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Migrants walking from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, turn themselves in to request U.S. asylum in El Paso, Texas, Feb. 1, 2021. (CNS photo/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Reuters)
Feb. 3, 2020
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden denounced the "chaos, cruelty and confusion" of the Trump administration's immigration approach and signed executive orders aimed at rebuilding the U.S. immigration system, restoring due process and recognizing the dignity of newcomers.
The actions illustrate his "commitment to prioritize assisting our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters," said the head of the U.S. bishops' migration committee.
These orders "will help to ensure that immigrants and refugees are treated humanely and in accordance with their God-given dignity," said Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration.
The bishop's Feb. 3 statement addressed the actions Biden took the previous day.
The president signed orders to address root causes of migration from Central America and expand opportunities for legal migration; create a task force to reunify families separated by policies of the Trump administration; and strengthen integration and inclusion efforts for new Americans.
"President Biden’s strategy is centered on the basic premise that our country is safer, stronger, and more prosperous with a fair, safe and orderly immigration system that welcomes immigrants, keeps families together, and allows people -- both newly arrived immigrants and people who have lived here for generations — to more fully contribute to our country," the White House said Feb. 2. "President Biden knows that new Americans fuel our economy, as innovators and job creators, working in every American industry, and contributing to our arts, culture, and government."
The White House said the Trump administration’s policies at the border "have caused chaos, cruelty and confusion," undermining community safety, penalizing asylum seekers fleeing violence and destabilizing security across the Western hemisphere.
The White House task force will be led by Alejandro Mayorkas, confirmed by the Senate Feb. 2 -- and sworn in the same day -- to serve as the next U.S. secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes carrying out Biden's immigration agenda. Mayorkas is the first immigrant as well as the first Latino appointed to the high-profile Cabinet position.
"The cruelty of the prior administration has come to an end, and now we will demonstrate to the world what we as Americans are," Mayorkas said in a Feb. 3 CNN interview.
In his statement, Bishop Dorsonville said migration policies implemented by the Trump administration "have directly impacted and harmed immigrants' and refugees' lives, in many cases needlessly instilling fear and creating or perpetuating family separation."
"The Catholic Church teaches that each person is created in the image and likeness of God and that we must uphold the inherent dignity of each person," he said. "As a society, we must remain consistent in our openness and treatment of all persons, regardless of whether they were born in the United States or immigrated here."
Bishop Dorsonville said the U.S. bishops "know that changes will take time but (we) applaud President Biden's commitment to prioritize assisting our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters. We also offer our assistance and cooperation on these urgent matters of human life and dignity."
Catholic San Francisco contributed.