General News | Jesuit Social Research Institute

JSRI is hiring!

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JSRI is hiring an Economic Policy Specialist!

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Economic Policy Specialist, Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University New Orleans The Jesuit Social Research Institute (JSRI), College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola University New Orleans invites applications for the position of Economic Policy Specialist holding non tenure track faculty rank as professional staff of the Institute. Qualifications include: advanced degree in economics, public policy, or related field in a social justice-oriented discipline relating to our mission foci (Catholic social thought, migration, poverty, racism) and appropriate for JSRI’s core activities (primarily research and education); a record of experience and collaborative participation in social justice oriented research and education; interest in and ability to work in a team approach; ability to work collaboratively on issues of race and poverty; preferably a member of the Roman Catholic community with a strong background in contemporary Roman Catholic social thought and action; preferably with experience in, or the study of, the Gulf South. Application letter, résumé, three reference letters, one writing example, and an official transcript of highest degree should be addressed to: Executive Director, Jesuit Social Research Institute, Loyola University New Orleans, Campus Box 94, 6363 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118, email jsri@loyno.edu. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Position available August 1, 2018. Loyola University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Women and ethnic minorities are encouraged to apply. Please visit our website at www.loyno.edu/jsri
<a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/Economic Policy Specialist-Position Ad-0718-stf_0.pdf">Economic Policy Specialist-Position Ad-0718-stf</a>

Date

Sun, 08/05/2018 - 20:00

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CELAM Letter to Donald Trump Regarding Migrant Children

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[July 5, 2018]

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Bogota, Colombia, June 19, 2018
Mr. Donald Trump
President of the United States of America
 
Mr. President, the undersigned are a group of bishops, priests, consecrated women and men and lay persons who belong to the Latin American and the Caribbean Network of Migration, Refuge and Treatment of Persons (CLAMOR).
We lift our voices on behalf of hundreds of child immigrants who have been separated from their family members, and who are receiving inhumane treatment, as if they were animals, in some border cities of your great Nation.  This is a grave sin, which calls out to heaven for justice.
We pray that God will give you a heart of flesh and fill your insides with mercy, that will make it possible for you to hear the cries of so many children and their families and the cries of millions of human beings throughout the entire world.
We also ask God that you, Mr. President, will go down in history as a wise leader who will fill his road with Christian-centered humanity and will know how to guide your Nation in the holistic development of all persons, a development of the totality of every person and of all persons.
On behalf of La Red Latinoamericana Y Caribeña de Migración, Refugio y Trata de Personas, CLAMOR.
+José Luis Azuaje                                                                     +Gustavo Rodríguez Vega 
Archbishop of Maracaibo [Venezuela]                                          Archbishop of Yucatán [Mexico] 
President of SELACC                                                                  President of DEJUSOL
<a href="http://www.celam.org/carta-a-presidente-donald-trump-en-defensa-de-ninos-migrantes-2485.html">READ MORE >>></a>

Date

Wed, 07/04/2018 - 20:00

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Statement from Hope Border Institute about the Immigration Policy Debate

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[June 28, 2018]

