By The Mass, procession, and rally brought out more than 100 Catholics. Following the events, some attendees met with congressional staffers about the dignity of migrants.
More than 100 Catholics processed to a rally near the U.S. Capitol in Washington and met with congressional staffers to advocate for migrant dignity and show solidarity with the community.
The Dorothea Project — named after two servants of God, Dorothy Day and Sister Thea Bowman — organized the Sept. 15 event to coincide with the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, one of the patrons of the organization.
Catholics gathered for Mass at St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, celebrated by Washington, D.C., Auxiliary Bishop Gary Studniewski, and processed to Upper Senate Park, which is less than a mile from the parish and sits adjacent to the Capitol. They prayed the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary.
In his homily, Studniewski reflected on the Gospel reading from John 19 when Mary, the mother of God, stood before Christ on the cross. As Mary did, he said, “we want to stand at the foot of the cross of suffering, the suffering Christ, [and] we want to be present to our suffering brothers and sisters to offer our tears and our prayers and our consolation.”
The bishop said that “these days, in our own country, we are aware of so many who suffer the pains of injustice.” He said: “We gather today, mindful of the many men, women, and children — real families — who suffer the injustice of being mistreated as immigrants, migrants, strangers.”
“Like our Blessed Mother, we may appear to be powerless at the foot of the cross,” Studniewski said. “But the suffering of our brothers and sisters in need is somehow softened by our presence and by the agency of those who love them. They are not alone. They are accompanied in their suffering. They are loved.”
Anna Marie Gallagher, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), an organization that works closely with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said the procession and rally come at a “difficult and frightening moment for immigrant communities in the United States.”
She said deportations impact people “who have lived, worked, worshipped, raised children, and have contributed to our community for years.” She said immigration status is more complicated than “legal” and “illegal,” noting that people can face deportation when protected status expires or have difficulty moving from temporary to permanent status.
People who follow the laws, Gallagher said, may “find that the rules have changed around them.”
Policies, she said, must protect “family safety and human life” and always be consistent with “human dignity.” She said policies should recognize every person, regardless of immigration status, as “a person created in the image and likeness of God.”
“You are part of our communities,” Gallagher said of migrant communities. “Your dignity does not depend upon your immigration status. You are not invisible and the Church will continue to walk with you.”
Many gathered for the procession carried signs, some of which were premade and depicted Our Lady of Sorrows with the text, “dignity, family, solidarity.” Art Laffin, a member of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker movement in Washington, D.C., carried a handwritten sign saying, “Love your neighbor means to welcome the immigrant, not to detain and deport them.”
Kathy O’Leary, who traveled from New Jersey, told EWTN News she came to connect with Catholics “taking action right now,” adding: “We need to show our love for our neighbors.” She said she’s grateful Pope Leo XIV and the U.S. bishops have spoken up for migrants, noting that their statements have encouraged more people to attend events like this.
Frank Panopoulos, a human rights attorney and activist, told EWTN News he also believes it’s “great that the bishops and the pope are speaking about it.” Yet, he said he does not believe the message has reached the pews to the point that it motivates more people to take action.
He said gatherings that defend the dignity of migrants should have “the same kind of crowd that Jesus got when he entered into Jerusalem.”
Ken Cooper, a retired religion teacher, told EWTN News he attended the event because “when you welcome the stranger, you welcome [Christ],” quoting from Matthew 25.
“If they’re here, you must treat all human beings like Christ,” he said.
Following the rally, the Dorothea Project took groups to several congressional offices with whom they coordinated meetings.
Katie Holler, founder of the Dorothea Project, told EWTN News the group “feels really blessed that so many people came from both near and far” for the event. The advocacy of Leo and the U.S. bishops on behalf of migrants, she said, “gives us fertile soil” to bring more Catholics into public advocacy for migrants.
