Katie Holler, a Catholic mother from Steubenville, Ohio, founded the Dorothea Project in response to changes in U.S. immigration policy. In May 2025, after U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Pete Flores rescinded several Biden-era policies meant to protect vulnerable detainees—including pregnant women and infants—Holler felt compelled to act.
“At the time, I was newly postpartum with my second baby,” Holler told OSV News. “It was just like a breaking point for me, where I said, ‘I don’t want my church to be involved in this in any way. I don’t want us to be supportive of this. This is cruel; not honoring people’s dignity. This is not pro-life.'”
The Dorothea Project describes itself as a women’s action and advocacy group focused on Catholic social teaching and empowering communities “to speak truth and act in defense of vulnerable people whenever human rights and human dignity are violated.” The group takes its name from Dorothy Day and Sister Thea Bowman—both candidates for sainthood—and Mary the Mother of Sorrows.
Since its founding less than a year ago, the bipartisan movement has grown to over 1,000 members who say they are “called to live our faith out loud,” according to the group’s website. Members have written more than 200 letters to Church leaders across over 75 dioceses and prayed more than 16,000 Hail Marys for those considered vulnerable or imprisoned.
Holler explained that the group began informally through posts she made on Facebook groups where Catholic women discussed concerns about immigration policies, environmental rollbacks, and attacks on free speech. She invited others who shared her concerns to join an initial meeting.
She noted that many members previously supported current immigration policies but changed their views after witnessing practices such as detaining infants or separating families. “People change their mind all the time, and we especially want to be a space where people can come in and say, ‘I’ve changed my mind. I want to do something right,'” she said.
Recent polling has shown declining support for Trump administration immigration policies.
The Dorothea Project has petitioned bishops in 75 dioceses: “In light of the Church’s teachings on human dignity, the preferential option for the poor, and the call to welcome the stranger … now is the time for bold and courageous leadership in defense of the marginalized,” they wrote.
“You need both the lay faithful and the clergy to be strong, and to be effective in defending people,” Holler told OSV News.
Asked if raising awareness alone is enough, Holler replied: “I don’t know if it is… Because we’re living in a day and age where people can easily disregard things as, ‘Oh, that’s fake news,’ or ‘Oh, that’s AI’ — it’s easy to find justification if you hold on to certain values more than our faith.”
The group’s latest campaign aims at launching parish-level chapters and creating a voter’s guide based on Catholic social teaching themes. “We want to build relationships with people, our communities, to bring Catholic social teaching without an agenda; without a political angle — just, ‘This is what the Church teaches. This is what our faith says,'” Holler said. “And if we believe this to be true, then we need to do something.”
Lauren Garcia from Central Florida described joining Dorothea Project as empowering: “As one person — and a busy mom — me just doing one thing or calling one senator doesn’t feel like much… But when you bring it together with a group of other women who are very action-oriented… it feels like even if I can only give that one phone call or that one letter, it’s part of a bigger effort.”
Lindsay Mayernik organized rosary prayers outside Minneapolis’ Whipple Federal Building last August after federal agents reportedly barred faith leaders from offering prayer inside detention centers there. Mayernik recalled being allowed by agents simply by stating their intent: “‘We’re going to pray the rosary.’ And they let us — we just stood near the door and said a rosary…”
Holler clarified that while countries have a right under Catholic teaching to regulate borders: that right “needsGrassroots Dorothea Project urges Catholic women to speak against immigration-related injustice to be informed by mercy and justice.”
“When we hear stories of infants being detained and getting sick… that doesn’t seem like mercy or justice,” she said. She also cited reports about lack of clean water for infant formula or food safety issues at detention centers as examples inconsistent with these principles.
“So,” she concluded, “even if from a broad spectrum Catholics can say ‘Yes, we need immigration enforcement,’ …I hope…we can also say ‘But this isn’t it. This is missing the mark.'”
Kimberley Heatherington contributed reporting from Virginia.
