Immigration Reform and The Church

Additional Resources

The resources suggested below are intended to help inspire discussion on the issue of immigration and immigration reform, and to provide a deeper understanding of the many factors that have played in contemporary immigration debates. They do not signify an endorsement of the entirety of the content included.

Further Reading

On Immigration Policy

Donato, Katharine and Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes. November, 2020. “The Legal Landscape of U.S. Immigration: An Introduction” The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 6 (3), 1-16.

Massey, Douglas and Patricia Fernandez-Kelly. 2007. Borders for whom? the role of NAFTA in Mexico-U.S. Migration. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 610(1), 98–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716206297449

Douglas, Massey, Jorge Durand, and Nolan Malone. 2003. Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration. New York, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Muzaffar Chishti. 2015. “Fifty Years On, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Continues to Reshape the United States,” Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

Rosenblum, Marc. 2011. “US Immigration Policy Since 9/11: Understanding the Stalemate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

Tichenor, Daniel. Dividing Lines: The Politics of Immigration Control in America. 2002. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

On Immigration Policy/Reform and the Catholic Church

National Conference of Catholic Bishops. 1985. “Resolution on Immigration Reform,” Pastoral Letters of the United States Catholic Bishops. Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2001. Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Inc. and Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano.  Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope. 2003. Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Gomez, Archbishop Jose H. 2013. Immigration and the Next America: Renewing the Soul of Our Nation. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor.

Appleby, Kevin and Todd Scribner, eds. 2013 On “Strangers No Longer”: Perspectives on the Historic U.S.-Mexican Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Migration. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press.

Reflection Questions

  1. What were some of the key historical, political, economic, and social conditions that gave rise to contemporary debates on migration in the United States?
  2. Describe some of the ways in which Catholic leaders and the broader Church have engaged efforts to achieve immigration reform.
  3. What are the key features that Catholic leadership has long held should be a part of any immigration reform legislation?