How You Can Help Right Now

On May 22, the House narrowly voted to pass a budget reconciliation bill including significant threats to immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the United States. As the bill goes to the Senate for consideration, WE NEED YOU to contact your congressional representatives and demand legislation that preserves the rights and dignity of all migrants in our community.

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE NOW

Dear [member of Congress],
I am a constituent from [town], [zip code], and a member of Old St. Patrick's Catholic Church. I strongly oppose the dehumanizing legislation in the budget reconciliation bill that supports the inhumane and unconstitutional treatment of law-abiding immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, including:

• billions of dollars for enforcement activities without strict oversight, and deportation without due process
• mandatory and increased fees for various immigration and humanitarian applications, as well as charges for immigration services that will effectively shut out many families from lawful pathways to live and work in the US
• cuts to the programs our neighbors need to survive, including access to food and healthcare

I implore you to represent me with support for legislation that preserves life-affirming resources, eases suffering, and affirms the dignity of all of our neighbors.

Sincerely,
[Name, address]


May God guide us as we stand together and answer this call to action with courage and conviction.

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An Update on Our Asylum-Seeking Families

The Old St. Patrick’s community has responded to Pope Francis' call to welcome our neighbors through the donation of household items, subsidized rent, and gift cards for food and school supplies. We are grateful for your support!

The Immigrant and Refugee Ministry (IRM) continues to assist our families in their journey to contribute to our community and become residents of our country, despite ongoing threats to asylum laws. Their safety is our priority as we share updates:

• They have applied for and received work authorization, and are finding employment.
• Those who are working proudly filed taxes for the first time, despite the risk of their information being shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• They are taking English classes and practicing with their liaisons.
• They have celebrated birthdays, marriages, school accolades, new friendships, and more.
• Some families have moved into larger apartments and other families hope to do the same in the next six months. They are grateful to be God’s loving welcome to other families they meet.
• Some have retained immigration lawyers; those who have not are looking for lawyers—an oftentimes daunting task as lawyers in our area are overwhelmed right now.
• They are beginning to open up and share more about their journey from Venezuela.
• When they can, they treat their liaisons to a Venezuelan meal or a take-out dinner to celebrate having a home, friends, and finding their footing here.

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Please keep these families in your prayers. We thank you for your support!

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Immigrant and Refugee Ministry

“We can all build the city of God if we welcome, protect, promote, and integrate those seeking a better life. It is not just about immigrants, but about all of us, and about the present and future of the human family. When we show concern for them, we also show concern for ourselves, for everyone; in taking care of them, we all grow; in listening to them, we also give voice to a part of ourselves that we may keep hidden because it is not well regarded nowadays.” 
​-Pope Francis, 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Sept 29, 2024

The community of Old St. Patrick’s is dedicated to radical inclusivity and transformative kinship. We are called to welcome the stranger and the marginalized, to counter the divisiveness of “us vs. them” and “us vs. the other,” and to see the face of God in all people. In that spirit, the Immigration and Refugee Ministry works to assist refugees and immigrants in three main ways:

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• Accompany and Respond – accompany Immigrants and Refugees by sponsoring families and walking alongside them in support and solidarity; We also assess immediate needs and respond with mercy, partnering with Heartland Alliance and other local programs
• Educate – ourselves and our parish about the issues facing immigrants and refugees so we can be better informed Catholics and citizens; connecting our Catholic faith to immigrant and refugee issues
• Advocate – for just and compassionate policies around immigration, immigration reform, and refugee resettlement

You are invited to journey with us as we welcome the stranger. 

Click Here to Learn More about Immigrant and Refugee Ministry

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Click Here to Pray for Asylum-Seeking Families and Individuals

Ways to support migrants:

​Join the Old St. Pat's Immigrant and Refugee Ministry

• Consider serving on one of our committees focused on neighborhood partnerships, family resettlement, communication, or special projects.  Contact [email protected] to get connected with our IRM chairpeople and learn about committee participation. 
• You can also donate to our work resettling families by clicking on this link and identifying "Immigrant and Refugee Fund" in the drop-down menu. 
• If you know of available apartments or homes that are available for rent, please contact us and let us know - [email protected].  

Fourth Presbyterian Church 

• Volunteer - If you, or someone you know, speaks Spanish and can help with translation, please consider signing up for a volunteer shift at Fourth Presbyterian Church (Michigan Ave.) HERE. Bilingual volunteers are needed Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am -12:00pm to assist with registration, helping in the food pantry and clothing shop, and speaking with families to assist with resource distribution.
• Volunteer - Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 am -12:00pm, volunteers are needed to help with processing donations in the Food Pantry and Share Shop-- Spanish is not required for this role, please consider signing up for a volunteer shift HERE  OR by contacting Lynn Milligan at [email protected]
• Donations - Items can be delivered/ dropped off at Fourth Presbyterian Church (126 E Chestnut St, Chicago, IL 60611) between the hours of 8:30am and 4:00pm.  Use the Chestnut Street entrance. You can use their lists of preferred food items from Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Costco. You can also purchase new clothing items and have them sent directly to The Social Service Center via Amazon. These lists are set up to ship directly to Fourth Church sales-tax free: just click, pay, and ship!​

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Aquinas Literacy Center

• ​Volunteer - Help adult migrants learn English at Aquinas Literacy Center. No need to speak another language; all tutoring in English. 90 minutes/week volunteer as a tutor at 1751 W 35th Street, Chicago. Last training workshop is Saturday, June 1st, 9am-4pm. To register email: [email protected] or call: (773)927-0512.

Erie House

• Volunteer - Tutor at Erie House. For more info or to volunteer, call Susana Ortiz at 872-432-2257 or email [email protected]

​General Questions? Please contact Immigration & Refugee Ministry at [email protected].

Let's work together to create communities of welcome, hospitality, safety and hope for our immigrant brothers, sisters and siblings in Christ.

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