CHICAGO — 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,” said 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.

The sisters initially took in one family — a single mother from Sierra Leone with five children. But the need was great. Soon after, the sisters had 17 apartments filled with 17 asylum-seeking families and a new nonprofit to fund the ongoing operation, known as Catherine’s Caring Cause.

They’ve housed 25 families over the past three years — paying rent and utilities for a year, offering food assistance, providing connections to legal help.

Before Trump’s inauguration, it was announced that Chicago would be “ground zero” for raids and deportation. The sisters and other local faith organizations handed out “know your rights” packets and cards in both English and Spanish. Trainings were held at local churches and via Zoom.

In the first weeks of the new administration, the sisters said many of their families kept children home from school and avoided going to work. The sisters told many of them to avoid attending church.

“We told our families we’re preparing you for the worst. But we’re hoping and praying for the best,” Persch said.

Through the decades, they’ve been arrested for peacefully protesting in Washington as “Catholics for Dreamers,” for the migrant children dying in detention camps, and in front of a nuclear test site in Nevada.

They’ve even helped change state law, partnering with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights on a bill that would allow religious workers into detention facilities and jails. This eventually led the state to block jails from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In February, the Trump administration sued the city of Chicago as part of its recent crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities. Chicago has some of the nation’s strongest laws limiting cooperation between local police and federal immigration agents, making it a target.

“Ours was a ministry of presence,” Persch said. The sisters and fellow volunteers would pray with those detained in places like McHenry County Jail in Illinois, eventually traveling to Wisconsin to do the same work. They often put $10 in commissary accounts and would pass information to families on the outside.

Their work has also inspired organizations like Viator House of Hospitality, a home for young men ages 18 to 25 who fled their homelands alone because of violence.

“We provide them with opportunities for education, medical, mental health treatment. We make sure each kid has a lawyer,” said Corey Brost, a priest and executive director of Viator House.

Bethany House of Hospitality was started shortly after, providing similar services for young women.

As they look to the future, the sisters continue to be led by Scripture, like Matthew 25:35, which includes, “I was a stranger, and you invited me in.”

They’re motivated by the advocacy of Pope Francis, recalling his message that the immigrant “is your brother. You can’t just walk past him. You have to respond.”

And they’re inspired by young people.

In recent weeks, they spoke with students at Mount Carmel High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Chicago.

Persch recalled being asked, “At your age, what keeps you going?” To which she responded, “If not us, who? If not now, when? This is our family. So, when one part of the family’s hurting, we’re all hurting.”

The sisters no longer oversee some of the organizations they started. But the work continues through mentors, volunteers and trained staff.

As for Catherine’s Caring Cause, they have no doubt that it will continue once they no longer can.

“I’m not worried at all about that,” Persch said. “I’m worried about the future of immigration. Period.”