Bishops weigh in on immigration; others call legal efforts 'theater'

Published: 2008-05-06

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishops in Connecticut and Seattle marked the feast of St. Joseph the Worker May 1 with calls to welcome immigrants and encourage broad immigration law and policy reforms. In their statement, the bishops who make up the Connecticut Catholic Conference cautioned against demonizing undocumented immigrants and said that, while the government has a right and obligation to control its borders, "faith must unite us to the more important values of love, hospitality, keeping families together and respecting every person's human dignity." In Seattle, Archbishop Alex J. Brunett sent a statement to participants in an immigrants' rights march May 1, echoing Pope Benedict XVI's call at the United Nations April 18 to promote human rights as a way of eliminating inequalities and increasing security. A few days later, a U.S. House subcommittee held a hearing related to a controversial employment eligibility verification system, the subject of a bill that also would authorize hiring another 8,000 Border Patrol agents and otherwise expand enforcement of immigration laws. The National Immigration Forum, an immigrant rights organization, said election-year legislation such as the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement, or SAVE, Act, being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee, is "more like Kabuki theater than serious policy deliberation."

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