May 26, 2006 - Catholic Bishops Applaud Senate Version of Immigration Bill; Call for Continued Pressure to Ensure Dignity for Im

After months of debate around immigration reform, the U.S. Senate passed an immigration bill on May 25, 2006. S.2611, The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 (CIRA), was approved by the Senate by a vote of 62-36.

Bishop Gerald Barnes, Chairman of the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, released a short statement in response to the passage of the bill. He noted that the U.S. Catholic bishops do "not agree with each and every provision in the Senate-passed bill," but nonetheless it is "a historic moment for our nation," the Bishop said. "We applaud its comprehensive approach and believe it contains many of the elements necessary to help solve the problems associated with our country's current immigration system," he continued.

Although the bill has been passed, Bishop Barnes said, the work of the faithful is far from complete. The Senate version of the bill has some provisions that the bishops see as unduly harsh and in addition, the Senate version will still have to be reconciled with a much harsher version of the legislation which was passed in the House of Representatives in late 2005. "As the Congressional process continues," Bishop Barnes said, "we urge the Senate and House of Representatives to work together to either eliminate or ameliorate the harsh enforcement provisions found in both the House- and Senate-passed versions of the legislation."

Bishop Barnes also re-emphasized the principles of comprehensive immigration reform that the bishops brought up repeatedly throughout the immigration debate. Of primary importance, the Bishops said, is that we must exhort the House Members and Senators to "simplify and streamline the path to citizenship for the undocumented in this country that is found in the Senate bill. We also urge Congress to maintain a viable and just temporary worker program, which includes an option to petition for permanent residency, as well as to make changes to our family-based immigration system to reduce the waiting time for families to be reunited."

"Ultimately," Bishops Barnes said, "the U.S. bishops' continued support for immigration reform legislation requires a workable and viable path to citizenship for the undocumented, significant backlog reductions for family-based visas, and a viable temporary workers program that protects both U.S. and foreign-born workers."

The bishops' Justice for Immigrants campaign website at http://www.justiceforimmigrants.org/action.html provides links to the text of the immigration bill which was passed in the Senate, a list of the Senators from each state and how each voted on the bill, and a list of the amendments that were being considered for inclusion with the bill, along with USCCB's position on each amendment.

Links
The following articles provide summaries of the final immigration bill which was passed in the Senate:
CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/25/immigration/
NPR - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5433433
New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/26/washington/26immig.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501548.html?nav=rss_email/components

Questions
Explore the website of the Justice for Immigrants campaign (www.justiceforimmigrants.org) and reread the quotes from Bishop Barnes's statement. How has Catholic Social Teaching helped to mold the U.S. bishops' perspective on immigration reform?

What elements do the U.S. bishops think are most important for immigration reform? Were these elements included in version of the bill that passed in the Senate? (Details of the immigration bill that passed are included in the articles in the Links section above.)

What does work does Bishop Barnes say must still be done? How can you help the bishops continue to push for just immigration reform?

Prayer

We savor the "historic moments"
that we are blessed to experience
When we sense that the Spirit
has moved in us and in our world.
We celebrate, we praise you, O God,
when victory comes after a long struggle.

We recognize that there is still much to be done.
We open ourselves to your call, Great Spirit.
We ask you to inspire us now, and begin to move us anew
So that victory can come once again.

Amen.