CHICAGO — Catholic Extension announced June 21 it has established
a Family Reunification Fund as "a response to the human tragedy unfolding
on the nation's southern border" with Mexico.
Family separations at the border and policy debates over that
policy and the nation's immigration system "have exposed the profound
misery of those fleeing their countries and coming to the United States,"
said the Chicago-based organization, which is the leading supporter of
missionary work in poor and remote parts of the United States.
Extension said the fund will support ministries that provide
direct outreach and advocacy for immigrant families who are separated.
"The fund," it said, "will mainly benefit existing
ministries on the southern U.S. border with Mexico, specifically those that are
actively sheltering, defending, and caring for immigrants and their
families."
Through the Family Reunification Fund, Catholic Extension said it
can increase its support to resource-strapped immigrant ministries "at
this very critical moment when policy changes are creating even more hardship
and uncertainty among immigrant families."
In 2017, Catholic Extension provided nearly $2 million to border
communities to support ministries that support immigrants.
Recipients included the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Ariz.,
which provides research and advocacy, as well as direct humanitarian assistance
to migrants on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Funds also went to support
shelters in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas that coordinate with Immigration and
Customs Enforcement officials to provide a safe place for paroled immigrants
and their families.
Whether needs arise from a natural disaster or a man-made crisis,
said Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension, "it is our duty as
Catholics to be present on the margins to care for the suffering and defend the
vulnerable. We are not powerless in this struggle, and so we ask people to join
us in providing direct help to immigrant families who are part of the one
family of God."
Find out more
For more info on Catholic Extension's new Family
Reunification Fund, go to catholicextension.org.