Loretto Joins With LCWR in Call for the Welcome and Humane Treatment of Arriving Migrants

Loretto Joins With LCWR in Calling on the U.S. Government To Welcome the Migrant Caravan and To Treat All Those Seeking Asylum Humanely

The Sisters of Loretto join with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) in calling upon the U.S. government to welcome the migrant caravan heading to the U.S. border and to treat all those seeking asylum humanely.

In a public statement released today, LCWR said it “is deeply troubled by President Trump’s continued denigration of those fleeing untenable situations in their home countries. These are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers who have been forced from their homes by unimaginable violence and insecurity; runaway corruption; and droughts and floods linked to climate change. These are women and girls fleeing intolerable situations of domestic violence. These are young men and women who have no access to quality education and no hope of economic opportunity.”

LCWR called those seeking asylum “courageous people who have rejected cultures of corruption and exploitation. They are traveling the same road trod by our forbearers who fled tyranny and violence in search of the American dream. They are people of hope and promise who only want the opportunity to contribute their toil and talent to this nation.”

“The situation is heartbreaking,” said Loretto President Sister Pearl McGivney. “Thousands of migrants in desperate conditions are making this arduous trek to the United States seeking asylum from their countries. These are human beings, and we need to welcome them and help them in any way we can.”

In its statement, LCWR said it rejects “the president’s rhetoric of fear and policy of division,” choosing instead “to embrace a dream for America that is filled with hope for a nation united in service of the common good. We stand with Pope Francis who calls us to ‘promote the dignity of all our brothers and sisters, particularly the poor and the excluded of society, those who are abandoned, immigrants and those who suffer violence and human trafficking.’”

LCWR urged the Trump administration “to manage refugee arrivals humanely and in a manner that respects their dignity and rights under U.S. and international law,” and to carry out the following:

• Allow migrants to approach our border and ask for protection in the United States and to be admitted for processing in a timely manner.
• Ensure that asylum seekers have access to legal counsel and receive a fair resolution of their claim.
• Guarantee that parents and children stay together after they are apprehended. Holding families indefinitely in detention or detaining parents while releasing their children violates the values of this nation and the standards set forth in the Flores settlement.
• Eschew detention of those awaiting adjudication of their asylum petitions in favor of alternatives that are more humane and more cost efficient.
• Direct Homeland Security to cooperate with faith-based and humanitarian organizations who are prepared to assist asylum-seekers.

Added LCWR, “The United States has a long and proud history of welcoming immigrants and sheltering refugees. Women religious have been blessed to be able to accompany and serve migrant communities across this country for a very long time. We will continue to welcome them as our national history demands and our faith requires.”

The Loretto Community consists of Catholic Sisters of Loretto and Loretto co-members, women and men who are members of the Community and share its values and mission. Loretto members work for justice and act for peace, living and working throughout the United States, and also in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Pakistan, Uganda, Bolivia, Ghana, Holland, Haiti, France and the United Kingdom. The Loretto Community’s members, and their network of supporters and friends, are mobilized in the struggle for immigration justice in the United States and will not rest until it comes.

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Click here to read LCWR’s full statement.