On Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan wrote an article in USA Today about the US bishops’ commitment to achieving comprehensive immigration reform.  Dolan noted that “it is an issue close to Catholic hearts” as “America has wonderfully welcomed generations of immigrant families, and our parishes, schools and charitable ministries have long helped successfully integrate immigrants into American life.”

Cardinal Dolan expressed support for the Senate proposal, writing:

The Senate proposal, while not perfect, goes a long way toward correcting injustices in the system. Despite its shortcomings, the bill significantly improves upon the status quo and will assist millions of families. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to improve the legislation, and we applaud lawmakers of both parties who are working together to bring 11 million people out of the shadows.

Yesterday, at a news conference in San Diego, three other bishops reiterated the Bishops’ support for immigration reform and cautioned against potential changes to the Senate bill.  Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, a former chair of the migration committee, said the Bishops oppose amendments that would reduce the number of people who would be eligible for pursuing a path to citizenship.  Wester said:

Additional measures to make the path to citizenship more difficult, such as an increase in fines or imposition of other difficult income and employment requirements, or amendments to remove the citizenship option altogether, also will meet our opposition.

Bishop Jaime Soto denounced “the punitive enforcement-only approach” that “has been the default policy for the last two decades” and said that the focus should be on family unity and maximizing the number of people who have access to citizenship.

The Bishops have shown tremendous unity on this issue and a willingness to push hard to achieve the reform they support.