ROME — The U.S. Catholic Bishops launched National Migration Week Monday just as the number of border arrests of illegal migrants reached a record high of nearly two million.
“There has never been a more critical moment to reflect on the issue of migration, as we witness, for the first time in history, over 100 million forcibly displaced persons in the world,” writes Bishop Mario Dorsonville, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration in a statement marking National Migration Week.
Bishop Dorsonville said that this week (Sept. 19-25) offers “a special opportunity for encounter, accompaniment, and prayer, as well as a chance for Catholics and others of good will to join together in support of those who depend on our collective voice.”
He noted that he is “especially mindful of Dreamers, our new Afghan neighbors, Ukrainians fleeing conflict in their homeland, those with temporary protections who have made a home in the United States, and undocumented agricultural workers, all of whom have an important role to play in building the future of our country.”
The Catholic Church in the United States marks National Migration Week (September 19-25) as an opportunity for the faithful to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants, refugees, and victims of human trafficking, among others.
The bishops’ annual observation of National Migration Week seeks to draw attention to refugees, migrants, and those living on the “peripheries” of society, and customarily concludes with the Vatican’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) on the last Sunday of September.
The theme chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s WDMR is “Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees.”
“God’s plan,” the pope wrote in his annual message for the WDMR, “is essentially inclusive and gives priority to those living on the existential peripheries. Among them are many migrants and refugees, displaced persons, and victims of trafficking.”
History “teaches us that the contribution of migrants and refugees has been fundamental to the social and economic growth of our societies. This continues to be true in our own day,” the pontiff wrote.
In his message, the pope also pointed to the biblical image of the new Jerusalem, a borderless city where all are welcome, where the inhabitants “always keep the gates of the city wide open, so that foreigners may come in, bringing their gifts.”
As Breitbart News reported Monday, U.S. Border Patrol agents have already apprehended nearly two million migrants who illegally crossed the southwest border so far this fiscal year, setting a new record and drawing global attention to the border crisis.
According to the August Southwest Land Border Encounters report released Monday afternoon, border agents in the southwest apprehended 1,997,769 migrants during the first 11 months of fiscal year 2022, more than any other year in U.S. history.
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