Mounting a Communications Response

As 2025 began, the CLINIC communications team foresaw having a two-pronged mission for the year. 

The first part of the mission was clear: ensuring CLINIC was an anchoring, sustaining, and reassuring source of information for the network amid so much uncertainty.  

“We saw our job as ensuring our expert-level immigration legal services and policy analysis was reaching the network and the field, amid all the chaos and confusion,” said Jeremy Weitz, director of communications.

“We needed to help cut through the noise and provide the clearest take on what was actually happening in law and policy for our network.” 

The second mission emerged quickly as well: to be part of the Catholic and moral voice responding to the rapid policy changes that the second Trump administration was making. 

Catholic leaders – including U.S. Catholic bishops, some of whom sit on CLINIC’s board – quickly emerged as strong advocates for the rights of immigrants as a barrage of changes were announced that restricted the rights of asylum seekers, limited legal immigration, and heightened detention and enforcement.  

In 2025, CLINIC issued press releases that sought to uplift this messaging and the values of Catholic social teaching amid alarming policies being announced. 

In a statement from June 16, 2025, CLINIC joined the voices of Catholic leaders in speaking out against the five-fold increase in number of ICE arrests observed in certain major cities in the summer of 2025.

"Mass deportation threatens neighborhoods and families,” said Bishop Jaime Soto, Chair of CLINIC's Board of Directors and Bishop of Sacramento. “Catholic social teaching affirms that our common human dignity is found in the social bonds that makes us good neighbors and good friends, regardless of legal status. These actions…[tear] at the fabric of families, businesses, and churches. We must remain resolute in fostering the social bonds that make us thrive together as brothers and sisters, children of the one God who loves us all." 

In another earlier statement from summer 2025, Anna Gallagher, CLINIC executive director, drew upon CLINIC’s years of policy analysis across our network, as well as Catholic moral principles, to comment on the announcement of a travel ban that would affect citizens of dozens of low-income countries. "We are particularly concerned about how this policy will affect families trying to reunite in the United States," said Gallagher. "This was a primary concern of ours with previous travel bans implemented under the first Trump administration… We remain committed to supporting immigrant families and advocating for policies that promote family unity and align with Catholic values of mercy and justice.” 

Weitz explained that CLINIC press releases are closely tied to our specific mission as a legal services training and support organization. “In our press releases, we aim to respond to major immigration news as it affects our network, but we also highlight changes to law and policy that might not make mainstream media but will have a deep impact for legal representatives and their clients,” said Weitz. “Our CLINIC staff closely monitor the overall health of the immigration system. When we see something alarming – whether it’s making headlines or not – we often comment using legal and moral analysis.” 

Several of the comments from CLINIC leadership drew the attention of Catholic and mainstream media, with quotations highlighted in outlets such as the National Catholic Reporter, OSV News, and the Atlantic.  

In addition, CLINIC staff observed a hunger for moral commentary on the growing immigration crisis from our followers on social media. The team made it a priority to increase our Catholic social teaching content in 2025. At the end of the year, the data showed that CLINIC’s top five most popular Facebook and Instagram posts of 2025 were all focused on Catholic social teaching. 

“It was heartening to see people respond to our posts about human dignity and promoting compassion, often quoting the words of Catholic leaders,” said Bryan Hanger, CLINIC’s digital media manager. “We plan to keep that up in 2026, to be a drumbeat for positive, constructive change.”