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ALL illegals not only violate the law and demonstrate their lack of regard for their neighbor’s rights the very moment they sneak in, but also tax our health systems, raise housing costs, lower wages for Americans, overcrowd our schools, with almost 50% of illegals on welfare far higher than the average for non illegals, not to mention the STEALING OF BILLIONS of taxpayers dollars as in Minnesota and California.
Or “non-violent crimes” such as DWI, fraud, theft, identity theft, drug trafficking, child pornography possession, driving accidents, and some forms of human trafficking and child molestation.
These are a few more of the recent crimes, including child trafficking, committed by those among the illegal aliens the bishops protect–not a very good example of good citizenship. The bishops are therefore complicit in these crimes because of their support for illegals:
Illegal Alien Arrested in Texas for Sexual Assault of Child, Stalking
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/11/venezuelan-illegal-alien-arrested-in-texas-for-sexual-assault-of-child-stalking/
Haitian Illegal Alien in Florida Now Accused of Murdering Woman, Attempted Rape with Battery, Burglary with Battery, Was Released into U.S. by the Democrat Administration
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/02/dhs-haitian-illegal-alien-accused-of-murdering-florida-woman-was-released-into-u-s-by-biden-administration/
Deported illegal alien CHILD PREDATOR busted while crossing again Texas border
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/08/27/exclusive-deported-cuban-child-predator-busted-while-crossing-texas-border/
—Illegal alien fugitive arrested after allegedly slashing woman’s throat in Tennessee
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/06/16/illegal-alien-fugitive-arrested-after-allegedly-slashing-womans-throat-tennessee/
• The OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS GENERAL Conference has released its annual state immigration report revealing that IN 2025, ILLEGAL MIGRANTS COMMITTED 2,183 VIOLENT OFFENSES, INCLUDING 41 HOMICIDES, 145 SEXUAL OFFENSES, 11 CHILD RAPES, AND MORE. Tennessee Releases Staggering Stats on Migrant Crime
• https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/02/02/tennessee-releases-staggering-stats-migrant-crime/
•
—735 Illegal Aliens Arrested by ICE-Houston Officers— accounted for more than 1,700 criminal convictions, WITH NEARLY 1,200 involving VIOLENT CONVICTIONS, INCLUDING MURDERERS, CHILD PREDATORS
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/06/18/exclusive-735-criminal-illegal-aliens-arrested-by-ice-houston-agents-in-may-nearly-1200-with-violent-convictions-including-murderers-child-predators/
—ICE Deports Illegal Aliens Gang Members Convicted of Attempted Murder, Burglary
• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/21/ice-deports-illegal-gang-members-convicted-of-attempted-murder-burglary/
• —DOJ Indicts Illegal Aliens Accused of Massive Democrat Administratin-Era CHILD TRAFFICKING Scheme
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/06/11/doj-indicts-three-illegal-aliens-accused-of-smuggling-migrant-children-into-us/
•
• ICE Agents Deport Illegal Aliens Convicted of Murder, Rape, Drug Trafficking
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/29/ice-agents-deport-illegal-alien-convicted-of-murder-rape-drug-trafficking/
ICE Deports Illegal Alien Gang Members Convicted of Manslaughter, Attempted Murder, Rape
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/12/ice-deports-illegal-alien-gang-members-convicted-of-manslaughter-attempted-murder-rape/
Chicago Threw $640M in Tax Dollars at Illegal Migrants Over Two Years
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/21/chicago-threw-640m-in-tax-dollars-at-illegal-migrants-over-two-years/
•
• The ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl at Freedom Park in Idaho, Lozano Flores illegally crossed the Democrat administration’s open southern border into New Mexico in 2023, but was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and agreed to voluntarily return to Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has revealed. He then reentered the U.S. at an unknown location and date.
