New immigrants’ education hub hailed as beacon of support by archdiocese leaders

(LOS ANGELES) Catholic archdioceses across North America are expanding help for newcomers through education hubs, direct aid, and parish-based advocacy, with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles moving first with a major relief push. On July 23, 2025, Archbishop José H. Gomez launched the Family Assistance Program to deliver groceries, meals, and prescription deliveries to immigrants harmed by intensified immigration enforcement.

The aid flows through 288 parishes that serve over 4 million congregants across Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. Archdiocesan leaders say donations are routed straight to families with urgent needs.

Archbishop Gomez framed the move as a direct answer to fear now spreading in neighborhoods hit by raids.
“Many of our friends and family, our neighbors and fellow parishioners, are afraid and anxious. These are good, hard-working men and women… Now they are afraid to go to work or be seen in public for fear that they will get arrested and be deported. This new Archdiocesan fund is designed to help our brothers and sisters in this difficult moment.”

Auxiliary Bishop Matthew Elshoff and Msgr. Timothy Dyer joined the announcement, signaling strong clergy backing, and the Archdiocesan Council of Priests helped shape the plan. Catherine Fraser, the archdiocese’s chief development officer, said every dollar given goes to families in need.

Los Angeles launch amid growing fear

Los Angeles church staff report families skipping work, avoiding clinics, and stockpiling food as checks intensify. The Family Assistance Program aims to cover the gap when people are too afraid to visit public offices. Parish teams set up safe pick-ups or home deliveries.

The plan is simple:

1. Identify parish households under stress.
2. Confirm need.
3. Deliver food and medicine quickly, with as little paperwork as possible.

Donations are pooled and pushed down to parishes with the highest number of vulnerable members. In practice, local coordinators at parish halls or rectories work with volunteers to source groceries and fill prescriptions.

The archdiocese says the network can scale up as demand grows, thanks to support from auxiliary bishops, clergy, parishioners, and donors. The effort runs alongside new education hubs that help newcomers get language support, job prep, and referrals to trusted legal aid.

Key program features

• What the program offers: food boxes, hot meals, and prescription deliveries for families facing hardship tied to enforcement.
• Where to go: parish offices across Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties act as first contact points.
• How funds move: parish-by-parish allocations based on observed need, with no cut taken for overhead at the donation level.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the Los Angeles launch fits a broader pattern of Catholic archdioceses building education hubs and parish safety nets to steady families during 2024–2025 policy shifts.

Support expands in Canada and Seattle

The response is wider than the United States.

Toronto

• The Office for Refugees (ORAT) reported helping 557 refugees resettle in 2024 and starting cases for 754 more.
• The archdiocese continues its long-running Project Hope effort.
• A new agreement signed in late 2023 raised the refugee sponsorship filing fee to $525 as of January 2025 to cover rising administrative costs.
• Approved newcomers receive one year of income support and 12 months of mental health coverage.
• The archdiocese warns that funds are nearing exhaustion and is asking donors to keep the pipeline open as demand grows.

For readers in Canada, official guidance on the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program is available from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada at this government page: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/help-out/private-sponsorship-program.html.

Seattle

• The Immigrant & Refugee Ministry (IRM) offers care and advocacy for immigrants, refugees, asylees, and victims of human trafficking.
• The ministry has rolled out parish “Welcome Circles,” Know Your Rights trainings, immigration summits, and weekly services inside detention centers.
• Organizers say their goal is to help parishes build their own response programs so aid starts close to home and can be tailored to local needs.
• Weekly detention outreach gives comfort to people in custody while connecting them with community resources.

National context

• The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) continues to support Catholic schools that serve diverse classrooms, many with large newcomer populations.
• As of July 2025, NCEA training focuses on a simple idea: each student matters, and school communities should build a culture where newcomers feel they belong.
• That message aligns with the push for education hubs that offer language help, tutoring, and gentle on-ramps to jobs.

Policy pressures and practical effects

Policy changes over the past two years have reshaped the field. Fee hikes in Canada have raised costs for church sponsors, while families in the U.S. face day-to-day choices shaped by raids and fear of arrest. Church leaders and community advocates say parish-led hubs can steady families who might skip clinics or avoid public food aid.

In their view, a familiar parish doorway lowers social barriers and keeps kids in school while parents seek legal advice.

Program designers describe four plain effects of the new church-led push:

• Immediate relief: The Los Angeles Family Assistance Program plugs food and medicine gaps for families who fear public offices.
• Education and job links: Hubs and school networks offer language and job prep that help newcomers find steady work.
• Mental health care: In Toronto, ORAT-backed arrivals get counseling for at least 12 months, key for those who fled war or trauma.
• Rights education: Seattle’s Know Your Rights sessions and legal clinics give people tools to respond safely if they face checks.

Important: Analysts tracking faith-based aid warn that rising fees and tight budgets could limit how many families church networks can support. Toronto’s call for new donors underlines that pressure. In Los Angeles, leaders say private gifts will set the ceiling for how much food and medication the Family Assistance Program can deliver if enforcement actions continue to rise.

How to get help through Catholic networks

1. Contact your local parish or the archdiocesan office to ask about aid and classes now running in your area.
2. For direct aid in Los Angeles, apply through your parish office or a named program coordinator; requests focus on food and medicine tied to hardship from enforcement.
3. For refugee sponsorship in Toronto, apply through ORAT or a Sponsorship Agreement Holder and pay the $525 filing fee; approved arrivals receive 12 months of income and mental health support.
4. Ask about language classes, job training, and parish Welcome Circles; many hubs also host legal clinics and community orientation.

For immigrants, the human math is basic: steady food, safe access to medicine, and a parish door that is open. For sponsors and donors, church officials say each gift moves almost immediately into groceries, pharmacy runs, or school-linked tutoring. For parishes, the work is concrete and local, led by priests, lay leaders, and volunteers who know their neighbors by name.

Education hubs, parish aid, and rights training are not new to Catholic archdioceses, but the scale in 2024–2025 marks a fresh push.

• In the United States, Los Angeles has put food and medicine at the center.
• In Canada, Toronto is pressing to keep private sponsorship moving, even with higher fees.
• In Seattle, the archdiocese is building parish capacity and meeting people inside detention centers.

Together, these moves set a model: start local, meet basic needs fast, and build trust through parishes people already know.