CatholicVote has partnered with Judicial Watch to file lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services after the departments failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for over six months. 

CatholicVote submitted a FOIA request in September, requesting copies of communications between the federal government and Catholic charities working on the Texas border. The FOIA request was issued as record numbers of migrants attempted to cross the border, and the Biden administration blocked media access while reports circulated of immigrants packed into squalid conditions. 

“The Biden administration has refused to provide copies of communications between Catholic- affiliated charities and organizations at the border," Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said in a Feb. 9 release. 

A lack of transparency and obstruction, Burch said, forced them to file these federal lawsuits. 

“American Catholics deserve to know the full extent of the U.S. government's role in funding and coordinating with Catholic church affiliated agencies at the border, and what role these agencies played in the record surge of illegal immigrants over the past year. We will do whatever is necessary to uncover the truth," Burch said. 

In the release, CatholicVote emphasized that every person, regardless of their legal status deserves to be treated with dignity, though the border is in chaos with women and young girls being trafficked and raped. 

“Dangerous drugs are flowing into our country, while reports suggest border enforcement officials are overwhelmed and Catholic-affiliated agencies are reportedly working directly with the federal government. Are they helping? How so? What exactly is happening?” the release states. 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, federal agencies are required to respond to a FOIA request within 20 working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. CatholicVote's first FOIA request, submitted six months ago, asked for all communications between the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Diocese of Brownsville (San Juan, Texas); Bishop Daniel E. Flores in his capacity as bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas; Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV); Sister Norma Pimentel in her capacity as the executive director of CCRGV and/or The Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Tex. 

The second FOIA request asked for all communications between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) with Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley (CCRGV); Sister Norma Pimentel in her capacity as the executive director of CCRGV and/or The Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Tex., the release states. 

This comes as CBP agents have encountered 518,360 people attempting to enter the country illegally in the first three months of fiscal year 2022. In the same time period in FY 2021, CBP agents encountered 218,036 people trying to enter the country illegally, and in 2020, that number was 128,347.

According to the CBP, border patrol agent encounters with people trying to illegally enter the U.S. between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, rose to 1.956 million, up from 646,822 during the previous year.

The Catholic Church has five guiding principles on the subject of immigration. Among these, the church recognizes that everyone has the right to find economic, political and social opportunities in his homeland with a job paying a living wage recognized as a basic human right. If an individual can’t find a job to support their family in their homeland, the church recognizes that they have the right to relocate, also stating that sovereign nations have the right to secure their borders, as long as the reason to do so is not for financial gain. 

The church teaches that countries with the ability to provide safety and opportunities to their citizens have an obligation to take in migrants and states that those fleeing wars and persecution should be taken in by the global community. Regardless of an immigrant’s legal status, the church's teachings state the individual has human dignity and should be treated accordingly.