Migrants

The Latest

Polish dancers at the reception following this year's World Day for Migrants and Refugees Mass at St. Paul’s Parish in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, on Sept. 23, 2023.

Migrants and refugees Mass in Canada celebrates universality, vibrancy of the Church

A Mass celebrating the annual World Day for Migrants and Refugees was held Sept. 23 in Richmond, British Columbia, showing... Read more

Migrants outside a foster home in Mexico City.

Archdiocese of Mexico warns migrant reception centers are overwhelmed

Oct 6, 2023

By Diego López Colín

According to the Ministry of the Interior of Mexico, between January and August it had encountered 402,324 undocumented migrants in... Read more

This aerial picture taken on Sept. 14, 2023, shows the U.S.-Mexico border fence with camp shelters left by migrants in San Ysidro, California.

Biden administration to build miles of new border wall in Texas

Oct 5, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The Biden administration had to waive 26 federal laws to resume the construction of the new wall. Read more

Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States wait as they are processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents in the early morning hours after crossing into Arizona from Mexico on May 10, 2023 in Yuma, Arizona.

Map shows the Catholic Church’s migrant shelters in Mexico

Sep 5, 2023

By Diego López Colín

The map was developed in order for migrants to have a more efficient way to find the centers and shelters... Read more

Bishops of Central America, North America, and the Caribbean met in El Salvador Aug. 21-25, 2023, to analyze various migratory scenarios at an international meeting.

In front of the tomb of St. Óscar Romero, bishops pledge to care for migrants

Aug 31, 2023

By Diego López Colín

Meeting in El Salvador Aug. 21-25, representatives of bishops’ conferences analyzed the various migratory scenarios at an international meeting. Read more

Pope Francis offers Mass in Bari, Italy on Feb. 23, 2020.

Vatican announces Pope Francis’ Marseille visit schedule

Jul 29, 2023

By Rachel Thomas

In September, the pope will travel to France to meet with young people and bishops from around the world at... Read more

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California federal judge blocks Biden’s ‘asylum ban’

Jul 27, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Referred to by some as a “transit ban,” the policy, which took effect May 11, automatically denied asylum to migrants... Read more

Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States wait as they are processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents in the early morning hours after crossing into Arizona from Mexico on May 10, 2023 in Yuma, Arizona.

U.S. bishops praise new immigrant family reunification program

Jul 11, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The new program allows certain migrants with family in the U.S. to pursue a path to legal residency. Read more

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On World Refugee Day, Pope Francis urges action; companies pledge to hire refugees

Jun 20, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The pope called for greater hospitality “without excuses and without delay, because the effects will be felt, sooner or later,... Read more

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California.

Office of Gov. Ron DeSantis confirms sending migrants to Catholic Charities in California

Jun 8, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Amid criticism and calls for investigation into “kidnapping,” the Florida Division of Emergency Management said the migrants’ travels were “voluntary.” Read more

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California.

Who flew migrants to California and dropped them off at Diocese of Sacramento offices?

Jun 5, 2023

By Joe Bukuras

California’s governor and attorney general are accusing the state of Florida of “kidnapping” a group of 16 South American migrants... Read more

Migrants in Greece.

Pope Francis urges freedom in message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees 

May 11, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Pope Francis has expressed the importance of a migrant’s freedom to make the “decision to leave one’s native land.” Read more

Venezuelan migrants receive food while waiting for information to enter Peru in Arica, at the Chile-Peru border, on May 4, 2023.

Bishop on Venezuelan migrant crisis: ‘Serious thing’ to sacrifice people for failed system

May 10, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Bishop Marco Antonio Cortez Lara called it a shame when governments “get lost in these tangles of ideologies and sacrifice... Read more

A group of migrants from South America crosses the Rio Bravo border between Mexico and the United States to request asylum.

Mexican bishop expresses Church’s concern for unaccompanied child migrants

May 5, 2023

By Ana Paula Morales

Auxiliary Bishop Francisco Javier Acero said those who suffer the most are “unaccompanied minors.” Read more

For the last two weeks of April 2023, hundreds of migrants — mostly Venezuelans but also Colombians and Haitians — have been trying to leave Chile and enter Peru because Chile has toughened its immigration policies.

Bishops of Chile and Peru call for dialogue to resolve migratory crisis at border

May 1, 2023

By Eduardo Berdejo

For the last two weeks, hundreds of migrants — mostly Venezuelans but also Colombians and Haitians — have been trying... Read more

Daisy Sandoval in the Darién Gap.

Venezuelan migrant thanks God, recounts journey through dangerous jungle to U.S.

Apr 29, 2023

By Ana Paula Morales

Daisy Sandoval is a 25-year-old single mother who left Venezuela in February in search of the “American dream.” Read more

Migrants in Mexico

Miami archbishop says Florida immigration bill criminalizes ‘empathy’ toward the undocumented

Apr 14, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

A representative of all eight of Florida’s bishops testified against the bill last month, saying that such a law would... Read more

Migrants wake up after spending the night outside the immigration detention center where at least 38 migrants died during a fire in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on March 29, 2023.

Bishops lament ‘terrible tragedy’ that left at least 38 migrants dead in Mexico

Mar 30, 2023

By Ana Paula Morales

Bishop José Guadalupe Torres of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, expressed in a March 28 statement his deepest condolences for the 38... Read more

Cathedral of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Mexican bishops condemn police pursuit, violent arrest of migrants on cathedral grounds

Mar 6, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

The Ciudad Juárez Cathedral has long been one of the places where migrants are received, as the city sits on... Read more

Migrants, including Blaidimar, 8, from Venezuela, warm themselves by a fire outside the U.S.-Mexico border fence while waiting to make asylum claims in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 21, 2022, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Catholic groups gear up to shelter record number of migrants amid Texas freeze

Dec 22, 2022

By Peter Pinedo

With temperatures expected in the teens and wind chills around zero in parts of the state, Catholic groups in Texas... Read more