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US bishops oppose new government asylum policy


Bishop Joe S Vásquez

Bishop Joe S Vásquez

Source: USCCB

US bishops issued a statement yesterday in which they oppose a new government policy forcing people seeking asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico - sometimes for many months before they can apply for their cases to be heard.

Bishop Joe S Vásquez, of Austin, Texas, Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration and Sean Callahan, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services issued the following statement in solidarity with a statement issued last week by the Texas and Mexico Border Bishops.

The full statement follows:

"Consistent with the Texas-Mexico Border Bishops' March 4th statement. - we oppose US policy requiring asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while waiting to access protection in the United States. We urge the Administration to reverse this policy, which needlessly increases the suffering of the most vulnerable and violates international protocols. We steadfastly affirm a person's right to seek asylum and find recent efforts to curtail and deter that right deeply troubling. We must look beyond our borders; families are escaping extreme violence and poverty at home and are fleeing for their lives. Our staff and partners in Central America witness the suffering there and fight against it. Our government must adopt policies and provide more funding that address root causes of migration and promote human dignity and sustainable livelihoods. Like the Texas-Mexico Border Bishops, we recommit to Pope Francis's call to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate our immigrant brothers and sisters in Christ."

See the Texas-Mexico Border Bishops statement here: www.cdob.org/3-4-19-statement-from-tex-mex-border-bishops/. www.cdob.org/3-4-19-statement-from-tex-mex-border-bishops/

For more information on the US government's Migration Protection Protocol policy which requires certain asylum seekers to wait in Mexico please click here: https://justiceforimmigrants.org/2016site/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Remain-in-Mexico_en.pdf


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