When the body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi washed ashore near a Turkish resort, the world was horrified. The image sparked a debate worldwide about countries’ immigration policies and led to a swelling demand to accept Syrian refugees fleeing the Syrian Civil War. The sentiment is clear: Alan should have been allowed to go somewhere safe,… Read More In Defense of the Human Rights of Emigration and Asylum
There are three things I heard over the past week that are stuck in my head. First, “We are the pro-life generation!” Thousands of young people chanted this refrain at last Thursday’s March for Life in Washington. Then, “We’re not asking – we’re demanding! Give us the vote!” This was a masterful Daniel Oyelowo portraying… Read More A Very Catholic Week: The March for Life, Selma, and Immigration Reform
Awful news off the coast of Malta: Hundreds of migrants may have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in recent days, bringing the number of victims so far this year to more than four times last year’s total, the International Organization of Migration said Monday. About 500 people, mainly from Egypt, the Palestinian territories, Syria and… Read More Hundreds Feared Dead After Sinking of Ship near Malta
This month, as I have been hearing of the thousands of children fleeing Central America, the story of one mother and her murdered son keeps coming to my mind. About ten years ago, when I worked as an immigration paralegal while serving as a Jesuit Volunteer in Los Angeles, I met with a Salvadoran woman—I’ll… Read More Crisis at the Border: A Personal Story and Practical Solutions
El Salvador. Honduras. Guatemala. Three countries in Central America with increasing, rampant gang violence and homicide. These are also the 3 countries from which the greatest influx of unaccompanied minors are crossing the border, fleeing to the United States. If we look at the graph, it is clear that the increase of unaccompanied children crossing… Read More Crisis on the Border: The Global Refugee Crisis Comes to America
American soccer fans couldn’t help but cringe when the US Men’s National Soccer Team was defeated by Belgium last week and was sent back home from Brazil. A part of me was secretly hoping that this would be a historic World Cup in which the US would go farther than it ever had before in… Read More “Let the Children Come to Me” vs. Nativism
Millennial co-founder and contributing editor Christopher Hale has a new article in Time on yesterday’s #BorderMass. He writes: During Holy Communion, O’Malley, his brother bishops and priests reached across the border fence to distribute hosts to Mexicans on the other side. The message communicated here was unmistakable. The Eucharist is the source and summit of… Read More Christopher Hale in Time: Cardinals Prove Borders Cannot Block the Love of Jesus Christ
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