Bishop on immigration bill: ‘A now-or-never moment’

Published: September 3, 2013

CNS / David Maung

Activists with the immigration rights group Border Angels carry wooden crosses to a U.S. bishops' news conference on immigration reform legislation June 10 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in San Diego. The wooden crosses represent undocumented workers who have died crossing into the United States.

CNS / David Maung

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor wrote this letter Sept. 3 to all Arkansans to encourage them to contact the state’s U.S. representatives to support comprehensive immigration reform.

“You may have read that many Catholic bishops and priests across the country will preach this month in support of comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants. In terms of politics, we are at a now-or-never moment because the fall term of Congress begins Sept. 9. If we are not successful in convincing reluctant legislators now, it will be even harder to do so by the end of the year.

“Though the Senate passed an immigration overhaul in June, the legislation has stalled in the House. Therefore I urge you to contact our representatives now to urge them to legislate in favor of comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship in line with the principles articulated on the USCCB Justice for Immigrants website and my pastoral letter 'I Was a Stranger and you Welcomed Me' on the Diocese of Little Rock website. Tell them that you support immigration reform that:

Preserves family unity as a corner-stone of our national immigration system;
Provides legal paths for low-skilled immigrant workers to come and work in the United States;
Restores due process protections to our immigration enforcement policies; and
Addresses the root causes (push factors) of migration, such as persecution and economic disparity.

Please pray for them and assure them that we can provide them the moral support they need to undertake comprehensive immigration reform in the face of criticism from anti-immigrant activists. The easiest way to contact your member of Congress is through the House switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or contact the congressional delegation: