In the midst of the current highly emotional debate over immigration, the Catholic Church’s position on this subject has been frequently cited, either to criticize or to praise it.

    In any event, the truth about what the church teaches on the issue of immigration is not difficult to understand, and it is based on fundamental principles of its social doctrine. What is difficult is applying this doctrine with honesty and objectivity, without prejudice or group interests, that is, with a real desire to seek the common good.

    All of the church’s social doctrine rests on a basic foundation: the inalienable rights of human beings that are conferred by God and that are not a “gift” from any state nor the fruit of any consensus. Human rights are inherent to the human person, and human law, society and states must acknowledge, respect and protect them. The state does not have the right to create nor to eliminate them.

    Pope John Paul II clearly explained how the principle of the dignity of the human person is applied to the immigration issue with two criteria:
— Every human being has the right to seek decent living conditions for himself and for his loved ones, including through emigration.
— Every sovereign nation has the right to ensure the safety of its borders and regulate the flow of immigrants.

    These criteria are simple. But the real difficulty lies in practicing them. Mainly, because, as a result of preferences, interests, or prejudices, it is not uncommon to focus on one of the two principles to the extent that the other is practically ignored. To do this, will betray the true spirit of the church’s social doctrine and close the door to reach a just and realistic solution.

    It is true that there are many important issues which make a discussion on immigration complex. From the serious social and political responsibility of the homelands of the immigrants, to recognizing the potential security risk involved in allowing borders to be unreasonably porous. Nevertheless, the immigration issue will not just go away and requires that we respond rationally, justly and effectively.

    In the midst of the debate, the Catholic bishops’ defense of immigrants has been characterized as a way to undermine the law or simply to say that we are seizing the opportunity to “grandstand.” In fact, the church wants Catholics and all men of good will, to understand that these two rights are subsidiary — that is, they are united and are subordinate — and that immigration is about people who are our brothers and sisters.

    The United States is built on the founding fathers’ insistence that “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Through its history, this nation has been a constant voice for this fundamental principle of freedom. In the immigration debate, the church is simply asking, “Can we be a free and just nation if all honest people are not free to pursue these unalienable rights?” Can we truly be the land of the free when hard-working people live among us in fear and confusion, unable to unite their families and benefit from a society they too have helped to build?

    People of good will may provide different solutions to balancing the right of the United States to secure its borders and enforce the law while protecting the “unalienable” rights of each person. However, the church continues to encourage the American people to insist that human dignity and the God-given rights of the human person are preserved and that the outcome reflect an honest response to the reality of immigration that exists in our country today. 

    As this important public dialogue continues, I pray that we will keep present the human face of the debate. Immigrants are not merely consumers of services and goods, contributing to or taking from the economic or political institutions of our country. They are real people, with real lives, families, hopes and dreams for their future. 

    Certainly, the church’s social doctrine on these central principles, proposes a path with many challenges. Doing the right thing isn’t always easy. However, as the United States seeks proper balance in its search for solutions, it will also find a way to, once again, accept immigration as the blessing that it has always been for this great land.