Catholics and Evangelicals Issue Historic Joint Immigration Statement

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 17: Pope Francis will celebrate Mass next week for 25,000 people on the east portico of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at the Catholic University of America September 17, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Briefing

• The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Association of Evangelicals released the first joint immigration statement in American religious history on October 13, calling for limits on non-violent detentions, chaplain access for those in custody, and expanded legal pathways to permanent residency.
• The five-page declaration was co-signed by Bishop Brendan J. Cahill and Rev. Walter Kim, co-chairs of the Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue on Immigration — a formal ecumenical initiative that held its inaugural meeting on March 24, 2026.
• The document calls directly on Congress to address what it labels "statutory shortcomings" in the legal immigration system, and its release was timed to coincide with surging deportations and the Supreme Court-cleared cancellation of Temporary Protected Status for nationals from Haiti, Syria, and more than a dozen other countries.