Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration

The Catholic Church in the United States is an immigrant Church with a long history of embracing diverse newcomers and providing assistance and pastoral care to immigrants, migrants, refugees, and people on the move.  Our Church has responded to Christ’s call for us to “welcome the stranger among us,” for in this encounter with the immigrant, the migrant, and the refugee in our midst, we encounter Christ.

A rich body of Church teaching, including Papal encyclicals, Bishops’ statements and pastoral letters, has consistently reinforced our moral obligation to treat the stranger as we would treat Christ himself. In the 2001 pastoral statement, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us:  Unity in Diversity, the bishops of the United States called upon the Catholic faithful to a conversion of minds and hearts, imploring us to communion and solidarity with diverse newcomers, and entreating us to find new and meaningful ways to welcome our immigrant sisters and brothers into our parishes, schools and communities. In 2003, the bishops of the United States, together with the Bishops of Mexico, in the pastoral statement, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope (Juntos en el Camino de la Esperanza Ya no Somos Extranjeros) acknowledged that the current immigration system is badly in need of reform and offered a comprehensive set of recommendations for changing U.S. laws and policies to bring about a more humane and just immigration system in the United States.

To learn more about the Church’s teaching on immigration, we encourage you to view the resources linked below:

Church Teaching on Public Policy Related to Immigration

Visit the website for the Secretariat of Migration's Office of Policy and Advocacy. 

How You Can Help

Learn More about the Work of the Church with Migrants and Refugees
The bishops' Committee on Migration and its staff in the Secretariat of Migration carry out the commitment of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to serve and advocate for refugees, asylees, forced migrants, immigrants, and other people on the move. Explore the resources provided by the Committee and Secretariat. 

Take Action in Solidarity with our Immigrant Brothers and Sisters
Join the USCCB’s Justice for Immigrants Campaign

Donate
Help the Catholic Church in the U.S. to continue to welcome the stranger and to provide advocacy and services for our immigrant sisters and brothers by making a contribution to the National Catholic Fund for Migrants and Refugees.