Called to defend the dignity of migrants

By Rocio Granados - La Voz Catolica

Photography: ROCIO GRANADOS | LVC

MIAMI | When Ellie Hidalgo’s parents left Cuba because of the Castro regime, they “found welcome and support here — support from the community, also support from governments, which helped Cubans,” said Hidalgo, a parishioner at Our Lady of Divine Providence Church in Miami.

“They also were helped by humane immigration laws in the 1960s, that helped them to establish in this country,” Hidalgo said after a Mass celebrated for immigrants at Gesu Church in downtown Miami Nov. 13, 2025.

Attending a Mass for immigrants “is an act of gratitude,” Hidalgo said. “I am the daughter of immigrant parents. They had to flee Cuba many years ago. Now I feel it is my turn to support others.”

The Mass was held on the feast day of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants.

In his homily, Father Pedro Corces, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Divine Providence Church, said, “The word that defines St. Cabrini is ‘persistence.’” The priest explained that Mother Cabrini, an Italian nun who fought for the rights of immigrants in New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s, “faced enormous obstacles because of her great love for immigrants.”

From January through October 2025, more than two million immigrants were deported under the current Trump administration. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, of them, 1.6 million voluntarily self-deported and 527,000 were expelled.

These deportations are the highest in the last decade and are causing family separations and much suffering. Following the example of Mother Cabrini, Father Corces said that as a Church, “we feel called to raise our voices in defense of human dignity.”

Citing the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) recent statement on immigration issue Nov. 12, the priest said the U.S. bishops are showing their “concern for immigrants” and calling for their rights to be respected.

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who has condemned this administration’s immigration enforcement policies, expressed his support for the U.S. bishops during the Mass he celebrated Nov. 13, at the USCCB fall assembly in Baltimore. “Today, many take umbrage at our advocacy on behalf of the irregular migrants. But, in doing so, we bishops stand in a proud moral tradition that holds that positive laws should promote both the common good and the good of the individual in society,” he said.

Father Corces read part of the statement, emphasizing the bishops’ opposition to mass and indiscriminate deportations, as well as their concern about poor conditions in detention centers and the arbitrary loss of immigration status.

The priest and the bishops are also concerned about threats to the sanctity of places of worship. Must stop “The fear that immigrants live with, of going to church or taking their children to school,” said Father Corces.

Referencing Pope Leo XIV, Father Corces said, “One cannot be Catholic and pro-life while ignoring the suffering of immigrants in need.” Like the U.S. bishops, he called for supporting immigrants in meeting their basic human needs.

“We ask Saint Mother Cabrini to pray for us and help us persevere,” said Father Corces.

“We are at a critical moment, not only in this country but also around the world. It is time to put our words into action, and we must protect our brothers and sisters who are suffering,” said Aymarah Robles, one of the attendees of the Mass.

Esther Devarona, a member of Cuban American Women Supporting Democracy, said she attended Mass “to show solidarity and shine a light on the daily cruelty. This is not how this country has operated in the past, and it must stop. It cannot be normalized,” she said, referring to the violence with which some immigrant detentions are carried out.

Devarona’s group is composed of Cuban women who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s as refugees. “It was a different kind of welcome,” she said. Thanks to this country’s generosity, “we have all been able to integrate and become citizens who share and give back to the community,” she added.

“If we had come in this era, with this administration, what would have happened?” Devarona asked.

After Mass, a procession was held to the immigration court, a few blocks from the church. There, after praying for immigrants suffering from increased immigration control measures and the threat of mass deportations, the names of the 25 immigrants who died in U.S. detention centers from January to October of this year were read aloud.

The Pedro Arrupe Jesuit Institute organized the event as part of the “One Church, One Family” campaign in collaboration with several Catholic organizations, including the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Conference of Religious Women Leaders, the Catholic Social Justice Network, NETWORK, Pax Christi USA, and USCCB Migration and Refugee Services.

“It was because of a call from the USCCB Immigration Committee and because of Mother Cabrini Day,” said Silvia Muñoz of the Pedro Arrupe Institute.

 

MOTHER CABRINI

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, also known as Mother Cabrini, was born in Italy in 1850. From an early age, she felt a deep missionary calling.

In 1880, she founded the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Italy.

In 1889, Pope Leo XIII sent her to New York to support many thousands of Italians emigrating to the United States. Despite tremendous difficulties, such as discrimination, extreme poverty, and institutional neglect of immigrants, she founded schools, orphanages, and hospitals first in the United States, then in Latin America, and finally in Europe. According to the website of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she created a total of 67 institutions. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1909.

She was a notable leader because of her organizational skills, courage in confronting civil and ecclesiastical authorities, and tireless nature despite her health problems. She died in Chicago in 1917. She was the first American citizen to be canonized in 1946, and in 1950, she was proclaimed patron saint of immigrants.

 

The Cabrini Pledge

The Cabrini Pledge is a commitment to immigrants and is part of the "You Are Not Alone" (YANA) initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The initiative was launched to provide support and accompaniment to migrants and their families affected by immigration law enforcement measures.

To learn more about the pledge and to sign it, click here.