For National Migration Week, bishops urge policy that upholds ‘God-given human dignity’

Bishop Brendan J. Cahill urged United States officials and lawmakers to create policies that protect the dignity of migrants and prevent families from being separated. His statement, issued September 16, marks National Migration Week, which runs from September 21 to 27 and concludes with the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

Cahill, the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, said that current protections for migrants are being weakened by longer stays in detention and less access to legal representation. He called on governments and communities to prioritize family unity and reunification.

The bishop, who currently leads the Diocese of Victoria, Texas, was named by Pope Leo XIV as the new bishop of Joliet, Illinois, according to an announcement by Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.