Because we believe that it is a moral issue the Catholic bishops in the United States have launched a wide-ranging program calling on Congress to enact a comprehensive program of immigration reform.
It is time to repair a broken system, not simply to apply temporary patches. The root causes of the immigration problem must be addressed, economic injustice, lack of due process, discrimination and selective exclusion.
Immigration reform must include a path to citizenship for the undocumented in this country to bring them out of the shadows and enable them to become full, contributing members of our society.
Reform must also respect the integrity of the family by supporting reunification of families – husbands, wives and children – separated by an obsolete immigration system. Finally, we need to secure the nation’s borders, but in a manner that respects basic human dignity and rights.
I am asking each of you to encourage your representative to support a bill that includes these essential elements: a path to citizenship, respect for family unity and securing the border in a humane manner.
Pope Francis spoke of “the globalization of indifference,” our inability to experience compassion and feel the suffering of others and the “culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.”
Immigration reform is not just a political issue; it is a people issue that calls for the compassion of Christ not political expediency.
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