Immigration

Long before terms like immigrant, refugee, and migrant became the subject of modern-day political debates, the Catholic Church was addressing the question of whether or not people have the “right” to emigrate in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in their pastoral statements “Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: United in Diversity” and “Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration and the Movement of Peoples.”

Individual bishops such as Cardinal daniel DiNardo, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, and Archbishop José H. Gomez have also spoken out on the topic.

Others advocate for a more restrictive immigration policy. Matt O’Brien, director of research for the public interest organization FAIR, asks, “Should potential immigrants have to remain in their own countries, which have serious problems and work on improving them, rather than fleeing to take up residence in another?” As an alternate solution, he suggests: “The Catholic Church should use its influence to correct conditions in these countries, rather than encourage its people to illegally migrate.”

This Catholic Update tackles the issue of immigration from both sides and includes statistics from the Pew Research Center.