U.S. bishops, Catholic groups denounce DHS rule change for migrant workers

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 11, 2025 / 16:03 pm (CNA).

U.S. Catholic bishops and prominent Catholic nonprofits are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to rescind a recent rule change they say will “disproportionately harm immigrants and their families.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), along with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) and Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), are calling for the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to rescind a policy change halting automatic extension of employment authorization documents for immigrants in the U.S.

The Dec. 1 statement comes after USCIS announced an interim final rule (IFR), titled “Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents,” on Oct. 30.

“Given our organizations’ ministries to immigrants and refugees around the country, we are deeply concerned that the changes in the IFR will disproportionately harm immigrants and their families,” read the statement, co-signed by CLINIC and CCUSA.

“The IFR will guarantee widespread employment-authorization gaps; destabilize fragile households; generate severe backlogs and administrative burdens for affiliates; impede the functioning of state agencies, such as Departments of Motor Vehicles; and impose substantial costs on U.S. employers and local economies,” the groups said. “Most importantly, the IFR will produce these harms without any demonstrated countervailing benefit.”

The U.S. bishops and Catholic nonprofits further described the IFR as “arbitrary and capricious,” stating that USCIS opted to depart from prior policy without explanation or with the establishment of good cause. “The IFR, as proposed, conflicts with fundamental humanitarian and economic principles embodied in U.S. immigration law,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the IFR “removes the only mechanism that has prevented widespread work-authorization lapses” amid ongoing adjudication delays at USCIS. Even with 180-day and 540-day automatic extensions used in the past, the statement said, “clients of CLINIC affiliates were at risk of suspension or termination because renewal adjudications had not kept pace,” leading to loss of wages and health care tied to employment.

The groups said the IFR increases demand for charitable services, including legal and social services such as those provided by Catholic Charities.

“Even temporary extensions were barely sufficient to stabilize families living on the economic margin,” the statement said. “By removing the only buffer against its own delays, the agency converts an administrative backlog into a nationwide work-authorization crisis that will destabilize workers, families, and employers across the country.”

The groups further emphasized the IFR increases the vulnerability of migrant workers, pointing out migrants facing an employment lapse “may find themselves in precarious situations where unscrupulous or predatory persons might exploit their desperate need to support themselves and their families.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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