Immigration and the "Next America": Perspectives from Our History

Archbishop José Gomez delivered this address to the Napa Institute in July 2011. The Institute "exists to promote excellence in Catholic thought and apologetics. It also seeks to instill a new zeal for Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith in all its participants," according to its website.

Since I moved to California about a year ago, I've discovered that people here have very definite opinions about immigration. It was the same way when I was in Texas and in Colorado. Everywhere I go, it seems like most people I meet have made up their minds already on this issue.

So today, if you don't mind, I am not going to talk about the politics of immigration.

Our political debate about immigration in America frustrates me. Often I think we are we are just talking around the edges of the real issues.

Bishops’ Migration Chairman Urges President and Congress to Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

WASHINGTON - Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, today urged the President and the Congress to work together to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Archbishop Gomez made his remarks following an address on immigration reform delivered May 10, 2011 in El Paso, Texas, by President Obama on immigration reform.

“The president and Congress can no longer wait to address this important issue,” Archbishop Gomez said. “In the absence of comprehensive reform, many states and localities are taking the responsibility of enforcing immigration law into their own hands. This has led to abuses and injustices for many U.S. families and immigrant communities.”

The Immigration Debate and U.S.-Mexico Relations: A Catholic Perspective

Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, chariman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, made the following presentation March 21, in the context of a conference on the Catholic Church and Migration celebrated at The Catholic University of America. Other speakers in the panel included Archbishop Rafael Romo Muñoz of Tijuana, chairman of the Mexican Episcopal Conference’s Migration Commission, Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan of Mexico and Assistant Secretary of State Eric P. Schwartz, of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. Archbishop Gomez's remarks follow:

I want to say thank you to Archbishop Romo, Ambassador Sarukhan, and Assistant Secretary Schwartz for your participation in tonight’s program.

We are at an important moment in the relationship between Mexico and the United States. I want to talk about that relationship tonight as it relates to migration between our two countries, and especially the debate over immigration here in the United States.

Archbishop Gomez Testifies on Worksite Enforcement before US House Judiciary Subcommittee

TESTIMONY OF MOST REVEREND JOSE H. GOMEZ

Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles, California

Chair, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration on

ICE Worksite Enforcement

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement

January 26, 2011 -- I am José Gomez, Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles and Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB or the Conference) Committee on Migration. I testify before you today on behalf of the USCCB Committee on Migration.

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