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NETWORK Continues Work for Immigration Reform
June 28, 2007
NETWORK deeply regrets the inability of Congress to deal with the growing crisis of a broken immigration system. The reality is that 12 million undocumented immigrants, representing some 1/20 of this nation’s workforce, cannot be ignored. The current inability of Congress to reform our immigration system is simply indefensible.
NETWORK will continue to press Congress to pass a humane immigration bill that includes an earned path to citizenship for the 12 million people who are now living in the U.S. without documentation and that supports family unity for all immigrants, including guest workers.
Below is a statement that NETWORK recently delivered to the Bush Administration. Our work for comprehensive immigration reform will continue to be based on these principles.
JUST IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION
Our Catholic faith grounds us in the realization that each person has inherent dignity because he or she is created in the image and likeness of God. As children of God, we are treasured and valuable as we are. Because of this, any policy that NETWORK endorses must come from this same stance.
We affirm the sanctity of marriage and the value of each family. Any policy that NETWORK endorses must support and strengthen marriages rather than weaken them. This is a matter of faith, but also pragmatics. When marriages are strengthened, children do better and our future as a nation is brighter.
Finally, we are living in a globalized world in which the free market efforts of the developed world are encouraging not only the unfettered movement of capital but also the movement of labor (i.e. people) to where there are jobs. Because of this, any policy that NETWORK endorses must take into consideration the global context generating the migration of people.
Therefore, we at NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby, advocate for an immigration policy that values the dignity of each individual and builds the U.S. society while realistically reducing the forces causing migration. This means that we support:
- POLICIES THAT SUPPORT THE DIGNITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL
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GUESTWORKER program that does not use people as disposable entities but rather acknowledges their dignity by allowing them to settle into a job and have a path to permanent residence and U.S. citizenship if they should choose it.
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PERMANENT RESIDENCE programs that acknowledge the gifts that each person brings to our society and do not discriminate based on academic credentials or workplace experience. Such distinctions adverselyimpact women and those who live on the economic margins of our world and yet often provide key services in society.
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EARNED VISA AND LEGALIZATION programs for those who are here without proper documentation and who need to be acknowledged as often being the ones who hold our society together doing the most menial work. As a nation, the least we can do for them is to provide a path to permanent residence and citizenship.
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