Franciscan Action Network Responds to House Republican Leadership “Standards for Immigration Reform” Franciscan Action Network (FAN) is encouraged that Republican leadership has expressed their intention to address immigration reform and has released a set of guiding standards. “However, we reviewed the standards through the lens of our Franciscan, Catholic values and principles, and find them wanting,” said Sister Marie Lucey, Director of Advocacy. “We had hoped for more humane principles that would address the needs of the millions of undocumented immigrants in our communities. We wish to work with members of the House to find solutions to our current immigration system that is tearing families apart. Our immigration crisis is a moral crisis and requires urgent action from our policy makers in collaboration with the immigrant and faith communities.” We were dismayed by the overly severe and costly border security measures in the Senate bill, and had hoped for a more compassionate and rational goal from the House, but their standard is at least equally harsh. Even border states maintain that more fencing, more drones, more electronic and human enforcement will not solve the border problems. There is a failure by both Senate and House to address root causes of immigration. We are encouraged by the standard related to youth, but are very concerned about the devaluation of families, and prioritization of employment-‐based immigration. A fair and reasonable system would take into consideration both family unity and employment needs. Family is the core element of our communities, and while members of Congress talk about concern for family values, this standard undercuts the importance of family in our society. As the immigration reform debates moves forward, FAN continues to promote fair and reasonable reforms that value and protect families; provide an earned, attainable path to eventual citizenship; protect all workers; and examine root causes of immigration.
