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The immigration reform principles released last week by House Republican leaders, which include a path to legal status—but not full citizenship—for those here illegally, may be just the foot in the door toward fixing a woefully dysfunctional system.
Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, said he’s encouraged by the move, which he hoped “will spark action in the House of Representatives to finally address our nation’s broken immigration system.”
President Obama, who supports the stronger bill already passed by the Senate, nevertheless called the House leadership’s move “progress.” By laying out the principles, he said, Speaker John Boehner and other leaders have shown that they “really do want to get a serious immigration reform bill done.”
That may be. And, in fact, opposition to comprehensive immigration reform has always been stronger among the rank-and-file Republican Party members than among its leadership. Whether Boehner and his allies on the issue, including Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, can sway their balky colleagues to join a debate remains to be seen.
While we applaud the Congressional leaders for their move, realizing that details on some important elements were not released, we do have substantial concerns about some of what has been disclosed.
A particular problem, and one cited by Bishop Elizondo, is that the principles would confer legal status on the undocumented in this country but not a path to citizenship. The USCCB, one of the nation’s strongest voices in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, has consistently called for a path to citizenship for undocumented persons and their families.
The willingness to extend legal status (presumably a “green card”) is a positive measure, the bishop said, but without the ability to achieve citizenship these immigrants will become a permanent underclass. Bishop Elizondo rightly asserts that such a development “would establish a troubling precedent that is inconsistent with our nation’s founding principles.”
We also agree with him and other Catholic leaders who have expressed reservations about a requirement that border enforcement triggers are met before immigrants receive legal status. It could take years to meet border security goals, leaving millions of people vulnerable to deportation in the meantime.
Reaching agreement on a just immigration reform plan will not be easy. It will require compromise, bipartisan cooperation and leadership—not just politics, and the Church can be an important player in that regard.
Bishop Elizondo pledged to work with Congress and both parties “for a law that is just and humane and serves the best interest of the United States.”
All Catholics should join in support of that pledge, urging Congress to seize the moment and end the suffering of immigrants and their families.
