On Sunday, May 16 in the crowded (and warm!) Upper Room of the SJA Parish Center, our SJA ISAIAH core team hosted a powerful conversation on Immigration Reform attended by almost 50 people. Joining us were Latino/a members of Assumption Parish in Richfield and parishioners of SJA who are deeply concerned about our country’s immigration policies and the importance of enacting humane, comprehensive federal immigration reform. This is the launch of what we hope is a fruitful relationship between these two parishes as we work together on immigration policy that will benefit us all.

What do we seek in this reform? In their 2008 Statement on Immigration, the MN Catholic Bishops called for immigration policy, based on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, which would:

• Recognize the inherent dignity of every human being;
• Seek to reunite, stabilize and strengthen families;
• Ease the path to citizenship for our undocumented sisters and brothers who are living in the United States;
• Provide access to basic necessities;
• Embody due process protections; and
• Reflect an awareness of the social, political and economic causes of migration.

The brokenness of our current immigration system has an enormous impact on the lives of brothers and sisters here in the Twin Cities. We were privileged to hear from people who made a perilous crossing into the U.S. for the opportunity to work and support their families, and we heard the realities of racism alive and well in our community. These are experiences shared with tears and deep pain. All of us shared our own families’ stories of coming to America, and we were reminded that we are all immigrants to the U.S., some more recent than others.

We were blessed to welcome John Keller, director of the Immigrant Law Center and SJA parishioner, who reviewed pending federal legislation to reform outdated immigration laws and quotas. John urged us to put pressure on our congressional representatives for these reforms because those in opposition to this legislation are loudly speaking up in favor of immigrant crackdowns and laws that focus solely on border security and enforcement. SJA members signed postcards to their federal representatives seeking immigration reform and we also signed paper plates to President Obama with messages including “We are hungry for immigration reform!” and “Keep immigration reform on your plate – we stand with you!” Moving forward, we look forward to working with John and members of Assumption to learn more about the realities facing both documented and undocumented immigrants as well as advocating for reform.

One of our attendees was asked: Why is this important to you? His answer: “As a member of St. Joan of Arc, it is important that my church be in relationship with people of color, and specifically, immigrants so that we may be working in solidarity with our neighbors rather than working for them.” May we walk, pray and act in solidarity together, toward a more just nation for all!