U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 Fourth Street, NE
Washington, DC  20017
Mr. Antonio Cube, Campaign Manager
Phone: 202-541-3245
E-mail: acube@usccb.org
www.justiceforimmigrants.org/

We Need Immigration Reform by Bp. John Wester, NEWSWEEK, May 2010

USCCB Migration Chairman Joins AZ Bishops in Decrying Anti-Immigrant Measure, calls for CIR, April 27, 2010

Audacity to Hope for Reform? Bishop John Wester, POLITICO, March 19, 2010

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On March 11, 2010 Bishop John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, UT, and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, and other immigration grass roots leaders, met with President Obama for over an hour at the White House.  Bishop Wester and the group pressed upon the President the moral urgency of passing immigration reform.  They also talked to him on the growing number of deportations and how they impact families.

The President said he agreed with the group on substance and that he supported comprehensive immigration reform, but that a difficult health-care fight, the slow economy and the political environment on Capitol Hill have hindered progress.  He promised to 1) make a statement in favor of the Schumer-Graham proposal/negotiations prior to the Rally on the Mall March 21;  2) call Senators on the Republican side to support Lindsey Graham; and 3) speak with Napolitano on deportation policies and their negative impacts."

"We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to continue to push for immigration reform."

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Coverage Without Borders, Op-ed by Cardinal Roger Mahoney,
NY Times, Dec 8, 2009

Justice for Immigrants Convening, Colorado Spring, CO, May 19-20, 2009

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May 12th Activity / Remembering Postville

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 will mark the first anniversary of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant which shattered the small town of Postville, Iowa, formerly known as “Hometown to the World.”

Justice for Immigrants and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) join with the faith community of Postville in bringing national attention to the devastating effects of raids on communities throughout America. We call on people of faith across the nation to remember and to act in solidarity with the nearly 400 workers who were detained as a result of the raid and with their families who continue to struggle one year later.

We are asking for people to plan some type of event to stand in solidarity with the Postville community. The Archdiocese has a web site up to help people familiarize themselves with the raid, its impact on the community and the church’s response.  You can find that here: http://www.arch.pvt.k12.ia.us/PostvilleRelief/

Also, the prayer service that will be used in Postville can be found here: http://www.arch.pvt.k12.ia.us/PostvilleRelief/commemoration.html
Please feel free to take it and modify it for a local event in your community.

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Statement of Most Reverend John C. Wester on
The First Anniversary of the Postville, Iowa, Work Site Enforcement Action

May 12, 2009 marks the one-year anniversary of what was, at the time, the largest work site immigration enforcement action in history. Since that raid in Postville, Iowa, larger raids have occurred, but the precedent set at Postville and the accompanying compassionate response by that small Iowa community and its people of faith underscore the humanitarian costs of workplace immigration raids as well as the need for reform of our nations immigration policies. 

As religious leaders, my brother Catholic bishops and I understand and support the right and responsibility of the government to enforce the law. We strongly believe, however, that worksite enforcement raids do not solve the challenge of illegal immigration. Instead, they lead to the separation of U.S. families and the destruction of immigrant communities. The result of the Postville raid was family separation, immense suffering, denial of due process rights and community division.

Our religious and social response to such harm to our God-given human dignity is based on Scriptures, which call believers to welcome the newcomers among us, to treat the alien with respect and charity, and to provide pastoral and humanitarian assistance to individuals and their families.

The Postville action of a year ago is a disturbing reminder of the need to repair the nations broken immigration policies.

I ask all Catholics, the greater faith community, and persons of good will to commemorate the Postville raid of May 12, 2008, by remembering in their prayers those hurt by the raid and to work for comprehensive immigration reform so that others will not face similar pain and cruelty in the future.

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USCCB Statement in Support of CIR for Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on
April 30, 2009

To view the latest news on the JFI Campaign, go to: http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/new.html

Bishop Wenski Writes to Presidential Candidates: Speak Truth on Immigration, Jan 2008

Cardinal Mahony Writes to Presidential Candidates re: Immigration, Dec. 2007

Op-Ed Piece by Bishop John Wester, "It's Open Season on Immigrants", Dec. 2007

Statement by Bishop Gerald Barnes on Immigration Enforcement Initiatives, Sept. 2007

Senate Fails on Immigration Reform -- Looking Forward by Mark Franken, MRS/USCCB

U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS CALL ON SENATE TO RETURN TO CONSIDERATION OF COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION, June 8, 2007

Testimony By Bishop Thomas Wenski before the House Immigration Committee, May 22, 2007

Bishop Gerald Barnes' Response Letter re: Senate Bill, April 2007

Toward Immigration Reform by Kevin Appleby, MRS Policy Director

The JFI Campaign - Justice Prayer

This website is designed to help achieve the goals of the Justice for Immigrants Campaign, founded by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.  It provides tools and information for diocesan and community-based organizing, education, and advocacy efforts.  You will find information about Catholic teachings that underpin this Campaign, as well as proposals from the Catholic Bishops to achieve reforms in our nation’s immigration laws and policies that better reflect our values as a nation of immigrants.

In June 2004, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration and The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, INC. (CLINIC) Board of Directors resolved to make comprehensive immigration reform, with special emphasis on legalization, a major public policy priority within the Church. Many other national Catholic institutions have also made legalization a policy priority.

As part of the Church's response, a diverse group of Catholic organizations with national networks have decided to join the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Justice for Immigrants: A Journey of Hope campaign designed to unite and mobilize a growing network of Catholic institutions, individuals, and other persons of good faith in support of a broad legalization program and comprehensive immigration reform. Its goal will be to maximize the Church's influence on this issue, consistent with the immigration reform principles enunciated in the bishops' pastoral letter.

In May 2005 the Irish Apostolate USA joined the Justice for Immigrants Campaign as a Core member and has been instrumental in advocating on behalf of immigrants in the United States at the national and local levels. 
The Campaign's primary objectives are:

• To educate the public, especially the Catholic community, including Catholic public officials, about Church teaching on migration and immigrants;
• To create political will for positive immigration reform;
• To enact legislative and administrative reforms based on the principles articulated by the bishops; and
• To organize Catholic networks to assist qualified immigrants obtain the benefits of the reforms.

In January 2003, the U.S. and Mexican Catholic bishops issued a joint pastoral letter entitled Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope. The bishops called for a "globalization of solidarity" and an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. In the pastoral letter, the U.S. and Mexican bishops outlined several criteria for the reform of the U.S. immigration system, including the following:

• A broad based legalization (permanent residency) of the undocumented of all nationalities;
• Reform of our family-based immigration system to allow family members to reunite with loved ones in the United States;
• Reform of the employment-based immigration system to provide legal pathways for migrants to come and work in a safe, humane, and orderly manner, and;
• Abandonment of the border "blockade" enforcement strategy.
• Restoration of due process protections for immigrants.

Additionally, the bishops recognize that the conditions that compel people to leave their homes out of desperation and lack of opportunities to provide for themselves and their families, must be addressed if an effective and comprehensive response to migration is to be achieved. Therefore, the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform will work closely with the Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty , initiated by the USCCB Office of International Justice and Peace and Catholic Relief Services. That Campaign aims to reduce poverty through trade, aid and debt reforms. The Immigration Reform and Global Poverty campaigns are integrally related in that one addresses the rights and needs of migrants in the U.S., while the other addresses the rights and needs of persons living in their native countries.

The Campaign aims to reach beyond the networks of the participating national agencies, and to enlist the support of Catholic individuals and institutions in dioceses throughout the country.