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The decision by the U.S. District Court for the <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://hopeborder.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D0fe4d3ae2cfdbb1cbacfae7ca%26id%3D8097b4b14d%26e%3D769ec8d8fd&source=gmail&ust=1530277285510000&usg=AFQjCNEPJsjBRHC_poRyRVkmcdW2wsoJmQ" href="https://hopeborder.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0fe4d3ae2cfdbb1cbacfae7ca&id=8097b4b14d&e=769ec8d8fd" target="_blank">Southern District of California in Ms. L. et. al vs. ICE</a> to order a halt to the Trump administration’s family separation policy and to require that the government take immediate steps to reunify affected families is an important initial victory. This contrasts sharply with the Supreme Court’s deeply regrettable 5-4 decision in <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://hopeborder.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u%3D0fe4d3ae2cfdbb1cbacfae7ca%26id%3Da183094b0d%26e%3D769ec8d8fd&source=gmail&ust=1530277285510000&usg=AFQjCNEUbqpxBSr7R_2ZIil4_I7okxxSZA" href="https://hopeborder.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0fe4d3ae2cfdbb1cbacfae7ca&id=a183094b0d&e=769ec8d8fd" target="_blank">Trump vs. Hawaii</a> to uphold Trump’s travel ban. Each of the three versions of the travel ban have primarily targeted Muslims and countries with Muslim majorities. These policies embody a discriminatory breach of basic freedoms including religious liberty and violations of internationally recognized human rights.
The California decision still does not directly address whether the Trump administration’s insistence on family detention as a “solution” for family separation in its recent Executive Order is lawful. Hope Border Institute will continue to insist that the administration’s family separation and family detention policies violate basic human rights and are unethical and immoral. 
 
The Supreme Court’s majority insists that the current travel ban is different from the detention of persons of Japanese origin during the Second World War upheld in the notorious Korematsu case in 1944. This decision, along with the Dred Scott and Plessy v. Ferguson cases, which reaffirmed the unequal status in the U.S. of African-Americans persons, are ranked among the most regressive ever handed down by the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion even goes so far as to finally overrule Korematsu in an essentially symbolic gesture. However, Justice Sotomayor’s dissent warns that  “the Court redeploys the same dangerous logic underlying” in that case, “and merely replaces one ‘gravely wrong’ decision with another.”
<a href="https://mailchi.mp/hopeborder.org/hope-statement-high-stakes-immigration?e=769ec8d8fd">READ MORE >></a>

Date

Wed, 06/27/2018 - 20:00

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Letter from Sister Donna Markham OP To Secretary Nielsen

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[June 22, 2018]

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Dear Secretary Nielsen:
I write to you today on behalf of Catholic Charities USA expressing my strong concern over ongoing systemic efforts to separate immigrant children from their parents.
Catholic Charities USA is a national organization representing 166 diocesan Catholic Charities agencies that see first-hand the devastating, life-long impact separation can have on children. Agency staff see the trauma in the foster care children we serve, they see it in the children missing a father or mother, and now they see it in the migrant children placed into foster care and group facilities because they have been taken away from their parents.
As a clinical psychologist, I have also seen the consequences that not having a parent can have on a child, and it is deeply troubling that the administration has chosen to create a generation of traumatized children in the name of border security. Surely as a nation we can debate the best way to secure our border without resorting to creating life-long trauma for children, some of whom are mere toddlers.
<a href="https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Letter-secretary-Nielsen-regarding-family-separation-003.pdf">READ MORE>></a>

Date

Thu, 06/21/2018 - 20:00

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Reconciling with Creation

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[May 30, 2018]

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By Ted Arroyo, S.J.
Since JSRI’s founding in 2007, our mission has focused on research, education, and advocacy in the three social justice-related areas of poverty, migration, and racism, especially in the Gulf South region of the United States. 
As Jesuits continue our ongoing international mission planning, in the past 25 years three Jesuit General Congregations (34, 35 and 36) have shown a heightened concern about environmental issues and our mission. Citing Pope Francis, the most recent of these general congregations (GC36) calls us to integrate a mission of “reconciliation with creation” as “Companions in a Mission of Reconciliation and Justice,” relating ecological issues as they impact the poor. Especially relevant for JSRI’s mission is the mandate that “experts should contribute to the rigorous analysis of the roots of and solutions to the (environmental) crisis."
 
