National Migration Week 2019 – From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
For nearly a half century, the Catholic Church in the United States has celebrated National Migration Week, which is an opportunity for the Church to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants, including immigrants, refugees, children, and victims and survivors of human trafficking. The theme for National Migration Week 2019 – Building Communities of Welcome – emphasizes our responsibility as Catholics to engage and welcome newcomers on their arrival, and help to ease their transition into a new life here in the United States. Welcoming communities do not emerge by chance but are established through the hard work and conviction of people on the ground through direct service, shared experience and faith, advocacy, and institution building.
During this National Migration Week, let us all take the opportunity to engage migrants as community members, neighbors, and friends. We can find opportunities to engage migrant communities in our local community through our local Catholic Charities and other community organizations. Opportunities to encounter and accompany can include: becoming a foster parents to migrant children who have been separated from family members, participating in a local Parishes Organized to Welcome Refugees (POWR) program; launching a new initiative that will support migrants and their effort to become Americans; engaging in advocacy with local, state, and federal leaders to ensure that resources are in place to support refugees and immigrants during their transition and beyond.