These nuns advocated for immigrant rights for 40 years — now in their 90s, they’re not slowing down

CHICAGO (AP) — At age 90 and 95, this Catholic nun dynamic duo have been “peacefully and respectfully” fighting for immigrant rights for over 40 years. And they never take no for an answer. Faced with the latest moves by the Trump administration, which has challenged the sanctuary of churches, begun stripping some immigrants of their temporary protected status and halted funding for refugee resettlement programs, they plan to continue protesting as long as God gives them the strength. “We believe everybody deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.” Sister JoAnn Persch, 90. As she sat next to Sister Pat Murphy, 95, in their two-bedroom apartment in Alsip, a suburb south of Chicago, her voice broke. “To hear the verbiage, what they call immigrants, it’s just very hard,” she said. “We’re worried and our families are very worried.” After the COVID-19 pandemic eased, the sisters were on the verge of retirement. That changed in 2022 when thousands of immigrants were bused from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago; they felt called back into action. Sister JoAnn Persch prays with others during a vigil outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) Zuleika, an...