<a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/reconciling-creation">READ MORE >></a>

Date

Tue, 05/29/2018 - 20:00

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JSRI Advocates for EITC in Louisiana

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[May 24, 2018]

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Along with 15 other organizations, JSRI signed a letter to the Louisiana legislature advocating for EITC to be included in the revenue package 
 
<a href="http://www.labudget.org/lbp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/EITC-Sign-On-Letter-5.23.pdf">READ THE LETTER >></a>

Date

Wed, 05/23/2018 - 20:00

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JSRI Hosts Press Release of JustSouth Index 2017

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[May 3, 2018]

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Today, JSRI will host a press conference to release the JustSouth Index reort 2017 in Room 421 0f the Canon House Office Building at Geargetown University from 1-2 PM. 
Catholic social principles call us to identify and address structural injustices that undermine human dignity and the common good. Inspired by the United Nations’ Human Development Index, the JustSouth Index is intended to stimulate dialogue, foster accountability, and shape solutions to poverty, racial disparities, and immigrant exclusion across the country. This briefing will bring together experts from Loyola University New Orleans, Georgetown University, University of Notre Dame and Catholic Charities USA to discuss the systemic factors that contribute to inequity and innovative approaches for building evidence informed responses.
<a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/JustSouth_Index_2017_press_release.pdf">READ MORE >></a>

Date

Wed, 05/02/2018 - 20:00

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JustSouth Index 2017 Interactive Map

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[May 3, 2018]

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This interactive map includes JustSouth Index 2017 findings for all 50 states. Click <a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/indicators-map">here</a>.

Date

Wed, 05/02/2018 - 20:00

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JSRI Releases JustSouth Index 2017

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[May 3, 2018]

