Center on Immigration at Cabrini University

The Center on Immigration at Cabrini University has embodied Mother Cabrini’s legacy and the mission of our institution since its establishment. As we all process the sad news about the university’s closing in summer 2024, our team will continue advocating for immigration justice and serving our immigrant students and community. We will continue to live our mission in the next year as we did before.

Join us to show support to the immigrant women in detention at Berks. The van will leave Cabrini from Grace Hall at 8:45am sharp.

10 years later, this mural by the Society of the Citizens of Pozzallo and GROUNDSWELL, NYC symbolizes the prevalence of migration.
Mother Cabrini taught us to serve the immigrants, connect with them and help them thrive. We uphold that mission today!

On October 25th, we hosted our annual Delaware Valley Migration Scholar Colloquium at Cabrini University!

We learned about Solidarity and Sanctuary from the perspective of social philosophy. We also learned about research comparing the legal structure of refugee and asylum seeking in Brazil and US.

The evening was filled with rich conversations, philosophical discussions and ideas for future research and collaborations.


We are thankful to our presenters, participants and guests.

Posted • We're excited to join Spiral Q for another amazing Peoplehood Parade! Join the Shut Down Berks contingent of the Peoplehood parade Saturday, Oct 15th!

Come wearing orange 🙂

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Saturday, October 15th 2022 - (Rain date Sat. October 22nd )
Parade line-up at noon at the Paul Robeson House at 50th and Walnut
Parade begins at 1pm
Performances/Pageant around 2:30 at Clark Park at 45th and Chester

We are inviting im/migration scholars in Delaware area to send abstracts of their on-going research for a presentation. We also invite interested scholars to join us for discussion and learning about the state of scholarship in this area. Please register with the link in our bio.

Don't miss the opportunity to join us for the last of our Spring Book Talk Series. Join us on April 20, 3:30pm (ET) to hear from a distinguished scholar César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández about his national bestselling book Migrating to Prison. Learn about the origins, causes and the current state of the immigrant detention in the US.

"This is the moment for us, as nations and as individuals, to challenge ourselves to see the welcoming of Ukrainian refugees not as the exception—but as the new standard for all refugees." Isabella Alexander-Nathani

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis' Double Standard The warm welcome Ukrainian refugees have received contrasts sharply with the punitive treatment of those from the Middle East and Africa.

If you enjoyed our last book talk, get ready for another! Wednesday, March 30th @ 1pm Dr. Ayanna Cooper and Dr. Ibrahim Awad will join COI to present "Black Immigrants in the United States: Essays on the Politics of Race, Language, and voice".
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity! Register with the link down below
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGoynJDw83Ab6VbTFNYxSqUJDqEIY1AjnlsFJBfFw9NjR5Cw/viewform

Register now for our first 📖Talk of 2022! linktr.ee/centeronimmigration

Dont miss the chance to hear an award winning writer, activist, filmmaker and educator, Dr. Isabella Alexander-Nathani, present her book
“Burning at Europe’s Borders” 🇪🇺

Learn about the human side of global migrant and refugee crisis 🌍

The Berks County Residential Center should no longer be utilized by ICE, whether it be to imprison families, children, women or any individual adult. The Biden administration should immediately end ICE contracts in Berks County. No one should be detained at this facility for any length of time. The Biden administration must honor its promise to close these prisons and remember that incarceration is another form of family separation.

Center on Immigration has an open position for a Program coordinator! Join our team with the link below
If you have any questions please reach out!
https://jobs.cabrini.edu/postings/2095

“It’s a pattern of perplexing contradiction, immigration advocates say.�“Yet again, we see the Biden administration breaking its own campaign promises and falling far afield from where they promised to be on border and immigration policy,” said Shaw Drake, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union Border Rights Center in El Paso. “The reimplementation of MPP by this administration is going well beyond what is required of them by court order.” ‘

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/remain-in-mexico-restarts-biden/2021/12/08/33184c3c-570f-11ec-929e-95502bf8cdd5_story.html

‘Remain in Mexico’ program begins in El Paso amid skepticism from advocates Migrant shelters in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, are told to expect 30 to 35 MPP enrollees a day.

