(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters building in Washington, D.C.)
See decision as step toward humane immigration reform
Seek federal government's strong role in immigration
Wary that part of decision might lead toward racial profiling
WASHINGTON - The U.S. bishops greeted with hope and caution the June 25 Supreme Court decision to stike down provisions of an Arizona immigration law that would have allowed warrantless arrests of people suspected of an offense that is deportable, that would have made it a crime to seek work in the state and the would have made undocumented presence a state crime.
The bishops found hope in the decision in Arizona vs. United States and said it reflects the bishops' call for humane and just immigration laws and concern for laws that could tear families apart. Their caution lay in the lifting of an injunction against immigrants having to show papers in some circumstances.
The bishops had filed a friend of the court brief in the case.