As the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security considers policy changes that would impact the lives of immigrants who entered the United States as children, Church World Service expresses support for immigration reform that creates a path to citizenship, regardless of age, for our undocumented community members.
“While it is encouraging to see the House of Representatives take an interest in providing status to immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, we know first-hand that the wellbeing of individuals is determined not solely by their own rights and opportunities, but by the rights, opportunities and freedoms of their family members,” said the Rev. John McCullough, President and CEO of CWS. “Familial bonds are a cornerstone of stability, happiness and strong communities.”
As the work towards immigration reform has shifted from the Senate to the House of Representatives, people of faith have been extremely important in organizing thousands of congressional visits, prayer vigils, creative actions and phone calls to urge Congress to act.
While CWS has not seen legislative language for the KIDS Act that some in Congress are working to introduce, CWS recognizes that such a bill might help some but stresses that is it far from the full solution.
“We call upon all Representatives to support proposals that go further than just this narrow issue, and to support immigration reform that creates a path to citizenship, regardless of age, for our undocumented community members,” said Rev. McCullough. “We pray for change and continue to educate our communities and policy makers on the need to fix our broken immigration system.”
Click here to read the full CWS statement for the Congressional Record on the Judiciary Committee’s hearing regarding undocumented youth.