Bishop decries current 'immoral' state of U.S. immigration laws

Published: 2004-07-21

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. (CNS) -- Pledging to present the results to Secretary Tom Ridge of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio led a special hearing on immigration issues at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights July 19. The hearing, titled "The Impact of Post-9-11 Enforcement on Immigrant Communities," was co-sponsored by the diocesan Catholic Migration Office and the New York Immigration Coalition. It addressed significant immigration issues that have arisen because of changes in national security following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "We come here today to hear from those who are affected by a morass of laws which are ineffective, inefficient and immoral," said Bishop DiMarzio in his opening statement to a standing-room-only crowd. "We need to be open to rethinking our whole immigration system based on reality," continued the bishop, a longtime advocate of immigration reform and a member of the Global Commission on International Migration. He also is chairman of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. and former chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Migration.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .