Briefings have been held with two members of the Inland Congressional delegation, Rep. Gloria Negrete-McLeod, D-Chino, and Rep. Gary Miller, R-Rancho Cucamonga, in an effort to share viewpoints on the issue of immigration. Negrete-McLeod, newly elected to represent the 35th Congressional District, favors comprehensive reform that, among other elements, includes a path to citizenship for the undocumented and lessens deportations leading to the separation of families.
Miller, a veteran Congressman who represents the newly drawn 31st district of California, had previously expressed opposition to reform that gave undocumented persons a path to citizenship. But at a March 25 meeting with members of Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC), including St. Bernardine pastor, Father Leonard Depasquale, he expressed an openness to learn more about how the issue is affecting his constituents. It was a positive step, said Hilda Cruz, coordinator of the Justice for Immigrants campaign for the diocese.
“We are mobilizing locally to communicate to our federal lawmakers who represent districts in our diocese how important it is for them to seize this moment and move forward with comprehensive immigration reform,” said Cruz. “Our immigrant brothers and sisters have suffered under this broken system for too long.”
ICUC also hosted a Faith and Community Vigil March on March 23 to highlight the need for a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented. The march began at St. Bernardine Church and concluded with a press conference at San Bernardino City Hall.
The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the official domestic anti-poverty agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has approved special grants totaling $800,000 to mobilize Catholics on behalf of comprehensive immigration reform and to prepare Catholic institutions to serve communities benefiting from the reform legislation.
“There is an urgent need to mobilize resources efficiently in order to meet the challenge when the possibility for real immigration reform has never been closer,” said Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ CCHD subcommittee. “CCHD is poised to make a significant difference in a way consistent with our mission and identity.
“The efforts being supported are rooted in Catholic social teaching about the dignity of the human person and reflect the Church’s deep historic ties to generations of immigrants who have come to America.”
Funds will help in promoting education in parishes, grassroots organizing among agencies, mobilizing political support from Catholics across the nation and assisting communities that will benefit from any eventual reform legislation.
More information is available online: www.usccb.org/about/catholic-campaign-for-human-development/.