Undocumented immigrants still exist, their families still need help and the U.S. immigration system still needs reform. That was the message put forth by the Priests for Justice for Immigrants, the Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants and the archdiocese’s Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education during a press conference and prayer service at Holy Name Cathedral Jan. 8. The press conference was held for National Migration Week, which took place Jan. 3-9. They called specifically for “comprehensive, compassionate immigration reform.” More than 50 priests and religious brothers and sisters ministering within the Archdiocese of Chicago used large calendars for January, February and March and signed up for days when they pledged to pray and fast for immigration reform. The press conference was held in partnership with the U.S. Bishops Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform and the Justice for Immigrants program. The groups also announced the launch of a national postcard campaign sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops directed at Congress asking for support of immigration reform. More than 60 archdiocesan parishes signed up to distribute postcards to their parishioners. Postcards can also be sent electronically at www.justiceforimmigrants.org. Cardinal George issued a statement for National Migration Week (see www.archchicago.org/immigration) encouraging the U.S. government to create “humane immigration policy.” “Many men, women and children who have come to this country in the past two decades struggle under economic and social burdens and live in fear of deportation and separation from spouses and children,” the cardinal wrote. He said our nation has a history of welcoming immigrants. “At the beginning of a new decade, we hope that society will once again recognize the great gifts that immigrants bring to this country and will allow those who have lived and worked among us but who are undocumented to enter a path toward legal residency and citizenship.” Cardinal George recalled Pope Benedict XVI’s U.S. visit in 2008 when he appealed to President Bush for an immigration policy that “promotes the well-being of families.” “This is a crucial moment in our nation’s history. Now is the time to do what is just and fair for the immigrant and for the good of us all,” the cardinal wrote. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday we commemorate this month, said it very clearly, ‘Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion.’” National effort In a teleconference Jan. 6, Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Migration, described several steps being undertaken by the U.S. bishops, including a new Web site, a nationwide action alert and a previously announced postcard campaign to encourage members of Congress to support comprehensive reform. The Web site is a revamped version of www.justiceforimmigrants.org. “The American public, including the Catholic and other faith communities, want a humane and comprehensive solution to the problems which beset our immigration system, and they want Congress to address this issue,” Bishop Wester said.