Protecting immigrant families

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been urging us to continue to advocate for "just and compassionate immigration reform", and to tell President Obama to Oppose use of "family detention."  

• "Mary of Nazareth has always had a special place in the heart of the Church. She is theotokos, the 'God-bearer'; Scripture’s greatest human witness of courage, humility and grace. This is why Catholic life has honored her through the centuries in so many different ways: Our Lady of Consolation; Mother of Sorrows; Mother of Mercy; Our Lady of the New Advent; Queen of Heaven; Virgin Most Pure -- and in a special way..., December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of America, one continent north and south.   
  
  "All of these titles are true and richly deserved. But they can sometimes obscure the human reality of Mary’s life: a young woman of the rough Galilean hills, pregnant, with a seemingly implausible story before her marriage to Joseph, who gave birth to her child in the cold in a stable far from home and then, hunted by Herod, was forced to flee to Egypt. Mary – our mother; the mother of the Church – had an intimate understanding of suffering, flight, homelessness and uncertainty. At Guadalupe, Mary appeared not to the rich or powerful, or even to the local bishop, but to the poor peasant Juan Diego....
  
  "Over the past six years, the current White House has taken actions that a great many faithful Catholics regard as damaging – harmful not just for people of religious faith, but for the nation at large. In deferring the deportation of many undocumented immigrants and their families, however, President Obama has done the right thing. This action prevents the break-up of families with mixed immigration status. It also protects individuals who were brought to the United States as children, and have grown up knowing only American life and nothing of their parents’ native land....
  
  "we need to remember that the Holy Family too was once a family of immigrants and refugees. And we need to treat the undocumented among us with the mercy and justice we expect for ourselves" (Archbishop Chaput, 12/12/14).

• "Since his election, Pope Francis has spoken in a uniquely powerful way about the need for human solidarity, care for the poor and economic justice. He’s also dealt again and again with the need to protect and support the family. These are not two separate themes. They’re linked organically....
  
  "Vatican II described the family as 'the first and vital cell of society[']. It stressed that 'the well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life'....
  
  "Again and again, over more than a hundred year period, we see the family either explicitly or implicitly present as a key element in all the social teaching of the Church....
  
  Nothing is more demanding, and nothing takes more care and self-sacrifice, than love within a family....
  
  "Prefiguring the words of Pope Francis by three decades, Familiaris Consortio encourages families to become involved in forms of social service, especially those which favor the poor; to cultivate the practice of hospitality and to engage themselves politically. It especially encourages families to 'be the first to take steps to see that the laws and institutions of the state not only do not offend, but support and positively defend the rights and duties of the family.'  Here’s the lesson as we start a new year: The most important first step families can take in building a world of justice, mercy and charity is to pray often and together. We can’t stop there, but we do need to begin there" (Archbishop Chaput, 12/31/14)

As per this morning's mailing from the USCCB,

"Today, January 13th, the U.S. House of Representatives will begin floor debate and vote on H.R. 240, the 2015 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, and amendments will be considered for the bill. These amendments will undue Executive Actions on immigration and put immigrants at greater risk for deportation.

"Please call toll-free 1-855-589-5698 and ask your Representative to vote NO on these three amendments AND work to pass meaningful immigration reform.

The amendments are:

1)  Aderholt Amendment: Prohibits funds or fees to be used for DAPA.
2)  Blackburn Amendment: Effectively repeals DACA, prohibits renewals and new adjudications, putting all DREAMers at risk for deportation.
3)  DeSantis Amendment: Prevents ICE from setting enforcement priorities and could discourage victims of domestice violence from reporting abuse due to the fear of being deported."