News Archives » Department of Homeland Security
Haitians Get Limited Extension of Temporary Protected Status May 23rd, 2017
Thousands of Haitians who are recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) have been given a six-month extension by the Administration. The Department of Homeland Security announced on May 22 that the designation of TPS for Haitians will continue through Jan. 22, 2018. TPS for Haitians was to expire July 22, 2017. Many Faith-based organizations with missionaries in Haiti, including Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, will continue to encourage and pray for a longer extension of TPS for Haitians, until such a time when a sustainable national recovery has been accomplished in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake killed thousands of people, displaced millions of citizens and left a huge devastation to the country. Adding to that challenge was a public health crisis of cholera and destruction left behind by Hurricane Matthew.
Support our Haitian Brothers and Sisters: Extend the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status May 15th, 2017
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate JPIC is joining with other Catholic groups and interfaith coalitions in calling to extend the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an additional 18 months.
People of faith are concerned that thousands of hardworking Haitians in the U.S. may be at risk of having their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) terminated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians is the right action to take because Haitian migrants will temporarily remain in the United States and support themselves legally while Haiti is being rebuilt.
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate has been present in Haiti since the 1950’s. Today Oblates in Haiti are still doing active missionary work in the northeastern part of the country. In the United States, Missionary Oblates are doing Catholic parish work, ministering to diverse immigrants including Haitians.
Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran Bishops Call for an End to Detention of Families March 27th, 2015
The current policy of family detention is unworthy of our nation; Humane alternatives to detention are available
Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran bishops visited with young mothers and children who have fled violence in their home countries and are now incarcerated at Dilley Detention Center in Dilley, Texas, on March 27. The faith leaders called upon the federal government to halt the practice of family detentions, citing the harmful effects on mothers, children and the moral character of society.
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio, Texas, whose archdiocese includes Dilley, was joined by Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle, and Bishop James Tamayo of Laredo, Texas. Bishops Michael Rinehart and H. Julian Gordy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America also joined them on the visit. Since last summer, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has detained hundreds of families at detention centers in New Mexico, Texas, and Pennsylvania, under a new family detention policy aimed at families fleeing violence in Central America.
“After this visit, my primary question is: Why? Why do we feel compelled to place in detention such vulnerable individuals –traumatized young mothers with children fleeing persecution in their home countries?” said Archbishop García-Siller following the visit. “A great nation such as ours need not incarcerate the most vulnerable in the name of deterrence. The moral character of a society is judged by how it treats the most vulnerable in our midst. Our nation’s family detention policy is shameful and I implore our elected officials to end it.”
Bishop Elizondo, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, added: “The detention of families serves no purpose and undermines due process. It especially harms children, who experience emotional and psychological harm from detention. The policy is a stain on the administration’s record on immigration.”
Bishop James Tamayo of Laredo, Texas, said humane alternatives to detention exist and should be used for the population.
“The government should consider placing these families in humane alternatives to detention, where they could live in the community and access needed services, including legal representation,” Bishop Tamayo said. “The Church is ready to assist in this effort.”
Information on the USCCB position on family detention can be found on the USCCB website at:
Read the Bishops’ Letter to President Obama here…
