trauma and sense of insecurity.”  “The moral character of a society is judged by how it treats the most vulnerable in our midst,” stated  Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S. of San Antonio, Texas.  Referring to the biblical directive to “welcome the stranger,” the faith leaders told the President that their communities were ready and willing to assist these families. 
 
To read the letter to President Obama, visit http://lirs.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/FaithLeaderLetteronDetention_150326.pdf.
 
To read the USCCB press release on the faith leaders’ visit to the Dilley Detention Center, visit http://www.usccb.org/news/2015/15-050.cfm.

If you are a migrant or pastoral worker and wish to submit an article or reflection to the CMS Migration Update, please email Tom Shea at tshea@cmsny.org

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