Immigration and the Catholic Church

    Immigration, both legal and illegal, has become a hot-button topic in contemporary politics and common social discourse. As certain factions blame immigrants for a litany of woes, others argue that scapegoating immigrants is offensive and unwarranted.
    Neighboring states have passed laws that go as far as invalidating contracts with undocumented foreigners and criminalizing transporting an undocumented person in your vehicle. Similar legislation has been introduced in the Louisiana Legislature the last several years, presumably mirroring the legislative sentiment in states like Arizona and Alabama.
    However, those states and others now face litigation concerning the constitutionality of those laws. In Alabama, business leaders and farmers now oppose their state’s law or portions thereof in light of the consequences. Police in Alabama have arrested and detained foreign business executives investing in that state, raising the ire of business and economic development groups. The exodus of primarily Hispanic undocumented workers has created an urgent economic situation with insufficient workers to harvest crops and harvests rotting on the tree.
    As Catholics, our analysis of immigration issues, such as laws that target “illegals” and those who assist, employ or merely transport them, must also be tempered by our faith and the church’s teachings. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is committed to serve and advocate for refugees, asylees and other forced migrants, immigrants, and other people on the move.
    In keeping with the mission statement of Migration and Refugee Services of the USCCB, this commitment is rooted in the Gospel mandate that every person is to be welcomed by the disciple as if he or she were Christ himself and in the right of every human being to pursue, without constraint, the call to holiness.
    Cognizant of the perils suffered by many immigrants, and the tragedy of families being separated, the church calls for compassionate and reasonable comprehensive reform of immigration policy in the U.S. with a path toward citizenship. Far from amnesty, this position is based on earned legalization with background checks, fines and other requirements. The USCCB opposes “enforcement only” policies with an eye toward reuniting families, helping the vulnerable and restoring due process rights.
    We must remind ourselves that most of us are, or once were, immigrants, and many different groups and ethnicities were discriminated against and marginalized in different periods of history. We are all one family, one church, and brothers and sisters. When politicians stereotype all immigrants as criminals and freeloaders, let us react as Catholics, with discernment and discomfort. When any immigrant is treated unfairly and unjustly, let us react as Catholics, with compassion and understanding.
    “Just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
    Salvador Longoria is an attorney and a member of the Archdiocesan Racial Harmony Implementation Committee.