Immigration

Vision

Across our region, immigrant families contribute daily to the civic, economic, and spiritual life of their communities, yet many live with fear and uncertainty shaped by harmful immigration enforcement practices. Our faith traditions and our nation’s founding share a conviction: all people are created equal and endowed with fundamental rights that must be defended. West/Southwest IAF leaders begin with encounters: listening to parents afraid to drive their children to school, parishioners staying home from Mass, and workers who pay into systems that shut them out. Grounded in lived experience, leaders build the relationships that allow neighbors to respond with clarity, discipline, and purpose.

From stopping the expansion of detention centers to holding public hearings that expose civil rights violations to securing healthcare for undocumented residents, local leaders are turning their shared grief into collective action and strengthening parish and neighborhood life.

This work builds Recognizing the Stranger, an ongoing leadership development strategy launched in 2017 with support from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). The initiative has trained over 5,000 leaders across 20 dioceses, and strengthened bonds across language, culture, and status to build a constituency committed to the safety, dignity, and full participation of immigrant families.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

- The Declaration of Independence

Impact

1. Stopping Immigration Detention Expansion and Demanding Accountability

   In 2026, EPISO halted the nation’s largest proposed ICE detention center in Socorro, TX after parishioners raised moral objections and warned of the center’s strain on their small water system.

   One LA compelled the City of Los Angeles to host the nation’s first congressional hearing on immigration raids, establishing a public record of civil rights violations (more here). This came after training hundreds through “Freedom Schools” and testifying for 40 minutes on the human cost of immigration enforcement.

   Local affiliates in San Antonio, TX, and Pacoima and Pomona, CA sparked field hearings with members of Congress on a proposed ICE warehouse and the community impact of immigration enforcement and mass deportation. These have resulted in legal action and a bill to direct millions of dollars to mental health services for those impacted.

2. Defending our Rights and Educating our Neighbors

   In 2025 and 2026, OTOC in Omaha, Nebraska, and VOICE and ACTION in Oklahoma trained over 700 leaders through civic academies — giving residents a deeper understanding of the immigrant experience, busting myths about immigrants, calling for concrete action from public officials, and launching direct support for families in crisis.

   Valley Interfaith Project, CIVAF (now United San Joaquin), One LA, COPS/Metro, The Metropolitan Organization, Valley Interfaith, and Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) held ‘Know Your Rights’ workshops with over 6,600 immigrants in 2025 alone, strengthening the capacity of our neighbors to protect their civil rights in Arizona, California, and Texas.

3. Securing Parish IDs to Protect Immigrant Families

   After Texas denied driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants and passed SB4 in 2017, DAI leaders organized to reduce families’ vulnerability. Partnering with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, they convened 1,500 parishioners and secured public commitments from three police chiefs to recognize parish-issued identification cards, allowing immigrants to drive to work and school without risking detention (more here).

   Similar agreements in the Dioceses of Brownsville (with Valley Interfaith) and Tucson (with Pima County Interfaith) now reduce the risk of deportation for tens of thousands of families.

4. Expanding Healthcare Access in California for Undocumented & Low Income Residents

   In 2026, COPA revived Esperanza Care, a county-supported health program they developed and expanded that has served more than 4,500 undocumented adults (more here, here, and here). When undocumented immigrants were later at risk of losing state health coverage, California IAF leaders successfully urged legislators to restore access.

   One LA leaders played a pivotal role in launching and implementing My Health LA (MHLA), expanding care for low-income and undocumented residents. Years later, they advanced county action to preserve and enhance the program, protecting access for 146,000 people, and integrating mental health services.

5. Leveraging $385 Million in Rental Assistance to Prevent Evictions

   When the pandemic devastated service and construction jobs, leaders organized to protect immigrant families from eviction. In Brazoria County, parish leaders successfully challenged barriers that excluded undocumented families from federal rental aid, negotiating changes that expanded access. Across the West/Southwest IAF network, leaders helped leverage more than $385 million in rental assistance — ensuring taxpaying immigrants, regardless of status, were included (more here).