Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO) discusses the DIGNITY Act
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Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Faith leaders hope bill will stop the loss of thousands of clergy from abroad serving US communities
Faith leaders say even a narrow fix will be enough to prevent damaging losses to congregations and to start planning for the future again. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Unless there is a change to current practice, our community is slowly being strangled,' said the Rev. Aaron Wessman, vicar general and director of formation for the Glenmary Home Missioners, a small Catholic order ministering in rural America. Advertisement 'I will weep with joy if this legislation passes,' he said. 'It means the world for our members who are living in the middle of uncertainty and for the people they'll be able to help.' Two thirds of Glenmary's priests and brothers under 50 years old are foreign-born — mostly from Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, and Uganda — and they are affected by the current immigration snag, Wessman added. So are thousands of others who serve the variety of faiths present in the United States, from Islam to Hinduism to evangelical Christianity, providing both pastoral care and social services. Advertisement No exact numbers exist, but it is estimated that there are thousands of religious workers who are now backlogged in the green card system and/or haven't been able to apply yet. Congregations bring to the United States religious workers under temporary visas called R-1, which allow them to work for up to five years. That used to be enough time for the congregations to petition for green cards under a special category called EB-4, which would allow the clergy to become permanent residents. Congress sets a quota of green cards available per year divided in categories, almost all based on types of employment or family relationships to US citizens. In most categories, the demand exceeds the annual quota. Citizens of countries with especially high demand get put in separate, often longer 'lines' — for several years, the most backlogged category has been that of married Mexican children of US citizens, where only applications filed more than 24 years ago are being processed. Also in a separate line were migrant children with 'Special Immigrant Juvenile Status' — neglected or abused minors — In March 2023, the State Department suddenly started adding the minors to the general green card queue with the clergy. That has created such a bottleneck that in April, only halfway through the current fiscal year, those green cards became unavailable. Advertisement And when they will become available in the new fiscal year starting in October, they are likely to be stuck in the six-year backlog they faced earlier this year — meaning religious workers with a pending application won't get their green cards before their five-year visas expire and they must leave the country. In a report released Thursday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services blamed the EB-4 backlogs on the surge in applications by minors from Central America, and said the agency found widespread fraud in that program. The Senate and House bills would allow the Department of Homeland Security to extend religious workers' visas as long as their green card application is pending. They would also prevent small job changes — such as moving up from associate to senior pastor, or being assigned to another parish in the same diocese — from invalidating the pending application. 'Even as immigration issues are controversial and sometimes they run afoul of partisan politics, we think this fix is narrow enough, and the stakeholder group we have is significant enough, that we're hoping we can get this done,' said Democratic Two of the last three priests there were foreign-born, he said, and earlier this month he was approached by a sister with the Comboni missionaries worried about her expiring visa. Kaine's two Republican cosponsors, Senators 'It adds to their quality of life. And there's no reason they shouldn't have the ability to have this,' Risch said. 'Religious beliefs spread way beyond borders, and it is helpful to have these people who … want to come here and want to associate with Americans of the same faith. And so anything we can do to make that easier, is what we want to do.' Advertisement Republican Representative Mike Carey of Ohio, with Republican and Democratic colleagues, introduced an identical bill in the House. Both bills are still in the respective judiciary committees. 'To be frank, I don't know what objections people could have,' said Lance Conklin, adding that the bill doesn't require more green cards, just a time extension on existing visas. Conklin cochairs the religious workers group of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and often represents evangelical pastors. Faith denominations from Buddhism to Judaism recruit foreign-born clergy who can minister to growing non-English-speaking congregations and often were educated at foreign institutions steeped in a religion's history. For many, it is also a necessity because of clergy shortages. The number of Catholic priests in the United States has declined by more than 40 percent since 1970, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a research center affiliated with Georgetown University. Some dioceses, however, are experiencing Last summer, the Diocese of Paterson — serving 400,000 Catholics and 107 parishes in three New Jersey counties — and five of its affected priests sued the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Advertisement Expecting some action on the legislative front, the parties agreed to stay the lawsuit, said Raymond Lahoud, the diocese's attorney. But because the bills weren't included in the nearly-900-page 'We just can't wait anymore,' he said.
The Hill
12 hours ago
- The Hill
Roy Cooper hints at 2026 Senate run
Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) hinted over the weekend that he plans to run for the open U.S. Senate seat in his state during the 2026 election cycle. The popular governor spoke at the N.C. Democratic Party's annual Unity Dinner Saturday night, amid reports that he plans to launch a Senate bid soon. 'Everybody who's planning to run for office next year, please stand up,' Cooper asked the crowd. He then added: 'I'm not sitting down, am I?' The crowd cheered and chanted, 'Run, Roy, run,' according to local reports. Many Democrats have been hoping Cooper would enter the race, after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced he would not run for reelection, after bucking the president and voting against his massive tax and spending bill. The event comes shortly after local reporting surfaced that former Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.), who launched his campaign for Senate in April, is now mulling whether to suspend his bid and instead run for an open district attorney position in Wake County. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley is running on the GOP side, with Trump's endorsement.
