Congregation shares statement on MPP ruling

Note: The following is a joint press release from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). We stand in solidarity with this statement, which was released on Thursday, June 30, 2022.

WASHINGTON – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 5-4 decision in Biden v. Texas, finding that the Secretary of Homeland Security’s termination of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) was lawful. Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, auxiliary bishop of Washington and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, Sr. Donna Markahm, OP, Ph.D, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA, and Anna Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., issued the following statement:

“Today’s decision recognizes and preserves the executive branch’s ability to reverse untenable, illegal and immoral policies, regardless of who is in office. The implementation of MPP has obstructed due process and subjected people to the very dangers that forced them to seek refuge in the United States in the first place. With this ruling, we welcome the end of MPP.

“Ours is both a nation of laws and a beacon of hope for many throughout the world. This should inspire us to work toward just and humane responses to forced migration, not embrace failed policies of the past. As Pope Francis has warned, we cannot limit ourselves to building ‘walls of fear’ and supporting ‘vetoes dictated by nationlist interests’ if we are to achieve meaningful progress in addressing these challenges.

“While this ruling helps pave the way forward, it does not resolve the ongoing challenges at our country’s southwest border. We remain committed to supporting immigration policies that produce more sustainable solutions, respect the God-given dignity of migrants, and better reflect Christ’s call to welcome the stranger.”

On March 21, 2022, the UCSSB, CLINIC and CCUSA filed an amicus curiae brief in Biden v. Texas supporting the Secretary’s decision to terminate the program.