August 18, 2006
Recent actions by the United States Department of Homeland Security to enforce deportation orders against residents who are in Chicago illegally should again cause us to refocus on the urgent need for a comprehensive, national solution to the issues of immigration reform. In accord with the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform: Justice for Immigrants, of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the essential elements of this reform must be: family reunification, just and effective border control, a temporary worker program, restoration of due process protection and a path to legalization and citizenship for those already in the US.

The stories of tragedies, similar to those being heard today, of families and individuals here in Chicago faced with terrible choices because of unresolved immigration status abound across the United States. Further delay in immigration reform will only compound the unfairness of the current situation and place the full burden of a broken system on those affected. As we await these needed reforms, those who minister in the Archdiocese of Chicago will continue to attend to all those in need of pastoral care, no matter their status.