National Migration Week: to raise awareness on the 11 million undocumented persons
Washington (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the United States (USCCB) today begins National Migration Week with a campaign that calls for comprehensive immigration reform in order to be able to legalize 11 million undocumented immigrants.
"The National Migration Week is an opportunity for the Church to remember and reflect on the obligations related to Migration" said the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Archbishop Jose Gomez, President of the USCCB Committee on Migration. This year we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the common pastoral Letter, "We are Strangers no longer: Together on a journey of hope," issued by the USCCB and the Mexican Episcopal Conference in 2003. The note sent to Fides Agency says that with regards to the celebrations, the Department of migrants and refugees from the USCCB is planning to launch a postcard campaign that calls on Congress to pass fair and comprehensive immigration reform.
There are 5 requests:
1) Provide a path to citizenship for undocumented persons;
2) Preserve family unity as a conerstone of our national immigration system;
3) Provide legal paths for low-skilled immigrant workers to come and work in the United States;
4) restore due process protections to immigration enforcement policies;
5) address the root causes of migration caused by persecution and economic disparity.
National Migration Week began over a quarter of century ago, promoted by the bishops of the United States.