https://www.kivitv.com/news/local-news/in-your-neighborhood/ada-county/new-details-suspect-charged-in-freedom-park-sexual-assault-kidnapping-held-on-3-million-bail
• ICE DEPORTED SEVERAL ILLEGAL ALIENS LAST WEEK, INCLUDING THOSE CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE, RAPE, AND ANIMAL ABUSE, Breitbart News has learned. “In the last week alone, ICE has deported dangerous criminals from our country, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, and violent assailants,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/05/exclusive-ice-deports-illegal-aliens-convicted-homicide-rape-animal-abuse/
Democrat Administration-Parole Migrant Accused of Raping 2 Women in Salt Lake City, Utah
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/04/biden-parole-migrant-accused-of-raping-2-women-in-salt-lake-city-utah/
• Turkish Illegal Unleashed by Democrat Administration Charged With Sexually Abusing 6-Year-Old at California Daycare. DHS SAID. BAGCI HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE COUNTRY BY THE U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION IN NOVEMBER 2023 AND AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER 2024.
https://borderhawk.news/exclusive-turkish-illegal-unleashed-by-biden-charged-with-sexually-abusing-6-year-old-at-california-daycare/
https://x.com/DHSgov
Indian National on Student Visa Accused of Murdering 19-Year-Old Julissa Salazar
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/12/report-indian-national-on-student-visa-accused-of-murdering-19-year-old-julissa-salazar/
Illegal alien, reportedly released into the United States by the Democrat administration, is now accused of murdering a mother of a 3-year-old girl in Fairfax County, Virginia.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/19/report-biden-released-illegal-alien-accused-of-murdering-mother-of-3-year-old-in-virginia/
• Democrat administration’s Arab ‘Migrants’ Charged With Child Rape in Utah
https://borderhawk.news/bidens-arab-migrants-charged-with-child-rape-in-utah/
• An illegal alien from Guatemala has been charged with committing heinous sex crimes against under 14 young victims in the state of Utah.
https://borderhawk.news/exclusive-previously-deported-guatemalan-charged-with-raping-underage-sisters-in-utah/
• illegal Alien Charged with Sexually Assaulting, Murdering 2-Year-Old Girl in Virginia
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/07/22/illegal-alien-charged-sexually-assaulting-murdering-2-year-old-girl-virginia/
Illegal Alien Released from Jail Accused of Fatally Stabbing Retiree One Day Later in Sanctuary California
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/13/video-illegal-alien-released-jail-accused-fatally-stabbing-retiree-one-day-later-sanctuary-california/
Kentucky: Illegal Alien Accused of Raping, Sodomizing 15-Year-Old Girl
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/13/kentucky-illegal-alien-accused-raping-sodomizing-15-year-old-girl/
ICE Arrests Illegal Aliens Convicted of Murder, Domestic Abuse, Child Cruelty
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/25/ice-arrests-illegal-aliens-convicted-murder-domestic-violence-child-cruelty/
Thousands of Food Safety Violations by Illegal Alien Street Vendors But Democrat Administration Does Nothing in Samctuaru City Los Angeles. Democrat leaders have decided to do nothing despite being aware of horrifying health hazards, their own previously unreleased records reveal.
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2026/08/30/33585072report-officials-fielded-thousands-of-food-safety-violations-by-illegal-street-vendors-but-now-do-nothing/
Portland: 80% of Fentanyl Trafficker Arrests Are Illegal Migrants from Honduras
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/27/portland-80-of-fentanyl-trafficker-arrests-are-illegal-migrants-from-honduras/
Virginia: Obama Democrat Administration’s Differed Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Illegal Alien Charged with More than 20 Counts of Child Pornography
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/27/spanbergers-virginia-daca-illegal-alien-charged-with-over-20-counts-of-child-pornography/
ICE Arrests Illegal Alien PEDOPHILES, RAPISTS, KIDNAPPERS ACCROSS U.S.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/28/exclusive-ice-agents-arrest-illegal-alien-pedophiles-rapists-kidnappers-across-u-s/
ICE Agents Arrest Illegal Alien with 20-Year Criminal Record
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/02/exclusive-ice-agents-arrest-illegal-alien-with-20-year-criminal-record/
In the month of August, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested criminal illegal aliens across the country, INCLUDING THOSE CONVICTED FOR HEINOUS CRIMES SUCH AS SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A MINOR, DUI MANSLAUGHTER, CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, MURDER, AND CONSPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE FENTANYL.
