The longtime U.S. maltreatment of refugees and asylum seekers cannot be waved away by a new president.
Refugees
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vantage Point
From 1993: The Flight to and from Thika
In this 1993 piece, James Martin reflects on the realities of refugees he met in Thika, Kenya.
Posted inFaith, Vantage Point
From 1996: James Martin, SJ, on the stories of East African refugees
From 1996: After two years of work in East Africa, it’s not my own experiences that I remember most vividly—it’s the stories I heard from refugees.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Local priest: The Canary Islands are ‘turning into a prison’ for migrants
So far this year, over 16,760 migrants have survived clandestine voyages from Africa’s west coast to Spain’s Canary Islands, more than 5,500 arriving over just the last two weeks.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
The Trump administration wrecked refugee resettlement. Can Biden build it back?
Catholic Charities U.S.A. spent decades building a domestic network to assist the social integration of incoming refugees. Three years of declining numbers and obliterated budgets took a sledgehammer to all that.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Joe Biden and Dr. Fauci praise the work of Jesuit Refugee Service
In a virtual event for J.R.S., Biden promised to increase the number of refugees resettled in the United States, and Dr. Fauci said the pandemic shouldn’t stop resettlement efforts.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Short Take
Trump’s rhetoric is at odds with Pope Francis’ call to recognize the humanity of refugees
The Trump administration has lowered refugee admissions to an all-time low. Giulia McPherson of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA explains why this is both inhumane and shortsighted.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Bishops and advocates denounce Trump administration’s historic low refugee cap
The administration announced it would bring the refugee cap—the maximum number of displaced people the country decides to resettle in a federal fiscal year—to a historic low: 15,000.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy has thousands of asylum seekers still stuck at the border
“Asylum on the border is pretty much impossible,” a legal advocate with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, said. “Covid is being used as an excuse to close the border.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo visits Catholic-run refugee center in Brazil
Pompeo visited sites aiding the Venezuelans in northern-most Roraima state, where many refugees have landed. Since 2015, more than 260,000 Venezuelans have crossed the border into Brazil.