At the 2019 General Assembly of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore, the outgoing chair of the Committee on Migration (and Catholic Bishop of Austin), Most Reverend Joe S. Vásquez, concluded his report with "good practices for helping immigrants."  Topping the list was the IAF parish identification strategy.

Parish identification emerged as a strategy in Dallas after passage of Texas Senate Bill 4, which allows law enforcement officers to ask residents about their immigration status.  With no access to state drivers licenses, undocumented immigrants were concerned that otherwise benign traffic stops could result in deportation.  Police departments were worried their officers would not be trusted in immigrant communities.  As a way to address both concerns, 1,500 Dallas Area Interfaith leaders and their Bishops negotiated acceptance of parish ID cards with five North Texas police departments. 

The parish ID strategy soon spread to Baltimore in collaboration with IAF sister affiliate Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) and, most recently, to the Diocese of Brownsville (along the US-Mexico border) in partnership with Valley Interfaith, Catholic Charities and the police departments of Brownsville, McAllen and Edinburg.

Bishop Vasquez recognized the Catholic (Arch)dioceses of Baltimore, Dallas and Brownsville for "fostering a sense of belonging & security."  So far in Dallas, 12,000 identification cards have been issued through DAI member congregations, fortifying family connections to congregations and strengthening parish collections in the process.

Remarks by Bishop Jose S. Vásquez, US Conference of Catholic Bishops General Assembly Remarks

How Parish IDs Can Help Foster Communities of Welcome, Justice for Immigrants [Notes]

How Parish IDs Can Help Foster Communities of Welcome, Justice for Immigrants [Webinar]

Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and Valley Interfaith Team Up to Offer Parish ID

Parish IDs Bring Relief to Immigrant Communities in North Texas 

Additional news on Parish IDs

Said Bishop Joe Vásquez, on behalf of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, "We reject the premise that persons who are merely suspected of being undocumented immigrants should be rounded up by state and local police agents."

"This bill requires local police and sheriff's deputies to enforce federal immigration laws as if their job of maintaining public order and the public safety weren't difficult enough as it is," said John Elford, senior pastor of University United Methodist Church and member of Austin Interfaith.

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As the 40+ anniversary of the Texas IAF approaches, religious judicatories have begun congratulating the network for over four decades of leadership development and transformation. Descriptions of the work of the network range from "virtuous" to "transformative" and "a force for change."

Click below to read letters from:

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In an unprecedented collaboration between leaders from two Chambers of Commerce and judicatories from Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith traditions, 200 Austin-area stakeholders gathered for an afternoon of learning about economic, business and legal perspectives on immigration reform. This was the second event in a campaign organized by clergy leadership to support compassionate immigration reform, with the number of attendees doubling since the first event.

Austin Interfaith Hosts Immigration Reform Event, Austin American Statesman