Press Releases

Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today responded to the horrific fire in Ciudad Juarez which took the lives of 39 migrants at a government-run facility just south of the U.S.-Mexico border. In response, Danilo Zak, Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy at CWS, commented: “This loss of life is tragic. The women, men, and children we lost in this fire serve …

For Immediate Release: March 24, 2023 Contact: Media@cwsglobal.org New U.S. Agreement with Canada Would Block Asylum Seekers from Life-Saving Protection Washington, DC–CWS today expressed concern over the Biden Administration’s new agreement with Canada that would block vulnerable people fleeing violence and persecution from seeking asylum while crossing the northern border with Canada. The agreement restricts the ability of asylum seekers …

Washington, D.C. – Church World Service today expressed its outrage over the recent death of a handcuffed man at the hands of sheriff deputies and medical staff on March 6th. The man, 28-year-old Irvo Otieno, who came to the United States with his family from Kenya when he was four years old, died in custody at a psychiatric hospital after …

Washington, D.C.—Church World Service today expressed its alarm over reports that the Biden administration is considering the reinstatement of family detention to deter asylum seekers from seeking safety at the U.S. southern border. The practice, which in spirit runs counter to the legal right to seek asylum, is cruel, hurtful, and ineffective as a immigration policy. CWS further notes that …

Washington, D.C.— Following the release of a New York Times report detailing the large-scale exploitation and abuse of migrant children across the United States, CWS today called on national, state, and local governments to improve protections for unaccompanied immigrant children and their families and hold corporations accountable for the clear violation of child labor laws.  The report, published earlier this …