National Migration Week 2020

Photo by: Lisa Kristine

For nearly a half century, the Catholic Church in the United States has celebrated National Migration Week. It is an opportunity for the Catholic community to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants, including immigrants, refugees, children, and victims and survivors of human trafficking. The theme for National Migration Week 2020, “Promoting a Church and a World for All,” draws attention to the fact that each of our families has a migration story, some recent and others in the distant past. Regardless of where we are and where we came from, we remain part of the human family and are called to live in solidarity with one another.

National Migration Week 2020 will be celebrated January 5-11, 2020 in the U.S.  It is a call to stand in solidarity with and care for those who are excluded and marginalized, including migrants, DACA and TPS holders, refugees, and those seeking asylum. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has produced a toolkit of resources to promote participation in National Migration Week – download it for free here. You’ll find suggestions for prayer, community action ideas, sample letters to the editor and social media posts.

US Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking also has some resources that directly connect the issues of migration and human trafficking. We encourage you to download and share the following resources as well:

• Paper on Migration and Human Trafficking
• Educational/Prayer Module on Human Trafficking and Migrants, Refugees, and Internally Displaced People
• Educational/Prayer Module on Human Trafficking and Environmental Refugees
• Educational/Prayer Module on Root Causes of Human Trafficking

We urge members of USCSAHT to use the National Migration Week kit and our additional resources with their local communities to raise awareness about the root causes of forced migration, their connection to human trafficking and act on God’s call to each of us to welcome the newcomer and promote a church for all. Our efforts can counter what Pope Francis has referred to as “a globalization of indifference,” which has led to many of us to ignore the cries of the poor, turn our backs on the marginalized, and remain indifferent to those struggling to find a better life. We are called to be an active Church in support of all of God’s children, for “the Church which ‘goes forth’… can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast” (Evangelii Gaudium, 24).

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