For more than a century, Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio has accompanied immigrants and refugees with compassion, dignity, and unwavering commitment. As CEO Tony Stieritz shared during the recent Immigration and the Catholic Church presentation hosted by the Michigan Catholic Conference and the Catholic Conference of Ohio in April 2026, the Church’s social service ministries remain a powerful expression of the Gospel in action.
Across our 11‑county region, our agency offers a comprehensive suite of migrant and refugee service programs, including refugee resettlement, the Su Casa Hispanic Center, immigration legal services, bilingual mental health support, English classes, and interpretation services through our social enterprise, AccuracyNow Language Services. Since our founding in 1916, we have welcomed newcomers with the love of Christ, no matter the political climate or policy landscape.
Below, you will find an update on the current landscape in many of our migration programs and what we are doing to support our new neighbors in Southwest Ohio:
Refugee Resettlement Services
A cornerstone of our ministry since 1980, refugee resettlement has helped families fleeing war, persecution, and violence rebuild their lives in Greater Cincinnati. Volunteers play an essential role in this program, meeting families at the airport, furnishing homes, and walking alongside them toward self‑sufficiency.
Although most federal resettlement has been paused since January 2025, we continue to accompany nearly 1,000 previously resettled refugees through case management, job development, and English classes.
Current challenges include the threat of re‑vetting already‑approved refugee families, a process that could involve detention for non‑criminal individuals, as well as the loss of SNAP eligibility for some newly arrived refugees, reversing progress toward their eventual self-sufficiency. Staff and volunteers are quickly responding with emergency assistance support.
Immigration Legal Services
Our team of four attorneys provides low‑cost or charitable representation for family‑based and humanitarian visas, deportation defense, naturalization, deferred action, and more. In a system marked by complexity and rapid policy shifts, legal support is often the difference between safety and separation.
We offer Know Your Rights education, consultations, and representation for individuals in detention. While we support enforcement against those who cause harm, our experience shows that most people we encounter in detention have no criminal record.
Springfield, Ohio: Standing with the Haitian Community
Following widespread misinformation and harmful rhetoric about Haitians in Springfield, the Ohio Catholic bishops issued a strong statement of solidarity. These individuals were not resettled refugees, they came independently to fill essential jobs.
Today, many are in legal limbo as Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole remain tied up in court. Employers hesitate to hire, leaving families vulnerable.
Catholic Charities continues to provide legal guidance, emergency assistance, interpretation services, and English classes in collaboration with faith‑based and community partners
What has been most moving is the overwhelming solidarity shown by Springfield’s churches and community groups.
Public Witness & Education
We partner with the Archdiocesan Catholic Social Action Office and parishes to coordinate solemn prayer vigils at the local ICE office and the Butler County Jail, a detention facility, following Archbishop Robert Casey’s Rosary for Immigrants offered there.
Our Voices program trains refugees and migrants to share their stories with schools, parishes, and community groups, in turn building understanding, empathy, and connection across the region. To date, 1,500 people have been moved by these personal stories and clearer understanding of the journeys, challenges and perseverance of our immigrant neighbors.
If you are interested in advocating for, volunteering with or donating to our migrant and refugee service programs, please reach out to Dan Sarell, our Mission Advancement Director, at (513) 672-3710 or dsarell@ccswoh.org.
Conclusion
Pope Leo XIV expressed to the entire Catholic Charities network, ‘It might be said that through assisting displaced persons to find their new homes in your country, you also act as bridge builders between nations, cultures and peoples. I encourage you, then, to continue helping the communities who receive these newly arrived brothers and sisters to be living witnesses of hope, recognizing that they have an intrinsic human dignity and are invited to participate fully in community life’. May God continue to bless the work of thousands of local supporters, volunteers and staff who strive unwaveringly to answer the Gospel call to welcome the stranger (Mt.25:35).