Action Alert: Jesuit Immigration Sign-On Letter

Jesuit communities, ministries, institutions and affiliated groups are invited to support the provincials’ call for comprehensive immigration reform.

The Society of Jesus’ work and ministry with immigrants and migrants in the United States has made us painfully aware that many in this community still labor in the shadows. Last summer, the Jesuit provincials took the bold step of sending a letter to the president and to each member of Congress asking them to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Shortly thereafter Jesuit communities, ministries, institutions and Ignatian affiliated groups were invited to become signatories to the attached institutional sign-on letter in support of comprehensive immigration reform demonstrate to Congress that there is a will for comprehensive reform and underscore the importance of acting now.

This has been an unprecedented effort of the Ignatian family to come together to take a very important public stance on one of the most significant moral issues of our time.  The Jesuit Conference and the Jesuit Commission on Social and International Ministries are pleased that over 200 Jesuit entities have signed on to the letter to-date.

Next Steps for 2011

Although hopes may seem bleak for the passage of a just comprehensive immigration reform package in Congress at this time, it is ever important for the Ignatian family to visibly continue to support just reform, to help educate others about Catholic Social Teaching on this issue and to continue to position ourselves for future advocacy opportunities at both the federal and local levels.

Thus, the letter will remain open to new signatories in 2011. To sign, please contact outreach@jesuit.org with  the subject line “immigration sign-on” and include your name and email, the name of your Jesuit community/institution/ministry/group (as you would like it identified on the statement) and postal address.

  • We encourage you to continue to use the letter as a tool for educating others about the Catholic position on immigration reform and to dialogue with others about the Jesuit response to this issue. We encourage you to be in direct solidarity with our migrant sisters and brothers.
  • Schedule visits with your Congressional Representatives and Senators and when they are in their district and state offices and bring them a copy of the letter. Use it as an opportunity to remind them that there are many people of faith who back reform.
  • Use the letter at the local level as a means to counteracting the negative immigration laws being crafted in many localities — laws, like Arizona SB 1070, that seek to strip migrant people of human rights and dignity.

This will be a long-term struggle, but our migrant sisters and brothers need us now more than ever to be a voice for justice. Thank you for supporting this effort.