US bishops welcome presidential decision on illegal immigrants
June 18, 2012
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has welcomed the Obama administration’s decision to make, in the words of The Christian Science Monitor, “about 800,000 young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children safe from deportation proceedings.”
“On behalf of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, I welcome the announcement by President Obama today that, consistent with his executive authority, he will grant deferred action on a case-by-case basis to youth who entered the United States by age 15 and have not committed certain offenses,” said Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration.
“This important action will provide protection from removal and work authorization for a vulnerable group of immigrants who deserve to remain in our country and contribute their talents to our communities,” he added. “These youth are bright, energetic, and eager to pursue their education and reach their full potential. They did not enter our nation on their own volition, but rather came to the United States with their parents as children, something all of us would do.”
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Further information:
- Bishops Welcome President’s Deferred Action On Dream Eligible Youth, Urge Congressional Action On Dream Act (USCCB)
- DREAM Act stalled, Obama halts deportations for young illegal immigrants (Christian Science Monitor)
- Remarks by the President on Immigration (White House)
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Posted by: hartwood01 -
Jun. 19, 2012 4:58 PM ET USA
Obama must have been thinking "WWJD"!
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Posted by: mgreen32234 -
Jun. 19, 2012 12:56 PM ET USA
Oh what a tangled web we weave. This time they don't care if he's lawless. It's all relative, I guess.
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Posted by: unum -
Jun. 19, 2012 1:07 AM ET USA
So an unconstitutional immigration policy is moral, but an unconstitutional health care mandate is not. The bishops are way beyond their competence on this announcement and would do well to leave constitutional law to the lawyers. The President's selective enforcement of valid laws based on whether he approves or disapproves of those laws is clearly unconstitutional.
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Posted by: aclune9083 -
Jun. 18, 2012 9:42 PM ET USA
Once again, obama has played the USCCB for suckers. This is nothing but a purely political ploy to lock down the Hispanic vote and blame Congress for failing to keep an obama campaign promise. We aren't fooled: obama had both houses of Congress for two years and made no progress on immigration. The USCCB now approves obama's unconstitutional circumvention of Congress, bowing down to his arrogance and cynicism. The answer is true immigration reform, not stop-gap political measures.
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Posted by: rpp -
Jun. 18, 2012 11:43 AM ET USA
While I can understand (though I disagree with the conclusions) why some would applaud this new "policy", I find it disheartening that the very same people are supporting lawsuits against the current administration for using the very same methods to force "healthcare" "policy" in a way that is unquestionably morally reprehensible. This begins to sound like someone saying the ends justify the means, which any good moral theologian knows is not a morally licit justification.
