With the Support of DAI, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church Issues Parish ID Cards for Members
Building on a strategy initiated by Dallas Area Interfaith, parish leaders at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church issued parish identification cards to parishioners. The document allows immigrant parishioners to identify themselves to authorities, including law enforcement and county health officials, and was developed in partnership with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas and local law police departments. Revista Catolica captured the most recent parish ID event on film (click on photo at right).
[Photo Credit: Revista Católica Dallas]
Con Credencial en Mano, Feligreses Obtienen Seguridad Para Navegar Trato con Agencias Locales, Texas Catholic [pdf]
Parish IDs Issued at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church with the Support of DAI, Revista Cátolica [video]
DAI Fair Banking Assembly Teaches Immigrants How to Avoid Predatory Loans
As part of a civic academy series held across Dallas, St. Luke Catholic Church leaders taught fellow parishioners basic principles of fair banking and how immigrants (including those without legal residency) can avoid predatory lending practices. Parish ID cards, first developed in Dallas in collaboration with the Dallas Catholic Diocese, featured prominently in the discussion, as did the collaboration with Resource One Credit Union in alternative lending strategies.
In photo, lay leader Claudia Cruz, shares her experience with the impact of predatory lending. [Photo Credit: Ben Torres, Revista Católica]
Protegiendo Families Inmigrantes de Abuso Bancario, Revista Católica [pdf]
Parish IDs Now Accepted at Dallas County Mobile Testing Units
Parish identification cards, an IAF immigration strategy developed in collaboration with the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, are now accepted at Dallas County Covid-19 mobile testing units.
[Photo Credit: Smiley N. Pool, Dallas Morning News]
Coronavirus: Condado de Dallas Responde a Preguntas Frecuentes Sobre 'Quédate en Casa' y Covid-19, Al Día Dallas [pdf]
USCCB Highlights DAI-IAF Parish ID Strategy
Last week, at the General Assembly of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore, the outgoing chair of the Committee on Migration (and Catholic Bishop of Austin), Most Reverend Joe S. Vásquez, concluded his report with "good practices for helping immigrants." Topping the list was the IAF parish identification strategy.
Parish identification emerged as a strategy in Dallas after passage of Texas Senate Bill 4, which allows law enforcement officers to ask residents about their immigration status. With no access to state drivers licenses, undocumented immigrants were concerned that otherwise benign traffic stops could result in deportation. Police departments were worried their officers would not be trusted in immigrant communities. As a way to address both concerns, 1,500 Dallas Area Interfaith leaders and their Bishops negotiated acceptance of parish ID cards with five North Texas police departments.
The parish ID strategy soon spread to Baltimore in collaboration with IAF sister affiliate Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) and, most recently, to the Diocese of Brownsville (along the US-Mexico border) in partnership with Valley Interfaith, Catholic Charities and the police departments of Brownsville, McAllen and Edinburg.
Bishop Vasquez recognized the Catholic (Arch)dioceses of Baltimore, Dallas and Brownsville for "fostering a sense of belonging & security." So far in Dallas, 12,000 identification cards have been issued through DAI member congregations, fortifying family connections to congregations and strengthening parish collections in the process.
Remarks by Bishop Jose S. Vásquez, US Conference of Catholic Bishops General Assembly Remarks
How Parish IDs Can Help Foster Communities of Welcome, Justice for Immigrants [Notes]
How Parish IDs Can Help Foster Communities of Welcome, Justice for Immigrants [Webinar]
Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and Valley Interfaith Team Up to Offer Parish ID
Parish IDs Bring Relief to Immigrant Communities in North Texas
DAI Parish ID Effort Featured in HBO Special
In response to undocumented families expressing fear about reporting crimes -- even when they themselves are victims -- because of an inability demonstrate who they are, Dallas Area Interfaith and the Dallas Catholic Diocese worked together to create a solution.
Last year, 1,500 leaders stood with Bishop Edward Burns to invite three police department chiefs to allow their officers to accept parish identification cards, in order to help build trust between the community and the police. Police department chiefs from Carrollton, Farmers Branch and Dallas agreed.
This year, parishes in the Dallas Catholic Diocese have issued tens of thousands of parish identification cards to parishioners, who now feel more confident in relating to the police. HBO covers this story in a special segment:
Catholic Church is Now Issuing Undocumented Immigrants ID Cards, HBO
