Sometimes you find yourself in a situation that turns into a more significant moment than you ever expected. Sr. Nancy Sylvester recalls her exchange with the vice president at a town hall, and what happened next.
A U.S. policy change easing R-1 visa restrictions offers modest relief for foreign-born religious workers, but advocates say ongoing immigration hurdles continue to disrupt ministries and the communities they serve.
On Ash Wednesday, three religious crossed into the ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, the first time in months that Catholic leaders had been allowed inside to administer sacraments to detainees.
Religious men and women in the borderland region accompany migrants on a daily basis in the federal courthouses and in immigration detention centers, seeking to provide solace, comfort and support.
More than 2,000 faithful gathered to pray outside the Broadview ICE Detention Center Nov. 1, but the group's main request — to bring Communion to detainees — was rejected by federal immigration officials.
A coalition of Catholic organizations held prayer vigils across the country on Oct. 22 for what organizers called "a national day of public witness for our immigrant brothers and sisters."
"We are witnessing a comprehensive governmental assault designed to produce fear and terror among millions of men and women," Washington Cardinal Robert McElroy said in a Sept. 28 homily.
"Everyone is susceptible to being detained," said Scalbrinian Sr. Leticia Gutiérrez Valderrama, who accompanies migrant families in the El Paso court system.
