he Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, through their Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC Office), have emerged as a leading voice in the community’s resistance to CoreCivic‘s attempts to reopen a detention facility for immigrants in Leavenworth, Kansas. Ashley Hernandez, the Organizing and Policy Coordinator for the office, serves as the primary spokesperson for the SCL JPIC Office’s advocacy efforts.
The Sisters’ Opposition to Private Detention
The JPIC Office has participated in the campaign against CoreCivic’s plans to transform their former Leavenworth Detention Center into an ICE detention facility. The private prison corporation, which stopped housing inmates at the facility in 2021, has been seeking to reopen the center under a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The facility was previously closed by the Biden administration in 2022 following reports of dangerous understaffing, injuries, lack of local law enforcement access, and repeated sewer system problems. These conditions were documented by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Faith-Based Community Organizing
The SCL JPIC Office has played a key role in organizing community events that bring people together in solidarity. In July 2025, through Hernandez’s coordination, the JPIC Office helped organize a rally and prayer vigil at Saint Andrew Christian Church in Olathe, where many people gathered to support the area’s immigrant community.
Speaking at the event, Hernandez articulated their moral commitment: “When you stand in solidarity with people you love, it’s hard not to take action.” The message to immigrants was clear and compassionate: “you have a community behind you.”
The vigil, which featured ten speakers and was organized by six community and faith-based organizations, addressed concerns about increased immigration enforcement under President Trump’s administration. Hernandez emphasized the Sisters’ approach of “coming together, showing love and showing support for our immigrant neighbors, brothers and sisters.”
A Religious Imperative
Working through their Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation, the Sisters bring a distinctly faith-based perspective to immigration advocacy. Their approach emphasizes what Hernandez calls “a religious imperative to stand with immigrants,” viewing the defense of immigrant rights as a moral calling that transcends political divisions.
This faith-centered activism was evident during the July vigil, where Hernandez about embracing America’s diverse cultural heritage rather than treating immigrants as “the ‘other’ or the problem.” She reminded attendees that “diverse culture is what truly makes America great,” positioning the Sisters’ work on immigrant rights within a broader vision of American values.
Current Advocacy Efforts
In addition to community organizing, the Sisters actively engage with policy challenges. Hernandez says that “lawsuits alone won’t stop this,” emphasizing the Sisters’ belief in the need for sustained community activism and advocacy. The Sisters have been vocal about ICE’s no-bid contract with CoreCivic, which would pay the private company $4.2 million per month to operate the detention facility.
As the legal and political battles over CoreCivic’s detention facility continue, the Sisters remain committed to their vision of a more just and welcoming community. Their advocacy serves as a reminder that the fight for immigrant rights is not just about policy—it’s about the fundamental question of what kind of community we want to be.
The SCL JPIC Office’s work represents faith-based advocacy combined with practical organizing. Their efforts to build bridges between immigrant communities and their neighbors demonstrate how local religious organizations can address national issues. Through organizing, public speaking, and community building, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth continue a history of speaking up in Kansas’s immigration justice movement, demonstrating that faith-based institutions can have a impact in the face of corporate and political interests.
3 Responses
I was so glad to read about the SCL stance regarding immigrants. I’ll bet that if my dearest friend (first on Earth, now in Heaven) she (Sister Ann Marita Loosen) would be taking the same position. Our President, in addition to being a poorly educated person (his sisters were assigned to do all his homework when he was in school – by their father), he serves only himself and his rich friends. At least that is how it appears to me.
There is no need to reply to my message; my experience is that the SCLs are busy enough!
I want to help.
Camille, please contact Ashley Hernandez in the SCL JPIC department for more information. Her email is jpic@scls.org.