Immigration, in normal political circumstances, polarizes the electorate and generates more heat than light in the national media. But, in the early weeks of 2019, the immigration issue has literally shut down the United States government. As of early January, President Donald
Amid the deeply political and social media-fueled debates that continue to swirl around the perpetual tinder box of immigration, it can be tempting to get caught up in the rhetoric — whether it be to “Build the Wall!” or to champion a
As a soccer fan who follows the professional game around the globe, I’m used to the taunts and eye-rolls I receive from my friends who don’t appreciate the Beautiful Game. But I wasn’t ready for what one popular columnist wrote about soccer-watching
Thousands of migrants from Central America’s violent Northern Triangle were still weeks away from reaching Tijuana, Mexico, near southern California, but in late October Father Pat Murphy was already thinking about how to meet their needs. “When they’re about a week away,
He was barely 3 years old. Wearing black shoes and a deep-blue striped shirt, he pressed his face between the 30-foot-high, solid-iron bar fence that separates the United States from Mexico. Not even his tiny face can squeeze in through the gaps
Weeks after President Trump signed an executive order rescinding the “zero-tolerance policy” for separating families at the border, many still remain to be reunited. As Americans have watched to see how the U.S. government responds to this crisis, Church leaders have been
For years, advocates of immigration reform decried the lack of action on immigration in the United States. In recent months, that stagnation has given way to a deluge of changes, nearly all of them aimed at cutting the number of immigrants, whether
In mid-June, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and various other U.S. bishops joined others across the religious and political spectrums in calling for an end to Trump administration immigration policies that include the separation of
The upside of Attorney General Jeff Sessions using Paul’s Letter to the Romans to defend the administration’s policy of family separation at the border was that people might go read the Bible for a moment. Or so was my prayer. He and
The April 5 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on a meatpacking facility in Grainger County, Tennessee, in which 10 people were arrested, was nothing new. Similar raids have been conducted under the last several administrations, going back decades. Nor was it