The Hill
17 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump this time is trying to help GOP avoid messy primary fights
President Trump is using his influence to help Republicans avoid messy primary fights as the party prepares for the midterms. Trump recently waded into both Michigan's Senate race and the New York gubernatorial contest in an effort to convince notable candidates — Rep. Bill Huizenga (R) and Rep. Mike Lawler (R), respectively — to opt out of the contests. In both cases, the candidates bowed to pressure. The president's moves underscore how Republicans are already seeking to coalesce around candidates in some of next year's most high-profile races, as they look to buck historical trends that suggest the president's party will lose congressional seats and other contests. 'He's clearly far more involved in this round than he was in 2017 and 2018 but at the same time it's a totally different situation,' one national Republican operative said of Trump. The different situation is the narrow House GOP majority. It leaves Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dealing with very tight margins on crucial votes. The president's political operation is effectively being led by Chris LaCivita, a Republican operative who served as co-campaign manager on Trump's 2024 presidential bid. One source close to the White House said Trump and his team would like to avoid messy, drawn-out GOP primaries in state-wide races that could damage candidates for the general election or divide the resources and attention of Republicans. The source pointed to the contentious Pennsylvania Senate primary in 2022 between now-Sen. Dave McCormick and Mehmet Oz, who prevailed in the primary but lost in the general election. Trump spoke directly with Huizenga earlier this month and urged him not to launch a Senate bid, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to The Hill. NOTUS first reported that Trump had directly asked Huizenga to stay out of the race, effectively clearing the field for former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), whom Trump endorsed Thursday. In North Carolina, Trump is backing Michael Whatley, who is expected in the coming days to announce his campaign to replace retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). The source said Whatley would not have entered the race without Trump's blessing to leave his position at the Republican National Committee. 'They're also at the same time trying to do a balancing act where they want to be supportive of people who have been loyal to the president and drive who and what they think is in their best interest,' the national Republican strategist said. The strategist said those two criteria are 'not a perfect match,' pointing to Trump's backing of Whatley. The strategist argued that a candidate like Whatley is a riskier bet in the swing state. 'He essentially sacrificed Tillis who was a much safer bet than Lara Trump would have been or Whatley today,' the strategist said. 'If I were drawing a map, I would shade North Carolina in light blue.' Other Republicans push back on the notion, pointing to Whatley's deep ties to the state's grassroots from his history as chair of the North Carolina GOP. 'No polling has indicated that Thom Tillis was going to be a better candidate than a pro-Trump Republican,' said a second national Republican operative, noting that Trump has won North Carolina three times in the past. Republicans are also seeking to put a bow on Georgia's GOP Senate primary as the party looks to oust Sen. Jon Ossoff, arguably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent up for reelection in the upper chamber. One other race to watch for Trump's influence is the Kentucky Senate campaign to replace outgoing Sen. Mitch McConnell (R). Trump has so far not weighed in as multiple Republicans have announced their candidacies. In Georgia, Fox News reported Friday that Trump's political operation and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) had butted heads over their preferred candidates, with Kemp pushing former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley. Businessman Nate Morris has been building his pro-Trump resume. He announced his candidacy on Donald Trump Jr.'s podcast and has already scored endorsements from Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), both staunch Trump allies. Morris is also close with Vice President Vance. Trump also has not waded into the Texas Republican Senate primary, where state Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking on incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Both Republicans are considered Trump allies, with Paxton being popular with the president's base and Cornyn a key GOP voice in the Senate. Most polls show Paxton with a considerable lead over Cornyn, but hypothetical general election polling shows Cornyn performing better than Paxton against Democratic candidates. Last week Cornyn said Trump has relayed to him that he is not ready to endorse in the race. Democrats argue that their chances at flipping Texas at the Senate level are boosted with a Paxton nomination. 'Paxton can't win a general but Cornyn probably can't win a primary,' the GOP strategist said. 'There's very complicating factors, but I think they're trying to balance their MAGA loyalties with the practicalities of making sure they keep the Senate comfortably and try to find a map that gives them a House majority that includes redistricting.' Redistricting has become a major topic of conversation in national political circles as Texas Republicans pursue redistricting ahead of the midterms. Trump spoke earlier this month with Texas Republicans, where he urged leaders in the state to redraw congressional maps to boost the GOP. The president has also made clear he would support other red states doing the same. 'Just a very simple redrawing, we pick up five seats,' Trump said of Texas. 'But we have a couple of other states where we'll pick up seats also.' Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) floated 'middecade' redistricting to reporters Thursday, noting that he has spoken to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the matter. 'They said they were going to redo the count in time for 2026,' the governor said, referring to the census. 'They would have to do that relatively soon because you need time to draw maps and you need time to get that done.' Population shifts in states like Florida could benefit House Republicans, particularly in south Florida, where Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jared Moskowitz and Lois Frankel could be negatively impacted. 'Any advantage you can get the better,' the GOP strategist noted. 'That gives you a lot of breathing room even if you lose some tough races.' Trump's poll numbers have wavered in recent surveys, a result largely attributable to independents souring on his handling of key issues like the economy and immigration. But Trump allies argued the president's endorsement is still a make-or-break factor in primaries because of his enduring popularity within the party. 'His numbers are stronger than ever before with the Republican base,' one Trump ally said. 'Republican voters are happier with him now than ever before.' The second national Republican operative called Trump's popularity 'a huge asset' in the midterms. 'If you are trying to run a campaign that wants to win you need to replicate the pro Trump coalition,' the operative said, referring to the president's general election win last year.
