Immigration reform is needed now, bishops say

Intermountain Catholic

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Bishop John C. Wester

SALT LAKE CITY — As the United States Senate begins hearings on proposed comprehensive immigration reform legislation, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration; and Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the USCCB Communications Committee, urged legislators to move this issue forward. They spoke during an April 22 teleconference.

A bipartisan group of senators known as the "Gang of Eight" released on April 17 an 844-page bill for federal immigration reform. However, some legislators now are calling for the debate to be halted because the suspects in the Boston bombing immigrated to the U.S. as children – a stance with which the bishops strongly disagree.

"It’s a terribly unjust and completely irrational argument," Cardinal Dolan said. "As we speak, persons are being deported and an untold number of families are being divided. Human beings continue to die in the American desert. This suffering must end. We’ve been dallying on this for way too long.... These are human beings made in God’s image and likeness and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, and we moral leaders cannot just stand by and let that happen."

A strong majority of Catholics support immigration reform legislation, according to a recent survey sponsored by the USCCB’s Office of Migration Policy and Public Affairs. The survey showed that 77 percent of Catholic voters support a proposal that allows earned citizenship through meeting requirements like registration, paying a fine, paying taxes and taking English classes – all of which are called for in the proposed legislation.

The proposed legislation also contains many of the elements that the bishops are looking for in an immigration bill, such as an earned path to citizenship and an emphasis on family unity, Archbishop Gomez said.

However, the bishops do have concerns with the bill, including the length of time it would take to receive citizenship and the cost of applying. "We want to see this legislation improve and advance, and we will work toward this end, because we think that the lives of millions of our fellow human beings and fellow Catholics depend upon it," Archbishop Gomez said.

Another contentious issue is that of enforcement, Bishop Wester said. Studies show that the $150 billion spent over the past 10 years on enforcement-only immigration policies hasn’t worked; they "need to be balanced by humane policies as well," Bishop Wester said. "We are pleased that this new initiative that has come to the floor of Congress is a more comprehensive approach that would increase legal avenues for migrants to enter our nation safely and securely."

The bishops also are concerned that the bill calls for a border strategy, a fence strategy and an eVerify system to be implemented before undocumented persons could apply for legal residency. The implementation could take years, and "during that wait, we have families that are fragmented, people that are not watching their children grow up and they’re suffering, and they’re living in the shadows," Bishop Wester said. "We believe that these triggers or strategies must include basic human rights protections and particularly preventing death in the desert, which is really a tragedy in our country."

The USCCB believes that "all elements of the bill should go forward simultaneously" rather than wait for certain strategies to be implemented first, Bishop Wester said.

Acknowledging that "there’s a long fight ahead of us," Cardinal Dolan and the two bishops nevertheless said they are hopeful that Congress will continue to move on the immigration legislation. "This has now become politically expedient to pass, as the last election showed," Cardinal Dolan said.

The USCCB’s Justice for Immigrants Campaign is working on several fronts to gather support for immigration reform. Its website (www.justiceforimmigrants.org) has an electronic postcard that can be sent to legislators, there is a resource kit for parishes, and they are planning an advocacy day on Capitol Hill in May.

Bishop Wester encouraged Catholics to let their elected officials in Washington to know of their support of the issue. "It’s critically important for Catholics to get their voices heard," he said.