September 24, 2017 - Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals Program

I want to devote this column to a statement recently made by Cardinal Wuerl in light of the decision by the Trump administration to end the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals program in its current form.  Cardinal Wuerl issued the following statement on September 15, 2017 and addressed it to the priests of the Archdiocese:
 
Earlier this month, in the days before the Trump Administration announced its intent to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to expire in early 2018, I was pleased to join other religious leaders in calling for President and Congress to work together to, first and foremost, protect those young adults and children who registered under the DACA program, and second, to work together on a permanent solution to remove doubt and fear within our immigrant community.  [The other signers of this statement, issued on August 29, 2017, included the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington; Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig, Senior Rabbi of Washington Hebrew Congregation; and Imam Talib M. Shareef, Masjid Muhammad, the Nation’s Mosque.]
In a statement upon the Trump Administration’s decision, I found it very regrettable and harmful that the administration made the decision to end the DACA program in its current form, and fully embraced the statement made by my brother bishops of the United States Catholic Conference on this matter. [I am happy to provide copies of Cardinal Wuerl’s statement and the statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to anyone who wishes to have a copy.  Please contact me by phone or email to get a copy of either statement.]
Ours is an Archdiocese that has a well-established history of welcoming the newcomer in our midst and working to provide our new neighbors with the pastoral, material, and even legal support, that they may require.  I remain hopeful in the coming months Congress and the administration will work to forge a permanent solution to DACA.  But until then, it falls to us—in the absence of a clear resolution—to continue to stand with immigrant families, those young adults and children affected by the uncertainty of DACA, and anyone else in need.  Parish communities should accompany our immigrant families with prayer, which can bring comfort and unity.  We will continue to raise our voice in support of them and to work for permanent policies to ensure they remain a vibrant part of our church in Washington.
 
In their joint statement of August 29, 2017, Bishop Budde, Rabbi Lustig, Iman Shareef, and Cardinal Wuerl pointed out that nearly one million young immigrants have benefitted from the DACA program since its inception in 2012.  They also noted that many of the program recipients are members of the respective faith communities they mentor in and around the nation’s capital.  They have seen firsthand the relief and pride in the faces of young people as they finally came to feel validated and safe in a program that made them feel more at home—in the only country they have ever considered home.  But now, anxiety and fear for their future have returned.
 
They closed their joint statement with a collective prayer that in the coming months, Congressional leaders work together to pass sensible and comprehensive immigration reform that our country so desperately needs—including making the DACA program permanent.  But until that time comes, they plead, the least our country can do is to continue supporting our dreamers.
 
Until next week.
Fr. John Dillon