The U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security have stated publicly that parents will be separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has strongly condemned the policy, saying: “Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together. While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety. Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral.”

Many of us are wondering what we can do. You will find the active Action Alert here, with a message you may wish to use in contacting your Congressional representatives and urging them to take action to stop this inhumane policy by the presidential administration. Also, Catholic Charities USA has an Action Center on its website with five practical steps to take, found here.

At this time, Kentucky is not among the states providing foster care services to the Office of Refugee Resettlement for children. We continue to explore ways in which we can better support and resource our local immigrant community, including those children already living among us (many of them U.S. citizens) who are suffering family separation caused by the deportation of one or both parents.