Justice for Immigrants

Archbishop Chaput specifically outlines 5 main principles concerning immigration in the United States in his article. His first element is directed towards a faster, safer means of obtaining citizenship for undocumented immigrant workers. I agree with this statement. The citizenship process is a detailed, grueling, time-consuming process for most undocumented workers; the process prevents them from getting official documents more quickly and immediately getting back to work to support their families and other needs. His second principle calls for the family-based immigration system to more easily and more readily reunite families. I also agree with this principle because in order to respond to the call to family and community, one must be with his or her family. The third principle requests the legal entry of migrant workers into the U.S. for needed labor purposes. Personally, I am torn in regards to this facet. Yes, it would be helpful to be able to skip the process of becoming legalized and have workers come in directly for labor; it would be cheaper, easier, and more reliable. However, I also feel that those jobs should be reserved for the people of our own country. Although they would be jobs for low-skilled workers, the jobs, with the shaky economy and job availability we have surrounding us at the moment, should be held for other Americans who are unemployed and need work. Archbishop Chaput's fourth principle outlines process protections for immigrants. Finally, his fifth principle states that policies must be initialized that research the root causes of the influx migrations to the United States. I strongly agree with this statement; to fully analyze a specific occurrence or "problem", we must take into account all factors affecting the situation. In this case, we must uncover the root problems as to why immigrants have been making their way to America. In summary, an immigration reform is needed and necessary.

Several themes of Catholic Social Teaching go hand-in-hand with the current immigration issue. For one, the theme of the Call to Family, Community, and Participation calls for special attention to families, family matters, and the well-being of the community. In order to support this theme, the immigration reform, as suggested in Archbishop Chaput's second theme, must strive to reconnect family members. We must promote the life and dignity of the human person by granting citizenship, thus providing access to health care and other medical assistance. According to the Responsibilities and Rights theme of CST, immigrants have a right to decent work, reasonable wage, and safe working conditions. The theme of Responsibilities and Rights also supports immigration, implying that all people have the right to decide to move from one country to another without several complications. In order to recognize the dignity of work and the rights of the immigrant workers, we must making the legalization process easier to sort through. We as a nation must embrace the concept of solidarity, being one and open to all people.