Category: Migration

Magis Americas and the the Ignatian Family Honor the World Day of Migrants & Refugees

Posted on by John Byrd

On World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Magis Americas joins the Ignatian Solidarity Network, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology, and Kino Border Initiative in a joint campaign of prayer and advocacy. Together, along with so many other members of the Ignatian family, we honor the lives of migrants and their families, celebrate the work of our partners who continue to accompany them each day, and call on governments around the world to implement policies that will better care for this vulnerable population.

We invite you to join us in prayer on September 24, 2023:

 

For more information about the campaign and ways to get involved, check out the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology,

World Day of Migrants Refugees 2023

Magis Americas endorses ALERT regarding migration management and protection in the Americas

Posted on by John Byrd

Magis Americas has joined 95 other organizations from the Americas and Europe to call attention to significant concerns about the treatment of migrants in the region. In particular, the expiration of Title 42 at midnight tonight (May 11th, 2023) is projected to further endanger migrants, refugees, and forcibly displaced people.  We join with other Jesuit organizations in the region and around the globe in denouncing this situation of injustice and highlighting major concerns moving forward. 

Please see the official press release and full statement below:

 

CONCERNS REGARDING MIGRATION MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION IN THE AMERICAS (Press Release)

The decisions of the United States ahead of the expiration of Title 42 (which will continue to be enforced until midnight on Thursday, May 11, 2023) and the recent agreements with other countries in the region are having a significant impact and putting guaranteed Human Rights at risk, particularly the right to request International Protection.

These decisions directly affect individuals and communities of migrates, refugees and forcibly displaced people. While the circumstances that cause their displacement increase, national and regional policies that attempt to manage migration continue to dehumanize them.

The current circumstances surrounding the expiration of Title 42 are the latest example of such policies. In response to these policies and their impact in the Americas, civil society and nongovernmental organizations call attention to some foreseeable regional implications of these state and government decisions in a joint statement (below).

In this way, we call for shared and coordinated effort, carried out with the implicated Governments, that will restore high standards regarding the protection of Human Rights and International Protection in the region, and work towards agreements which will promote a regional response focused on informed, accompanied, and protected migration that keep people and their rights at the center.

The concerns we highlight in this statement require continuous updating as migration policies in the region are implemented and their impacts are observed and measured.

Read the full statement: Concerns regarding Migration Management and Protection in the Americas

Magis Americas and JRS/USA commend US Commitment to Vulnerable Venezuelans

Posted on by John Byrd

On March 17, 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a public statement announcing that the United States Government will commit over $170 million to respond to the needs of vulnerable Venezuelans through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Magis Americas and Jesuit Refugee Service – USA (JRS/USA) strongly support this commitment and recognize the continued solidarity of the State Department with vulnerable Venezuelans, both in Venezuela and throughout the region.

Last week, Magis Americas and the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA (JRS/USA) joined a number of organizations and networks of the Society of Jesus to call on the international community to respond to the humanitarian crisis that has displaced more than 7 million Venezuelans. The International Donors’ Conference in Solidarity with Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants, which was held on March 16 and 17 in Brussels, provided a space to discuss the progress made over the last seven years but also recognize the need for continued aid for this vulnerable population. In our joint positioning statement ahead of this conference, Jesuit organizations and networks, in addition to the Red Clamor, identified three key areas that are essential to a holistic response to this ongoing crisis: Humanitarian attention and emergency response, Migratory regularization, integration and access to human rights, and International Funding.

While U.S. Government support is essential to providing aid for vulnerable Venezuelans, we urge the U.S. to take seriously the implications of U.S. migratory regulations, integration programs, and support for human rights claims of displaced Venezuelans. In particular, we consider the Biden Administration’s newly proposed asylum policy that stands in contrast to this generous support for migrants and refugees in the region. We must be willing to respond to this ongoing crisis with meaningful reform to the migration and asylum policies of the U.S. Government as well as significant humanitarian aid.  

We commend the U.S. for its continued support of humanitarian programs and direct aid to Venezuelans who remain at risk in their home country and those who have been displaced by this crisis and we invite the international community to respond in kind. We also reaffirm our commitment to accompany vulnerable Venezuelans, in Venezuela and throughout the region, to ensure the respect of human rights, including access to quality and inclusive education. At the same time, Magis Americas and JRS/USA will continue to demand meaningful action on immigration policies that ignore the needs of migrants and refugees from Venezuela throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as here in the U.S.