There are an estimated 12 million undocumented individuals living and working in the United States.  The vast numbers of undocumented individuals present among us reveals both the intense demand for labor in the country, as well as the ineffectiveness of policies for regulating the flow of people across U.S. borders.  It also exposes the negative effects U.S. policies have had on the home countries of those who come to this country seeking a better life.

While legislation on comprehensive immigration reform failed to pass in the 110th Congress, there is no indication that the issue is going anywhere soon.  The debate over immigration reform has wages on, with many legal and ethical battles now being waged in the nation’s states and municipalities.

Proposals for addressing this situation have ranged from and included elements of the following: building barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, increasing border security, reforming guest-worker programs, instituting additional pathways to citizenship, and economic development in sending-countries.

The attempt at reforming the immigration system comprehensively – including all of the above approaches in addition to other elements – has failed.  But the work for a just, equitable, and sustainable immigration system has not.  To this end, the Immigration Advocacy Team has turned its efforts to grassroots activism aimed at stemming the backlash and deepening the debate on the issue beyond sound bites and talking points.  It is also an aim of this team to more broadly articulate and disseminate the church’s teaching on the subject.

This task requires facilitating a deeper understanding of the issue, including the history and genesis of the problem.  For more information about the emergence of the contemporary immigration debate, please see the following PowerPoint presentation of Professor Julia Cardona Mack (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill).  For some Q&As on the background and contemporary climate of the issue (prepared by the BBC), click here.

If you desire any additional information, please feel free to contact us via the Franciscan Coalition Office.

We recommend:

Edwidge Danticat (Haitian immigrant) speaking on art, politics, and culture and the immigrant experience.

Stories about dedicated high-schoolers denied the chance to attend college, based solely on their undocumented status.

Conference at Wake Forest University - "Immigration: Recasting the Debate"