The heated national debate over Arizona’s new immigration law has obscured the fact that there is “actual common ground” among Americans on “key elements” of immigration reform, said Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles. In a statement dated July 12, Cardinal Mahony cited five areas of commonality: the need for the home countries of immigrants to take greater responsibility for the plight of their citizens; increased border security; making more visas available for unskilled workers; the importance of filling agriculture jobs; and the implementation of the Dream Act, which would allow children of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States at an early age to become legal residents. One area that “creates sharp divisions among us” is the proposed path to citizenship for those currently in this country illegally, Mahony said. Immigrant advocates are not proposing a “general pardon,” he explained. “Immigrants here without permission would be required to pay for their transgression and ‘get right’ with the law, then earn their way toward eventual citizenship,” he said.
Common Ground on Immigration
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
It is fair to say that the global tab for addressing the world’s acute humanitarian or ecological needs pales in comparison to the eye-watering amounts governments unabashedly dole out for bombs and bullets.
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Colleen Dulle and Gerard O’Connell and producer Ricardo da Silva, S.J., answer listener questions about the conclave and the first month of Pope Leo XIV.
Abuse experts and survivors express a mix of tentative hopes and low expectations for how Pope Leo might address disciplining abusers, supporting victims and ensuring that the church is a safe environment for all.
“It literally felt like kidnapping. I saw three of those ‘kidnappings’ happen in the span of 20 minutes.” That is how Angel Mortel described detainments she witnessed outside of a Los Angeles courtroom.