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The 2017 JustSouth Index report issued today by Loyola University New Orleans’ Jesuit Social Research Institute (JSRI) reveals that states in the Gulf South of the U.S. all fall near the bottom of the index on measures of social justice. The JustSouth Index measures and compares states’ performance on nine quantitative indicators that fall under the dimensions of poverty, racial disparity and immigrant exclusion—three of the most challenging issues facing the Gulf South today. 
JSRI officially released the updated JustSouth Index report and <a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/indicators-map">interactive website</a> today during a Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C., held at 1 p.m., Thursday, May 3, 2018 sponsored by Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA 2nd District).  The <a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/JustSouth_Index_2017.pdf">full report</a> and an online media packet, as well as an <a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/indicators-map">interactive website</a> showing results for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., can be found online.
According to the report, the five Gulf South states all ranked especially low, with Louisiana lowest at 51st, Texas at 49th, Alabama at 47th, Mississippi at 46th and Florida slightly higher in 35th. Vermont ranked highest in the nation.
“The JustSouth Index serves as a measure of social justice examining key dimensions that must be addressed to improve lives and enhance human dignity,” said <a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/bio/fr-fred-kammer-sj-j-d">the Rev. Fred Kammer</a>, S.J., J.D., executive director of Loyola’s Jesuit Social Research Institute. “Our purposes, rooted deeply in the Scriptures and Catholic social justice traditions, are to educate the people of this region and to point out how we together can make the kind of changes that promote far greater social justice, equity, and inclusion for all of us who live here.” 
The JustSouth Index, made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, establishes a measure of social justice and provides policymakers, employers and residents with a better understanding of how residents of the Gulf South are faring with regard to basic human rights and needs. 
“Striving for a socially just society requires critical analyses of the structures of our society to determine if they perpetuate inequity or enhance justice,” JSRI said in the study. “By measuring and comparing all 50 states and Washington D.C. on nine social justice-related indicators, the JustSouth Index provides a strong starting point for determining not only where inequity is most problematic, but also what systemic factors contribute to the inequity.”
The Just South Index examines nine social indicators that cut across the three key measures that address fundamental concerns of human development: health, education and income. The holistic report is not simply an economic report—it also provides a roadmap for changing the social environment.
Key findings for the Gulf South include:
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On nine quantitative indicators related to social justice, Louisiana ranked 51st compared to all other states and Washington D.C.  The other Gulf South states ranked similarly low, with Texas at 49th, Alabama at 47th, Mississippi at 46th position, and Florida at 35th.
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Mississippi and Louisiana have the lowest average incomes of households among low-income households in the U.S.—$11,051 and $11,076 per year in 2016 respectively. This is compared to the national average of $15,384 per year and $22,970 per year in Alaska, the state that ranked highest on that indicator. Currently, the federal poverty line is $25,100 a year for a family of four.
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Texas and Mississippi have the highest shares of low-income people without health insurance the U.S., 34.7% and 32.4% respectively. This compares to a national average of 18.7% and a low of 4.6% in Vermont.
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Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have three of the top 5 highest gaps in annual earnings between white and minority workers of similar age, level of education, and occupation. Minority workers earn 18.5%, 16.1% and 14.2% less than their white counterparts respectively, compared to a national average gap of 6.1%.
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One in five of immigrant youth in Texas ages 18 to 25 are considered “disconnected,” meaning that these young people are not attending school and do not have regular employment. This is often the result of inadequate accommodations in public high schools for English language learners and lack of job training or GED services for immigrant youth who have left the public education system.
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More than two in ten public schools in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi are racially segregated, 22.8%, 22.7% and 22.4% respectively. This is compared to the national average of 13.8% and only 1% in Hawaii, the state that ranked highest on that indicator.
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More than seven in ten Florida households that are in the lowest income quartile have a “housing cost burden,” meaning that they spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing.
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States that have raised the minimum wage, implemented a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), expanded Medicaid eligibility, and invested in housing assistance outperformed states that have not. It is imperative that the state lawmakers continue and enhance efforts to address economic and social injustices.
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Recommendations for improving social justice and equity in the Gulf South include:
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extend Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act to include households with incomes below 138% of the federal poverty level;
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raise the minimum wage;
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strengthen investments in child care assistance and the state Earned Income Tax Credit;
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create state and local incentives for the development of affordable housing and invest state funds in low-income housing assistance;
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improve access to English as a Second Language (ESL) and adult education classes;
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revisit policies that improved integration of schools in the 1970s and 1980s;
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increase resources to schools that serve primarily minority and immigrant students, and
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combat employment discrimination and workers’ rights violations through enhanced enforcement efforts by federal, state, and nonprofit entities.
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<a href="https://jsri.loyno.edu/bio/ali-r-bustamante">Alí R. Bustamante, Ph.D.</a>, JSRI economic policy specialist and principal investigator on the report, stated that state and local governments as well as nonprofits and employers have the ability to improve social justice for individuals and families in the Gulf South. 
“The JustSouth Index finds that states in the Gulf South continue to rank low in the social justice dimensions of poverty, racial disparity, and immigrant exclusion. However, positive societal change is possible when we identify and overcome the systemic factors that contribute to inequity,” Bustamante said. “Inclusive economic and social progress is possible if we focus on equity and justice. The Gulf South states are no exception.”

Date

Wed, 05/02/2018 - 20:00

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Center for Migration Studies Podcast with His Eminence Joseph William Cardinal Tobin

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[April 26, 2018]

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Center for Migration Studies
This episode features a conversation with His Eminence Joseph William Cardinal Tobin, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.
Cardinal Tobin is well-known for his support of migrants and refugees – accompanying immigrants to deportation hearings and speaking out against unjust immigration policies. In 2015, as Archbishop of Indianapolis, he famously directed Catholic Charities of Indianapolis to resettle a Syrian refugee family in the Archdiocese, against the wishes of then-Indiana governor, and now Vice-President, Mike Pence.
In this interview with CMS’s Executive Director, Donald Kerwin, Cardinal Tobin discusses Catholic teaching on migrants and refugees, developments in immigration and refugee policy, ideological polarization surrounding immigration in the United States, the provision of sanctuary to migrants, and how faith communities can become more involved on immigration issues.
<a href="http://cmsny.org/multimedia/cmsonair-cardinal-tobin/">LISTEN HERE >></a>

Date

Wed, 04/25/2018 - 20:00

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