The nine Catholic dioceses in the State of Ohio, in collaboration with other faith-based and advocacy groups, executed an advocacy effort in support of young immigrants on Monday, December 18, 2017, International Migrants Day. The effort was coordinated by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Catholic Social Action Office.

Over 15,000 individual letters have been sent to Congress through this campaign asking them to pass the DREAM Act, or similar legislation, to provide a path to regularize the status of immigrants brought to the United States when they were very young. The effort is part of a two-year, worldwide “Share the Journey” campaign launched by Pope Francis on September 27, 2017, inviting all to share the difficult journey of migrants and refugees through prayer and support.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many churches, schools, faith communities, advocacy groups, and other people of goodwill who united in support of DREAMers,” said the Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati and Chair of the Catholic Conference of Ohio.

“We are deeply concerned by the many years of failure by Congress, whether controlled by Democrats or by Republicans, to address the plight of immigrants who were brought to the United States as children in the arms of their parents and who have no legal means to regularize their status. With such an outpouring of support from thousands of Ohioans, we urge Congress to finally provide a solution to this crisis and a path to citizenship for DREAMers.”

On Tuesday, December 19, non-emailed letters from constituents were delivered to the offices of Congressional delegates in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The delivery of letters will began with a short press conference, involving DREAMers and faith community representatives, outside Senator Rob Portman’s Cincinnati office building (312 Walnut St., Cincinnati) at 9:00 a.m.