Catholic groups are among state social service agencies, attorneys and others working to provide legal services, medical care, clothes, food and shelter for 48 migrants sent to Martha's Vineyard with no advance warning.
During a challenging time for immigrant advocates in the U.S., they have found resources for collaboration thanks to initiatives of Catholic Legal Immigration Network's outgoing executive director, admirers say.
An interim final rule from the departments of Homeland Security and Justice and a presidential proclamation bar migrants who cross the border between ports of entry from applying for asylum.
The court-ordered July 26 deadline to reunite families separated at the border has passed, but more than 400 children remain thousands of miles apart from their parents.
Homeland Security secretary grants an 18-month extension of temporary protected status for about 1,250 immigrants from the war-torn country, but more recent arrivals are excluded.
The Field Hospital: Canadian couple volunteers at prison together; Catholic laughs raise money for homeless; first US-born Hmong-American priest; immigration talk at CLINIC gathering.
With proposed policy changes, says one immigrant advocate, "We're asking parents to make a choice between food, health care, and maybe being able to stay here permanently in this country."
Saying the Trump administration's decisions are based more on anti-immigrant ideology than on facts, immigrant advocates continue to work for legislative protections and offer legal aid.
Parish Diary: Why does the church get involved with work like Immigration Legal Services? Being Catholic means our concern is truly catholic. It does not stop at the border.
