Excerpts from Bishops' Migration Review

In the United States today, there are an estimated 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants. 60 percent are from Mexico. 20 percent are from other Latin American countries.11 percent come from South and East Asia. Combined, unauthorized workers comprise more than 5 percent of the U. S. workforce. In the fractious debate surrounding both legal and illegal immigration to the U.S., politicians, the public, and pundits alike ask why these millions of unauthorized immigrants did not seek to come to the United States lawfully. Some argue that if their ancestors could do it, so should today's immigrants. However, under the current immigration legal framework, lawful immigration to the United States is restricted to only a few narrow categories of persons. As people of faith, Catholic Social Teaching calls us to shine Christ's light upon the laws, systems and individuals that keep many of our brothers and sisters in the shadows. Pray that 2011 may be the year that we reflect in our words and actions the Good News in Christ: a light to the nations, a light to guide the way to a world where all are treated with dignity and respect as brothers and sisters in Christ.
(Excerpts taken from USCCB's The Migration Review)