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New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Is Not Yet the Fresh Start Needed, NGOs Argue

Some elements of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum for the European Union (EU) constitute a positive change in...

Statement

New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Is Not Yet the Fresh Start Needed

October 19, 2020

Advocacy Asylum Child Protection Complementary Pathways Detention Family Health Migration Policy Protection at Sea Resettlement (Advocacy) Returns Unaccompanied Minors

New policy proposals on migration and asylum released by the European Commission in September 2020 risk limiting the access to protection and fair asylum procedures. A group of 82 civil society organizations, including ICMC Europe, analyze the proposals in a joint statement.

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UK and France Must Tackle the Underlying Reasons for a Rise in Channel Crossings

Source: Catholic News Agency

Bishop Paul McAleenan of the bishops' conference of England and Wales urged the UK and France to address the underlying reasons many migrants flee their country. His statement came in response to a meeting between the two countries' government officials responsible for migration policies.

10 Years After the Massacre of 72 Migrants, Bishops Ask for Justice

Source: Crux

Ten years ago, 72 migrants were murdered by drug cartels in Tamaulipas, Mexico, because they refused to be used as drug mules. Several Catholic leaders, including the Mexican bishops conference, the Archbishop of San Salvador, and Pope Francis, are requesting justice for these victims' families and other vulnerable migrants.

COMECE President on Moria Fire: European Countries Must Do More for Refugees

Source: Vatican News

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), says Europe’s identity has gone up in flames together with the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, and that a common European policy for refugees is long overdue.

The Fire in Moria Should “Serve as Wake-up Call”, Say Church Leaders and NGOs

Fire in Greek Refugee Camp Should “Serve as Wake-up Call”, Say Church Leaders and NGOs

The 8 September fires that destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos have left 13,000 people...

Moria Fire: More Than Ever, Europe Must Protect, says German Archbishop

Source: German Bishop's Conference

The Archbishop of Hamburg and ICMC Governing Committee member Stefan Hesse called the fire that destroyed Moria refugee camp in Greece a "foretold catastrophe." NGOs have denounced the camp's dangerous conditions for years. Archbishop Hesse says Europe must find the political will to welcome people seeking protection in a humane manner.

U.S. Bishops Urge for Full Reinstatement of the DACA Program

Source: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

U.S. Bishops have expressed their disappointment at their government's intent to limit the rights of migrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. "The Catholic Church in the United States has long advocated for the Dreamers and we will continue to stand with them," reads the statement issued by the members of the USCCB.

Canada: Crisis Could Bring Spike in Refugee Backlog

Source: Catholic Register

COVID-19 travel restrictions are preventing refugees from arriving in Canada. Deacon Rudy Ovcjak, director of the Archdiocese of Toronto's Office of Refugees and delegate to ICMC's Governing Committee on behalf of Cardinal Thomas C. Collins, worries about the fate of vulnerable refugees waiting to enter and the community members who sponsor them.

U.S. Bishops Oppose Proposed Rules for Asylum Seekers

Source: Vatican News

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), an ICMC national member, has voiced objections to proposed new rules for asylum seekers coming to the country. The rules attempt “to curtail our nation’s long-standing commitment to providing individuals and families with humanitarian protection,” and are “unlawful” as well as “contrary to the public interest,” USCCB says.

ICMC Protection and Prevention

ICMC Annual Report 2019

US Bishops Welcome Supreme Court Decision on DACA Program

Source:

U.S. Bishops welcome the country's Supreme Court opinion that prevents the U.S. Administration from terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The program protects youth who were brought to the country as children without proper documentation from deportation.

UK Bishops Urge Changes To Government’s Immigration Bill

Source: Crux

In a joint statement, the Bishops’ Conferences of Scotland and of England and Wales warned that a proposed Immigration Bill made necessary by Brexit would hinder migrants’ opportunity to contribute to society in the UK. The bishops recommended introducing a time limit to immigration detention and removing barriers that keep families apart to the new legislation.

Move Refugees From Greece To Avoid Pandemic Disaster

Source: The Tablet

ICMC and many other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim aid agencies warn that the COVID-19 crisis adds an enormous burden to already strenuous humanitarian situations. NGOs call upon the European Union to relocate asylum-seekers in Greek island camps and urge its Member States to continue taking in asylum seekers in order to avoid a pandemic disaster.

New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Is Not Yet the Fresh Start Needed, NGOs Argue

New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Is Not Yet the Fresh Start Needed

UK and France Must Tackle the Underlying Reasons for a Rise in Channel Crossings

10 Years After the Massacre of 72 Migrants, Bishops Ask for Justice

COMECE President on Moria Fire: European Countries Must Do More for Refugees

Fire in Greek Refugee Camp Should “Serve as Wake-up Call”, Say Church Leaders and NGOs

Moria Fire: More Than Ever, Europe Must Protect, says German Archbishop

U.S. Bishops Urge for Full Reinstatement of the DACA Program

Canada: Crisis Could Bring Spike in Refugee Backlog

U.S. Bishops Oppose Proposed Rules for Asylum Seekers

ICMC Protection and Prevention

ICMC Annual Report 2019

US Bishops Welcome Supreme Court Decision on DACA Program

UK Bishops Urge Changes To Government’s Immigration Bill

Move Refugees From Greece To Avoid Pandemic Disaster

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