Bishops’ spokeswoman: immigration reform a ‘preeminent moral issue’

August 09, 2013

Writing for the website of The Washington Post, the director of media relations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops described comprehensive immigration reform as a major moral issue for the nation.

“The Congressional recess offers a time for heads to clear and to see this issue as a preeminent moral issue for the nation,” said Sister Mary Ann Walsh. “Each day we see the human consequences of an immigration system. Families are separated; migrants exploited by unscrupulous employers and smugglers; and human beings, desperate to survive, perish in the American desert.”

“Moreover, as our nation benefits from the work of undocumented workers, we do not extend them basic workplace or legal protections and at the same time scapegoat them for our social ills,” she continued. “The US bishops hold that the prescription for mending the system is to emphasize legality over illegality through the creation of legal avenues for migration and the extension of legal status and a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants. This suggests a more comprehensive approach, which reforms all aspects of the system.”

 

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Further information:

• A plea for common sense and compassion in the immigration debate (Washington Post)