International Catholic Migration Commission Inc

We aim to fulfill our mission, which is to serve and protect uprooted people, including migrants, refugees, and the internally displaced, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality. We strive to create flexible and innovative approaches to protect and serve uprooted people by addressing the dynamic challenges of international migration.

The Commission responds to challenges of uprooted people and their communities by providing direct humanitarian assistance in crises, facilitating refugee resettlement, and working toward sustainable rights-based solutions to global migration challenges. We work in conjunction with Catholic Bishops' Conferences worldwide and in cooperation with governmental and nongovernmental partners to meet the immediate needs of suffering uprooted people while working to build sustainable solutions to migration issues. We utilize the existing grassroots network of the Catholic Church to quickly implement programs such as: 1) Humanitarian assistance including food, shelter, medical aid, and disaster relief through churches, governmental bodies, and nonprofit partners. 2) Protection and prevention programs, where we seek to identify and address the underlying causes of vulnerability of displaced people, and to provide emergency and long-term protection to those in need. Persons of greatest concern to us include vulnerable families, unaccompanied children, at-risk women and female-headed households, persons with serious illnesses or disabilities, the elderly, and persons fleeing ethnic, religious or other persecution. 3) Refugee resettlement including legal aid for refugee status determination, coordination with international and governmental bodies for appropriate resettlement locations, and logistical planning. 4) Coordination of Catholic Bishops' Conferences and over 700 civil society organizations to develop programs for uprooted people such as microfinance programs for economic self-sufficiency, societal integration, capacity building, and church networking.

We combine the best of both international organizations and locally-based nonprofits. Our partnership with UNHCR in the Resettlement Deployment Scheme means that we deploy professional experts to assist the UN in implementing the most up-to-date policies and practices, in accord with trends in refugee law, policy, and humanitarian aid.\r\n\r\nSecondly, we work on the ground, in local communities that have experienced influxes of refugees. Our unique tie to the Catholic Church means that we can understand and quickly respond to refugee crises through local Catholic institutions around the world. We also coordinate over 800 civil society organizations globally. We administer programs through local partners and through our knowledgeable, experienced, local staff. Most of our staff are natives of the countries or region in which they work. We believe that our unique position as an international Catholic organization in partnership with UNHCR and various local partners enables us to better serve refugees. The Commission thus provides the expertise and resources of a large international NGO with key ties to international governing bodies, while leveraging the on-the-ground knowledge, presence, and infrastructure of each local Catholic diocese worldwide.

The Commission believes in the protection and dignity of all people, including those uprooted from their homes due to violence, persecution and severe poverty. Today, millions of people trying to flee from violent situations and the risk of death face additional danger and rejection during their journeys and upon arrival in a host country. Too many people are forced to pay large sums of money just to reach security. They risk their lives and freedom by paying traffickers and/or climbing aboard unsafe boats, trucks and trains in order to seek security. The Catholic Church, other faith-based organizations, as well as the international community should strive to do more to protect these innocent people who, for no fault of their own, are being forced from their homes. Until there are safe and secure migration paths and no risk of human trafficking, slavery, human suffering and death along those routes, there remains much to accomplish. While our advocacy programs work to ensure safe passages, our operational work is on the ground helping as many people as we can to obtain that freedom and security they so desperately are seeking.