“Free to leave, free to stay” is the message for World Migrants' Day 2023

 The 2023 World Migrant’s Day Message brought a message that is very relevant for those of us who work with the great influx of asylees here in New York City. Recognizing the social and economic reasons that migrants have to leave their home countries, Pope Francis outlines what are necessary conditions for people to experience safety and security in their own home.   

To make migration a choice that is truly free, efforts must be made to ensure to everyone an equal share in the common good, respect for his or her fundamental rights, and access to an integral human development. Only in this way will we be able to offer to each person the possibility of a dignified and fulfilling life, whether individually or within families.

The reality is that the migrants we see have a tragic story to share. The situation in Venezuela and Haiti, for example, is beyond comprehension. In both nations you have massive social and economic instability. Listen to their stories of those who crossed the border and they will tell you about the conditions of unemployment or the overall rising costs that have made it impossible to get basic necessities like food and medicine. Many of the people that I am getting to know are themselves professionals, nurses, teachers, information technology, and business owners who can no longer afford to survive or take care of their families in their home countries.

The socio-political situation has also become a great challenge for many who can no longer stay in good conscience or out of fear for their own safety. I recently assisted an asylee who was, until recently, a member of the Venezuelan police force. When it came to the growing social protests in his country he was ordered to do unconscionable acts towards those protestors. In the end, he made the decision not to be involved with such atrocities, but fearing for his life, he chose to come here, to a land that believes in the dignity of the human person, just like he does. 

To those who choose to leave for reasons such as these, we must make every effort to ensure their access to the most basic common goods here in the United States. Pope Francis, however, also calls on us to pay attention to what is going on in these other countries and, as a global community, he urges us to respond to these unstable social and economic realities.     

Joint efforts are needed by individual countries and the international community to ensure that all enjoy the right not to be forced to emigrate, in other words, the chance to live in peace and with dignity in one's own country. This right has yet to be codified, but it is one of fundamental importance, and its protection must be seen as a shared responsibility on the part of all States with respect to a common good that transcends national borders.
 

Our Catholic social tradition reminds us of the principle of the common good. We all have rights to the most basic necessities of life because the earth, and all in it, belongs to God. The freedom to leave or to stay is very much dependent on the access people have to the common goods. Let us strive to provide what we can here to those who have nothing and advocate for these necessities throughout the world.