Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) is ramping up its response to help migrants at the US-Mexico border following a massive influx of new arrivals. CCUSA is deploying 200 Sisters from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious to the border to help Catholic Charities agencies support the migrants. Extra medical teams are also being sent to help CCUSA agencies along the border take care of migrants who are ill due to COVID-19. The agency is working closely with the US government, and Sr. Donna Markham, president of Catholic Charities USA, has recently met with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss how CCUSA can better help COVID-positive migrants along the border. The numbers of unaccompanied children detained by border police may have dropped by 88 percent in recent months, but concerns about their treatment in detention have been ongoing for several years. The plight of unaccompanied migrant children is of particular concern for Catholic Charities.

Just recently, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio in Texas set up over 2,000 beds so they could welcome and care for unaccompanied migrant children. Some Catholic Charities also help set up foster care. Catholic Charities USA comprises 167 member agencies working to serve and advocate for the rights of the poor and the marginalized across the USA. Many migrants entering the USA are fleeing poverty, violence, and the effects of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, in Central America. They often arrive in the US exhausted, frightened, and traumatized. The vast network gives Catholic Charities the opportunity to work closely with authorities to reunite migrants – especially unaccompanied children – with their families. In 2020, Catholic Charities agencies provided over 160,000 migrants with shelter and respite care.

Source: Caritas