The USCCB’s Committee on Migration called on lawmakers to keep humanitarian protections, strengthen immigration oversight, and end “indiscriminate” deportation policies.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Congress last week to maintain robust funding for refugee resettlement and immigrant services while opposing further appropriations for mass deportation efforts, as lawmakers begin work on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
In a June 1 letter to the leaders of both chambers’ appropriations committees, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, wrote that “migration is fundamentally about the movement of human persons, each of whom is created in the image and likeness of God”—a reality he said is too often dismissed in contemporary debate.
The letter addresses a wide range of immigration-related funding priorities, from refugee resettlement accounts to immigration court programs, and signals deepening concern over the current administration’s enforcement posture.
Refugee funding and humanitarian protections
The bishops asked Congress to fund the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account at no less than FY2026 levels, which supports the resettlement and integration of refugees, asylees, and trafficking victims through the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The letter noted that Florida and Texas are currently the largest beneficiaries of that funding.
Bishop Cahill also called on Congress to reauthorize the Lautenberg Amendment, a longstanding provision that has facilitated the resettlement of persecuted religious minorities—including many Christians—since 1990. Current restrictions, the letter warned, are preventing “the most vulnerable refugees” from reaching the United States, including those fleeing religious persecution.
Opposing mass deportation
Reiterating a statement issued by the full body of U.S. bishops last November, the letter declared opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and raised concerns about due process, family separation, and discriminatory enforcement practices. The bishops asked Congress to impose no further funding increases for immigration enforcement and detention beyond what was already allocated in last year’s reconciliation legislation.
The letter also called for an end to family detention, urging Congress instead to prioritize community-based alternatives and strengthen oversight of any existing family detention facilities.
Immigration court access and legal services
Bishop Cahill expressed alarm over the administration’s termination of the Legal Orientation Program and the Immigration Court Helpdesk, both of which had been funded by Congress for more than two decades. The programs provided legal information and counseling to immigrants navigating removal proceedings, many of whom lack access to an attorney.
The letter also flagged what it described as a crippling of the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Recognition and Accreditation Program, which since 1958 has expanded access to competent immigration legal representation at no cost to taxpayers. The bishops asked Congress to mandate dedicated funding and a 90-day adjudication timeline for applications to the program.
Religious workers and DACA
On other fronts, the letter renewed the bishops’ call for permanent reauthorization of the non-minister special immigrant provision of the Religious Worker Visa Program, which allows Catholic sisters, brothers, and others in religious vocations to serve permanently in the United States. The provision has been reauthorized annually through the appropriations process since 1990 but has no permanent legislative standing.
The bishops also called on Congress to address processing delays in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, noting that backlogs are causing some recipients to accrue unlawful presence even when they file renewal applications months in advance. The letter renewed support for permanent legislative relief through measures such as the DREAM Act.