It’s time for Pennsylvania to allow access to a standard driver’s license to everyone in the commonwealth, regardless of immigration status. Cabrini University students met with PA state legislators and urged them to support HB279, Driver’s Licenses for All. This legislation will keep our roads safe and our privacy protected. Learn more about HB279 by visiting drivingpaforward.org/

Great job, Cavs!

"The Biden administration has reportedly struck an agreement with the Mexican government to resurrect the controversial “Remain in Mexico’” arrangement that requires asylum seekers to stay outside the US while their claims are considered."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/02/remain-in-mexico-biden-administration-immigration

US reportedly reaches deal to restart Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy Biden called the policy inhumane after Trump administration used it to return over 60,000 asylum seekers across the border

"If the provision is approved by the Senate as-is, the immigration measure in the bill would allow undocumented people present in the U.S. since before 2011 up to 10 years of work authorization, falling short of an initial goal to offer them a pathway to citizenship.

The provision approved by the House offers a sort of waiver to immigration laws, using a process known as parole to allow people to stay in the country for five years with the option to extend for another five years thereafter.

About 6.5 million people would stand to benefit from the measure directly, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

According to that analysis, about three million of those people would become eligible to springboard from the parole status to legal permanent residency, the first step toward citizenship...

…Still, the immigration provisions fall short of Democrats' initial goal of providing a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S."

Historic immigration reform included in House-passed spending bill The social spending bill approved by the House Friday in a 220-213 vote includes the most extensive immigration reform package reviewed by Congress in 35 years, albeit in a much reduced version from what proponents originally sought.

We are very proud to announce that Cabrini has just become the FIRST Pennsylvania school to partner with thedream.us to provide scholarships for the Commonwealth’s undocumented immigrant youth to achieve their higher education dreams. Learn more - https://www.cabrini.edu/about/media-hub/news/2021/cabrini-becomes-thedream.us-first-partner-college-in-pennsylvania

"The disagreements between some of President's Biden appointees who have pushed for tougher enforcement, including increased deportations, and others who support expanding access to the asylum system have hindered the administration's policy objectives, the people involved in the discussions said.

"From the very beginning, there have been battles within the administration about how to handle the border between those who are more progressive and those who are more enforcement-minded on the issue," one person said. "These battles have led to paralysis, which has allowed things to get worse in several ways."

"We're not making any progress," said another person with direct knowledge of the disagreements, citing "so much division" among Mr. Biden's appointees.

Starting later this month, the Biden administration could find itself implementing the most sweeping border restrictions instituted under former President Donald Trump: the Title 42 expulsions and a program that requires asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are reviewed by U.S. courts."

Division among Biden appointees led U.S. to embrace Trump-era border policies Infighting between those who support tougher enforcement and those who favor expanding access to the asylum system has hindered the administration's border policy, officials told CBS News.

"Legal experts say Title 42 is one of the most controversial and restrictive immigration policies ever enacted. When the Trump administration implemented Title 42, lawmakers including then-Sen. Kamala Harris called it an unconstitutional “executive power grab.” Immigrant advocates broadly expected Biden to do away with enforcement of the measure when he took office.

Public health experts say people who refuse to get vaccinated — not migrants — are driving the increase of infections in the U.S. Last month, former CDC officials wrote a letter to the Biden administration condemning the current policy as “scientifically baseless and politically motivated.” They said that measures including masking, social distancing, quarantine and vaccination effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Oct. 3 on CNN that immigrants are “absolutely not” a driving force of COVID-19. Asked about Title 42, Fauci said, “My feeling has always been that focusing on immigrants, expelling them ... is not the solution to an outbreak.”

Title 42 explained: The obscure public health policy at the center of a U.S. border fight Title 42 is a public health policy that's being used to determine whether immigrants can cross the border. Here's how it works.

"The Biden administration has clung to pandemic-related border restrictions enacted by Trump, known as the Title 42 policy, under which the US has expelled hundreds of thousands of migrants without giving them access to their legal right to apply for asylum. And faced with a recent spike in Haitian migrants at the border, Biden forcibly returned thousands to Haiti despite an ongoing political and humanitarian crisis there.

These enforcement actions create a stark contrast between how the president treats migrants who are trying to enter the US and those already living in the country for whom he has tried to provide a path to citizenship.

