Last month, the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act (S. 1885/H.R. 4285) was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. The bill would relieve the backlog currently confronting special immigrant juveniles by exempting them from the annual caps for the employment-based, fourth preference (EB-4) visa. This would ensure that abused, neglected, or abandoned youth who are deemed eligible for relief by state courts no longer need to compete with adults relying on the same category of visas. These minors are ill-suited for the EB-4 visa category, as they are seeking humanitarian protection, not employment-based immigration.
Passage of the bill would simultaneously free up visas for others in the EB-4 category, including immigrant religious workers depended upon by many Catholic dioceses and other religious organizations throughout the United States.
Now is a crucial time for your advocacy to ensure movement on this important piece of legislation. Help ensure vulnerable youth receive the protections they deserve and American communities can benefit from the contributions of religious workers by completing this Colorado Catholic Conference action alert in support of the Protect Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Act.
