The Challenge of Immigration Reform

Yesterday Myrna and I had a discussion that included, among other things, the challenges presented by undocumented immigrants in the United States - the challenges being faced by these immigrants and the challenges being faced by citizens and documented immigrants. In the discussion I mentioned that, while the U.S. bishops said a nation does have the right to control its borders, people who do cross the border without going through proper procedures should not be treated like dirt. This type of stand may be making the Church unpopular among some people, but the Church is called to proclaim and live the Gospel message, whether that message meets the approval of others or not.

It "just so happens" that the current issue of the quarterly Glenmary magazine, Glenmary Challenge, addresses this issue:
Glenmary Challenge: "Immigration Reform"

The United States and Mexican bishops addressed this issue  in a 2003 joint pastoral letter, "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope":
Pastoral Letter Concerning Migration from the Catholic Bishops of Mexico and the United States 

This pastoral letter focuses on five principles from the tradition of church teachings with regard to migration issues:
   1. Persons have the right to find opportunities in their homeland.
   2. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families.
   3. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders.
   4. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection.
   5. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected.

Pope John Paul II, in his 1995 World Migration Day message, stated that "In the Church no one is a stranger, and the Church is not foreign to anyone, anywhere. As a sacrament of unity and thus a sign and a binding force for the whole human race, the Church is the place where illegal immigrants are also recognized and accepted as brothers and sisters. It is the task of the various Dioceses actively to ensure that these people, who are obliged to live outside the safety net of civil society, may find a sense of brotherhood in the Christian community. Solidarity means taking responsibility for those in trouble."

Is there a need for immigration reform? Yes, most definitely. However, irregardless of how this reform proceeds, it would behoove us to remember, as the bishops stated in their pastoral letter, "[t]he Church must, therefore, welcome all persons regardless of race, culture, language, and nation with joy, charity, and hope. It must do so with special care for those who find themselves – regardless of motive – in situations of poverty, marginalization, and exclusion."