FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2020

Statement by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, on the U.S. Supreme Court Decision Preventing Termination of DACA Program 

I join with my brother bishops in welcoming the U.S. Supreme Court decision that prevents the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA allowed hundreds of thousands of young people, including many who live in Virginia, to work, go to school or serve in the military without fear of deportation. Terminating this program would be devastating for these vulnerable young people. Through our parishes and Catholic Charities Hogar Immigrant Services, we will continue to stand with these young people who are woven into the fabric of our diocese and communities. Through the Virginia Catholic Conference and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we will continue to urge the U.S. Senate to pass legislation that sets a legal path forward for these young people, called DREAMers.

For additional information, contact Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, at 571-215-8731 or Amber.Roseboom@arlingtondiocese.org.

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The Catholic Diocese of Arlington was established on August 13, 1974, and is home to 70 parishes and more than 460,000 Catholics. There are currently 276 priests serving in the Diocese and 49 seminarians discerning a priestly vocation. The Diocese has 37 parish (K-8) schools, four diocesan high schools, four independent Catholic schools and five free-standing (not connected with a parish school) pre-schools, serving more than 17,000 students.

Geographically, the Diocese includes the seven cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester and the 21 counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Lancaster, Loudoun, Madison, Northumberland, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Westmoreland.