Catholic college officials support immigration reform

The Washington Post reports that more than 90 Catholic university heads are urging fellow Catholic legislators to pass comprehensive immigration reform, saying that their faith "values the human dignity and worth of all immigrants."

In the letter, the university presidents called for a path to legalization for all undocumented immigrants. The group asked the lawmakers to resist pressure from "powerful interest groups" and said that as Catholics, they have a "serious responsibility to consider the moral dimensions" of policies.

The letter comes as Congress has been grappling with proposals for a sweeping overhaul of U.S. immigration laws. Last month, the Senate passed a bipartisan measure that would give illegal immigrants a chance to become U.S. citizens, step up border security and increase visas for legal and skilled immigrants.

The House of Representatives, however, is sharply divided on the issue, and conservative leaders want to break it into smaller individual bills addressing border security, legal immigration, employment and illegal immigration. Supporters of immigration reform say this would effectively kill any chance of meaningful change.

In a conference call with journalists Thursday, the presidents of the University of Notre Dame, the Catholic University of America and other leading Catholic educators called on Congress to end what they called the abuse and exploitation of illegal immigrants and to enact legislation that would take a humane approach to the issue.

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