By Christopher White, National Correspondent

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a special Thanksgiving message, offering a particular plea for the protection of migrants and refugee families.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the USCCB, expressed solidarity with DACA recipients, beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status, and other refugees attempting to escape persecution or danger in their home countries.

He cited last week’s assembly of U.S. bishops in Baltimore and said the conference was “attentive in a special way to those who are often excluded from this great abundance – the poor, the sick, the addicted, the unborn, the unemployed, and especially migrants and refugees.

“My brothers expressed a shared and ever-greater sense of alarm – and urgency to act – in the face of policies that seemed unthinkable only a short time ago.

“One common feature of all these developments is their tendency to tear apart the family, the fundamental building block of our, or any, society.”

Over the past year, more than 15 percent of the statements released by the USCCB have been related to the issue of immigration.

The cardinal also used his Thanksgiving message to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform, a long-time policy goal of the USCCB.

“This year, I give thanks for the gift and contributions of immigrants and refugees to our great nation. I also pray that next year, families now under threat will not be broken and dispersed, but instead will be united in joy around their tables, giving thanks for all the blessings our nation has to offer,” he concluded.