The Congregation of St. Joseph joins the U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph in calling for the protection of DACA recipients and urging action for asylum seekers. The U.S. Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph have issued a public statements and action alert, which we support. Following are excerpts from those statements:
We, the Federation of Sisters of St. Joseph, compelled by the Gospel and by our heritage to be responsive to the “dear neighbor” without distinction, are disheartened to learn of these sweeping changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which the Department of Homeland Security recently announced. We call upon the current Administration to ensure the protection and care of DACA Recipients who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in indeterminate state of anguish and uncertainty. These actions by the current Administration
- to significantly limit the DACA program,
- to categorically reject all initial requests for DACA, and
- to limit the period of renewed deferred action granted pursuant to the DACA policy after the issuance of this memorandum to one year with increased fees
is in flagrant opposition to the July 17th U.S. Supreme Court ruling’s directives to restore the DACA program to its pre-rescission status including the resumption of accepting new applications.
We cannot remain silent. We stand with DACA Recipients. We will continue to use our collective voices to advocate with our U.S. Senators asking them to protect and provide a roadmap to citizenship for DACA Recipients and for comprehensive immigration reform now. We join with others in calling our representatives in Congress, both in the House and the Senate, to work in a bipartisan manner to towards a legislative solution to protect all DREAMers. We know our voices and votes count now more than ever.
Asylum & Refugee Protection Action
Raise our voices to advocate now with our U.S. Senators asking them to protect people seeking asylum protection (and to protect the U.S. Asylum Process)! With the recent Executive Actions proposing a federal rule change(s) to the Asylum Process, these proposed changes would effectively end asylum once and for all in the United States.
Please take the following action(s):
- Please call and/or email each of your U.S. Senators. Click on this link to find your Senators and ask them to:
-Protect the world’s most vulnerable individuals, asylees and refugees, fleeing for safety
-Protect the U.S. Asylum Process and Refugee Resettlement Program
-Support, co-sponsor and pass pro-asylum legislation, including the Refugee Protection Act (RPA) (S.2936/H.R.5210) and the Asylum Seeker Protection Act
(H.R. 2662)
Sample Script:
“I’m your constituent from [CITY/TOWN], and as a person of faith from [for example, the Sisters of St. Joseph], I urge you to protect the world’s most vulnerable individuals by restoring asylum protections and uphold the U.S. asylum system. I urge you, Senator, to champion pro-asylum legislation, including the Refugee Protection Act (RPA) (S.2936)
- Call or email Senator Mitch McConnell ask him to allow a vote on the Senate floor on the Refugee Protection Act (RPA) (S.2936)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Phone: (202) 224-2541
Submit email here
The Congregation of St. Joseph is dedicated to love of the dear neighbor, without distinction. We believe that we are all one people, and we work to bring all people together in love of God and one another. This work leads us to the belief that it is our responsibility to welcome those who seek a better life for themselves and their families through immigration, regardless of culture, race or religion, and to provide safe asylum for those seeking refuge. Learn more about our immigration work here.
