The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, wrote of the United States having a broken immigration system and its effects on families.
In his column for Angelus News, Archbishop Gomez said that America has much to do to mend its immigration policies and how everyone should see each other as family
"Our system is broken and needs to be modernized to meet the realities of a global economy," the archbishop claimed.
Archbishop Gomez added, "Too many families are being torn apart by deportations, uncertainty about their 'status' and delays in our visa process that can take years, even decades. "
According to the archbishop, millions of families are being exploited by employers. Undocumented immigrants go without the rights at the workplace, rights that American citizens get to claim.
The first week of each new year for the past quarter of a century has been called "National Migration Week" by American bishops. This year the theme is "We are one family under God."
Immigration is a serious and much debated topic for his archdiocese. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has an estimated five million members and is the single largest diocese in the whole country. The county is home to millions of first generation immigrants and relatives of new immigrants.
The archbishop called Catholics to the cause of immigration and urged the faithful to reach out to one another in love, ignoring differences and borders:
"We are called to love and love cannot be divided. We can't close our hearts to any of our brothers and sisters without closing our hearts to God."