Catholic Charities encouraged by Bush's push for immigration reform

May 16, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Catholic Charities USA is pleased with President George Bush’s recent speech endorsing comprehensive reforms to the country’s immigration laws. “We are hopeful that this push by the White House will move Congress forward towards necessary reforms,” said Fr. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA.

"America's immigration system is broken, and Congress needs to fix it in a way that provides fair and just reforms while protecting our nation's security,” Fr. Snyder said in a prepared statement.

The organization hopes the president's call will end efforts by some in Congress “to focus only on punitive enforcement-only solutions,” he said.

“We believe that any immigration reform must take steps to put undocumented workers on the path to lawful permanent residence and citizenship,” he added.

Fr. Snyder said his organization is also encouraged that the Senate intends to pass a bipartisan immigration reform bill this month.

Catholic Charities agencies and institutions assist more than half a million immigrants and refugees each year.