Case that could stop half of U.S. abortions set for this Wednesday

Washington D.C., Jun 18, 2018 / 03:57 pm (CNA).- In recent weeks, changes to the U.S. enforcement of immigration policy have made headlines, as an effort to pursue criminal prosecution has led to family separations.

What exactly are the new policies? How did the changes come about? And how have Church leaders responded?

In May 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero tolerance” policy that seeks to criminally prosecute 100 percent of immigrants who are caught crossing the border illegally.

Until that policy was announced, people caught crossing the border illegally were sent to an immigration judge, who would determine whether they would be deported. While waiting for a hearing, they would be held in immigration detention centers, or – due to lack of resources or legal limits on how long certain types of immigrants could be detained – be given a court date and released.

The Trump administration’s decision to pursue criminal prosecution means that immigrants are held in a federal jail until they go before a federal judge, who must determine whether immigrants will receive prison sentences for crossing the border illegally.  

This shift to the criminal justice system is what leads to family separation, because children cannot be held legally in a federal jail with their parents.

The family separation policy has been described by Sessions as a deterrent to illegal immigration. “If you don’t like that, then don’t smuggle children over our border,” he said May 7.

Once the children are separated from their parents, they are classified as unaccompanied minors and placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. The children are kept in government facilities while arrangements are made to release them to a relative in the country, if one can be identified, or to place them in foster care, while their parents’ immigration case moves forward.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, some 2,000 immigrant children have been separated from their parents in recent months. They are held along with detained minors who crossed the border unaccompanied by an adult.

In total, it is estimated that upwards of 10,000 migrant children are currently being held in over 100 shelters, which are at 95 percent capacity, according to a McClatchyDC report. The Department of Health and Human Services is reportedly considering the construction of “tent cities” to hold the children.

The Bush administration had enacted a similar “zero tolerance” policy to criminally prosecute illegal border crossings. However, it made an exception for unaccompanied minors or families with children. The Obama administration enacted zero tolerance for a short period, but did not separate families as a matter of policy.

Critics of previous administrations warned that legal exceptions for families, children, and asylum seekers created loopholes that could be abused by immigrants to cross the border without facing criminal prosecution, for example, that would-be migrants might travel with children unrelated to them and falsely claim to be a family. Critics also said that family loopholes could enable, or even encourage, child trafficking. President Donald Trump has said that he wants to close these loopholes.

However, immigration and human rights advocates say they are concerned that, like other families illegally crossing the border, asylum-seeking families are also being separated.  

The right to claim asylum is recognized by international law. To claim asylum in the U.S., one must show a well-founded fear of persecution in his home country, on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or particular social group.

An individual can make an asylum claim at a U.S. port of entry. A judge will then determine whether to accept the asylum claim.

However, reports indicate that some people attempting to claim asylum legally at the border are turned away repeatedly, told that the system is unable to accept new applications to be processed. While prohibiting someone from making an asylum appeal is illegal under international law, delaying a claim, which essentially denies that it be made, is a legal grey area.

People can also claim asylum by crossing the border illegally and then turning themselves in to officials. While the act of crossing the border in this case is illegal, the right to claim asylum is still valid, under international law.

Immigration advocates and human rights groups say that legitimate asylum applicants are forced to cross the border illegally in order to make their claims, and are then separated from their children for breaking the law.

The United Nations has condemned the practice of family separation as “a serious violation of the rights of the child,” which “amounts to arbitrary and unlawful interference in family life.”

The U.S. bishops have been vocally opposed to the new policy, as well as a recent move to remove gang violence and domestic abuse from the list of asylum claims that will be accepted as valid.

Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, chair of the U.S. bishops’ committee on migration, has stressed that “Rupturing the bond between parent and child causes scientifically-proven trauma that often leads to irreparable emotional scarring.”

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston stressed that the U.S. government “has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma.”

Because families are “the foundational element of our society,” they “must be able to stay together,” he said. “While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety.”

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CNA Staff, Nov 11, 2020 / 12:24 am (CNA).- In a message for Veterans Day, the archbishop for the U.S. military services voiced thanks for donors and those who pray for Catholics in military service.

“The fruits of your prayers and charitable acts enrich the lives of our Nation’s service members,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, wrote in a Nov. 10 letter.

“Your love for them is felt by those stationed in remote locations who are able to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist, those serving stateside who can receive counsel and guidance from chaplains, and veterans undergoing treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, especially those in need of Holy Communion or the anointing of the sick.”

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA serves some 1.8 million Catholics worldwide at 220 U.S. military installations in 29 countries and at 153 VA Medical Centers throughout the United States. Pope St. John Paul II established the independent archdiocese in 1985.

Archbishop Broglio urged donors to be generous to the military archdiocese, which is currently running on a $425,000 budget deficit and receives no funds from the government or the military for its operations.

“Throughout what has been a very tumultuous year, with your prayers, love, and support, AMS priests have been able to minister to service members and their families. They have celebrated Masses outdoors and via live stream, recorded inspirational talks for those in quarantine, anointed and comforted the sick, and administered the other sacraments.”

“November also calls for us to pray for the souls of those who have fallen and for the consolation of those who mourn and of those wounded in service to our nation. Prayer leads us to action. A simple but powerful way action can accompany each of our prayers is through charity,” he noted.

Veterans Day is observed in the United States on November 11 each year.

Catholics make up nearly 20% of the U.S. military, but a much smaller portion of the military’s chaplain corps. U.S. military recruiters and the Archdiocese for the Military Services have made efforts to recruit priests to serve as active duty or reserve chaplains in U.S. military branches. Chaplains are commissioned military officers classified as non-combatants.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the military archdiocese has stressed the importance of bringing the sacraments to its Catholic service members.

Broglio contacted the Navy Chief of Chaplains’ Office earlier this year to protest restrictions on some sailors attending “off-base indoor religious services” during the pandemic.

Broglio called the Navy’s order “particularly odious to Catholics,” because, he said, frequently there is no longer a Catholic program on naval installations due to budgetary constraints, or many installation chapels simply are still closed.

“Participation in the Sunday Eucharist is life blood for Catholics. It is the source and summit of our lives and allows us to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord,” he said.

The Navy reversed its decision in July, allowing sailors to attend off-base indoor religious services as long as they take precautions such as face masks and social distancing.

Broglio also spoke out against a Navy decision not to renew contracts with civilian priests, in order to save money. The decision left three Navy bases without a priest in September. The Navy later reversed that decision.

[…]

Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See Eduard Habsburg told EWTN News that Pope Francis will find “a vibrant Christian country” when he visits Hungary April 28–30, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Apr 26, 2023 / 11:30 am (CNA).
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