Amicus on Immigration

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and several other Christian denominations on March 26 filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Arizona v. United States, supporting the principle that the federal government controls the enactment and implementation of the nation’s immigration laws. Citing numerous examples of federal immigration policies designed to further family unity and human dignity, the brief argued that Arizona’s immigration law is not a solution to the problems in federal law and in fact creates more problems than it solves. “The Catholic Church’s religious faith, like that of many religious denominations, requires it to offer charity—ranging from soup kitchens to homeless shelters—to all in need, whether they are present in this country legally or not. Yet SB 1070 and related state immigration laws have provisions that could…criminalize this charity…[or] exclude from that charity all those whose presence Arizona and other states would criminalize,” the brief argued.