Letter comes as pope visits Mexico, Cuba
Bishops cite state laws creating local divisions
U.S. bishops to file brief against Arizona law
WASHINGTON—Congressional leaders should “build consensus” toward reform of the nation’s immigration laws, said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, in a March 22 letter.
“Passage of immigration reform is more important now than ever, as state laws and local enforcement initiatives are filling the policy vacuum left by Congress,” the bishops wrote in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Minority Leaders of both chambers. “This has created a patchwork of laws and policies throughout the country which has led to discord in our communities.”
Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Gomez expressed concern over the impact that state and local initiatives are having on immigrant families, which become separated because of these policies.
“Children are often the innocent victims of these policies, which leave them without parents and with less opportunity to live a full and productive life in their home country, the United States.”
The letter came on the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Mexico. Around 60 percent of undocumented immigrants in the United States are of Mexican origin.
The letter also indicated that the USCCB will soon file an amicus brief supporting the “full authority” of the federal government to “enact and implement” laws governing immigration.
Cardinal Dolan and Archbishop Gomez encouraged the leaders to address immigration reform as “soon as possible,” as new State laws will continue to “tear at the social fabric of our nation, until it is torn beyond repair.”
The letter is available online: www.usccb.org/issues-and-
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