And that inconsistency has become a source of strife within the administration. The US special envoy for Haiti recently resigned over the government’s “deeply flawed” Haiti policy. So did a senior State Department official who called the Title 42 policy “illegal,” “inhumane,” and “not worthy of this administration.” Current Department of Homeland Security officials have also described a general lack of direction on immigration."

"Wealthy countries have long struggled with calibrating migration policy to treat vulnerable populations humanely while also respecting national borders. But the Biden administration’s border policies, which have had the effect of excluding migrants from legal protections to which they may be entitled, haven’t balanced those priorities effectively. Rather, they have suppressed a group of migrants that already have very little visibility.

That approach contrasts with the administration’s efforts to improve the lives of undocumented immigrants already living in the US."

Biden’s incoherent immigration policy President Biden proposed humane immigration reforms but continued harsh, Trump-era enforcement policies at the border.

Here are 5 ways you can take action right now!
Sign the Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/.../tell-secretary-mayorkas-to...
Call: 202-282-8495 Leave a message for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
E-mail: www.whitehouse.gov/contact & [email protected]
Twitter: Tweet your message to
Facebook: Make a post and tag
Instagram: Make a post and tag
Sample language:
I am writing to say that the Berks County, Karnes and Dilley prisons should no longer be utilized by ICE, whether it be for families, children, women or any individual adult. The Biden administration should immediately end ICE contracts in Berks County, as well as in Karnes and Dilley. No one should be detained at these facilities for any length of time. The Biden administration must honor its promise to close these prisons and remember that incarceration is another form of family separation.
https://www.theloquitur.com/the-center-on-immigration.../

The Center on Immigration joins the fight to shut down Berks and to support Haitian immigrants – Loquitur But crowds of protesters who gathered at Independence Hall know that it is a detention center and are speaking out to call for its closure, saying that it is a detention center that victimizes immigrants and then deports them.

Congratulations to Carrie Nielsen, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science and faculty affiliate of the Center on Immigration, on the publication of her book, Unleaded: How Changing Our Gasoline Changed Everything.

The book is now available via Rutgers University Press, Bookshop, and Amazon.

https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/unleaded/9781978821002

"We do not need more prisons. We do not need more families separated by deportations or flown to their death. We do not need more people dead at the border. Period."

Here are 5 ways you can take action right now!

Sign the Petition: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-secretary-mayorkas-to-shut-down-the-berks-immigrant-prison-once-and-for-all

Call: 202-282-8495 Leave a message for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas & White House switchboard at 202-456-1111

E-mail: www.whitehouse.gov/contact & [email protected]

Twitter: Tweet your message to

Facebook: Make a post and tag

Instagram: Make a post and tag

Sample language:
I am writing to say that the Berks County, Karnes and Dilley prisons should no longer be utilized by ICE, whether it be for families, children, women or any individual adult. The Biden administration should immediately end ICE contracts in Berks County, as well as in Karnes and Dilley. No one should be detained at these facilities for any length of time. The Biden administration must honor its promise to close these prisons and remember that incarceration is another form of family separation.

https://generocity.org/philly/2021/09/29/opinion-its-time-to-permanently-close-berks-countys-immigrant-detention-center/?fbclid=IwAR1xy94ervjxLrZ9tt_pLUokuuYHl8hk3XvAnzrfB7i20KNnIxAtdIqMnhA

Opinion: It's time to permanently close Berks County's immigrant detention center - Generocity Philly "As we speak, the Biden administration is pushing to turn the Berks County family prison into a women's prison," says guest columnist Jasmine Rivera.

Today is World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The message this year is towards an ever wider “we”. During WDMR we express concern for different vulnerable people on the move; pray for them as they face many challenges; and increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.

Measage from Sister Barbara Staley, MSC General Superior Cabrini World - Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus MSC

“As in Mother Cabrini’s day, migrants still lack access to basic essentials, often stigmatized and requiring urgent medical, social and emotional support. They are susceptible to unscrupulous individuals who prey on their vulnerability.

We the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart stand in unity with the Holy Father’s call to an ‘ever-widening we’, committing ourselves, and encouraging others, to restore our human family. And with a family, all of us can play our role.”

Message for the WDMR 2021 from Sr Barbara Staley, MSC General Superior