“Migration is a complex issue, but it is not resolved by delegating our roles and responsibilities to other countries,” said Bishop Paul McAleenan.

“Haitians have been making their way north, trying to find a safer, more prosperous place” to work and live.

Commenting on his recent trip to Malta in his Wednesday audience, Pope Francis spoke about migration and evangelization, especially in a time of war.

Human suffering crosses all ethnic, racial and political borders. Efforts to alleviate it must do the same.

“I’m mystified by any group that would call itself Catholic that is attacking the Catholic Church and its ministry,” Sister Donna Markham, the president and C.E.O. of Catholic Charities USA, said.

The limbo experienced by asylum seekers waiting to be admitted to the United States and the traumatic experiences that forced them to leave their home country in the first place take a profound psychological toll.