President Donald Trump

The announcement of a new conscience protection rule May 2 protecting health care workers who object to abortion procedures on religious grounds was welcome news to U.S. Catholic bishops and the president of the Catholic Health Association.

During an April 30 hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, spoke of his border community’s response assisting asylum-seeking families who have been released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

A delegation that includes the head of Catholic Charities of the New York Archdiocese, union leaders, state officials and representatives of humanitarian aid agencies are visiting the three Central American nations that now face a cutoff of U.S. aid ordered by President Donald Trump.

An estimated 100,000 apprehensions of immigrants by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border in March is the highest figure in one month in a decade.

In an April 4 letter, more than 140 religious leaders, including the chairmen of three U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees, urged President Donald Trump and the other U.S. leaders to recognize that “individuals of all faiths and none have equal dignity, worth and rights to religious freedom.”

Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, praised President Donald Trump March 21 for taking seriously the assaults she said conservative groups are facing on campuses around the country.

The American Dream and Promise Act, or H.R. 6, introduced to Congress March 12, builds on the DREAM Act and offers qualifying young people “permanent resident status on a conditional basis” and a path to full lawful permanent residency and eventual citizenship.

A senior Catholic Relief Services official urged Congress to modestly increase the U.S. international affairs budget in a time of mass displacement and crises that cause hunger and inadequate health care.