FOR RELEASE: November 20, 2014
CONTACT: Stephanie Niedringhaus, 202-347-9797 x224, sniedringhaus@networklobby.org

NOTE: Sister Simone Campbell, NETWORK’s Executive Director, is available for interviews regarding the president’s executive action.

Washington DC: Immediately following President Obama’s speech this evening, NETWORK released the following statement in response to his executive action:

NETWORK supports President Obama’s announced executive action on immigration and is thankful for his leadership in providing relief from the threat of deportation to millions of aspiring Americans. While the task of reforming American’s broken immigration system still lies ahead, we rejoice in the knowledge that millions of mothers and fathers living in the shadows of every community in America will tuck their children into bed tonight and wake up with less fear of a knock on the door, a random stop by police as they drop their children at school, or an unwelcome visit at work that will rip them away from their sons and daughters. Yes, we rejoice.

For years, NETWORK and other faith leaders have called on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that allows people who are undocumented an opportunity to apply for citizenship. We have stood in solidarity with immigrant communities and felt their pain as they suffered at the hands of our broken system. In 2013, in an effort to encourage Congress to take steps to reform the system, our Catholic sisters (“Nuns on the Bus”) drove 6,500 miles urging reform. At each stop along the way, we heard stories of mothers holding their families together after their husbands were deported. We spoke to children who lived in fear that they would arrive home from school to find their parents jailed. We met with students who care for their younger brothers and sisters because their parents had been deported. We cried together, and we prayed. It has been a dark time for these families, and we are grateful that tomorrow morning they awake to a new possibility.

NETWORK hoped that after the U.S. Senate passed an immigration reform bill in 2013 the House of Representatives would quickly take action to finally fix the system. After meeting with members of Congress and their staffs across party lines, we know that Members realize that the status quo is not good for families, for our economy, or for our communities. Further, we continue to believe there is a bipartisan consensus on ways to solve the problem. NETWORK members, our faith partners, and, most importantly, immigrant communities do not understand why the only action on immigration taken by the House of Representatives since the passage of the Senate reform bill was passing a bill that would strip “DREAMERs” – children who have lived in the U.S and attended American schools for years – of protections provided by President Obama in 2012. Under the House bill, young men and women who have always called America home are at risk of deportation. That action was shameful and betrayed a fundamental principle of all people of faith to welcome the stranger.

As we rejoice tonight, we are also fully aware that the president’s action is a temporary fix and that we must continue the hard work of promoting comprehensive reform. Many of our brothers and sisters are still at risk of deportation. But tonight marks an important down payment toward a more fair system and for that, Mr. President, we simple say: thank you.

Our activists are contacting their legislators to let them know that they support the president’s action because Congress has failed to act. NETWORK remains committed to working for comprehensive immigration reform legislation that once and for all fixes our broken immigration system and allows people who are undocumented an opportunity to achieve the great American dream.

A NETWORK video of Catholic sisters expressing support of the president’s action and immigration reform can be viewed at:  http://youtu.be/Xk5BSc_H_gE

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NETWORK—a Catholic leader in the global movement for justice and peace—educates, organizes and lobbies for economic and social transformation. Founded in 1971 by 47 Catholic sisters, NETWORK is supported by thousands of groups and individuals committed to working for social and economic justice. ●www.networklobby.org ● facebook.com/NetworkLobby ● Twitter: NETWORKLobby