Some of the most heinous arrests over the last three months include:
Masroor Ahmed Butt, criminal illegal alien from India, convicted for intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and possession of child pornography in Washington, D.C. (8/27/26)
A criminal illegal alien from Ecuador, convicted for CRIMINAL ATTEMPT-BY PURPOSELY ENGAGING IN SEXUAL CONDUCT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A MINOR: VICTIM 13–15-YEARS-OLD in Bergen County, New Jersey. (8/24/26)
Osbert Marion Otien Owuor, a criminal illegal alien from Kenya, convicted for murder in Compton, California. (8/5/26)
A criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, convicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl in Cincinnati, Ohio. (8/21/26)
Wilmark Orozco-Huerta, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted for vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, and DUI with serious bodily injury in Polk County, Florida. (8/10/26)
Daniel Alexander Martinez-Murillo, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras and active member of Somos Pocos Pero Locos Gang, convicted for aggravated robbery in Houston, Texas. (7/9/26)
Moises Gutierez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and Paisas gang member, whose criminal history includes convictions for driving under the influence of liquor and illegal re-entry, and arrests for SEX OFFENSE AGAINST CHILD – FONDLING AND SEX ASSAULT – sodomy. (7/31/26)
Americans can see more public safety threats arrested in their communities on our webpage WOW.DHS.Gov.
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/09/02/ices-august-arrests-break-record-number-illegal-aliens-arrested
Prayer for Migrants through Our Lady’s Intercession
O Most Sorrowful Mother, who experienced the anxiety of the flight into Egypt and the deep pain of displacement and uncertainty, look with mercy upon all immigrants today. Wrap them in your mantle of protection against danger, fear, and hardship. Grant strength to parents carrying heavy worries for their children’s future. Open our hearts and borders to welcome the vulnerable as our brothers and sisters. In the power of Christ and the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Mary, Solace of Migrants,
Pray for Us!
Once again, protestant-leaning EWTN News purposely misleads Catholics by referring to illegal aliens as “migrants.” They are not. Those marching in Washington are probably:
1. Non-Catholic agitators
2. Catholics who rarely attend Mass
3. Catholics who support abortion
4. Catholics who are divorced and remarried
5. Catholics who contracept
Karens riot in Washington, head to Congress in abet illegals.
FIFY.
The list is endless. Do the bishops pray for the victims of the illegals they protect?
Why do the bishops persists in the idea that we do not have enough bad people in this country, so we have add more from among those who demonstrate their lack of care for their neighbor the very moment they step into this country in violation of the law?
And to make matters worse, the bishops lead innocent and caring Catholics to follow their harmful example:
ICE Deports Illegal Aliens Convicted of Murder, Statutory Rape, Kidnapping
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/15/ice-deports-illegal-alien-gang-members-convicted-murder-statutory-rape-kidnapping/
Virginia: Illegal Alien Accused of Stabbing Woman to Death, Injuring Another
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/15/virginia-illegal-alien-accused-of-stabbing-woman-to-death/
Again, do the bishops pray for the victims of the illegals (“migrants” as the weasel word the bishops use)?
Immigrants from Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria Charged with $10 Million California Daycare Fraud Scheme
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/16/california-immigrants-from-somalia-afghanistan-syria-charged-with-10-million-daycare-fraud-scheme/
ICE Arrests Previously Deported Illegal Alien [oops, I mean “migrant”] Sex Offender in Philadelphia
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/16/ice-arrests-previously-deported-illegal-alien-sex-offender-in-philadelphia/
Angel Mom: My Newlywed Son and His Wife Would Be Alive if Not for the Democrat Administration Catch-and-Release [of “migrants”] Polivy
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/16/watch-angel-mom-my-newlywed-son-his-wife-would-be-if-alive-if-not-for-biden/