A s we begin a new year, we should reflect on what was accomplished or not in the past year. It is also a time to look forward in order to identify matters and issues needing resolve in the next 12 months. 

 

We do this in our personal life, at work and in our families. We also take this look back and forward on a national level, as a part of our on-going political dialogue.

 

On the national level, the past year has been particularly disheartening and worrisome. The political divide that separates the two major parties and their supporters has deepened. 

 

Entrenched views on both sides, rooted in deeply differing and increasingly irreconcilable points of view, have made compromise and a joint search for truth and the common good an ever more remote hope. 

 

Still, for the good of our beloved country, we must continue to hope and to do the hard work of seeking good governance.

 

For the coming year, there continues to be an especially important but divisive issue our country needs to confront. It is the long-standing dysfunction of our migration system. 

 

Because that system is confusing, slow moving, arbitrary and politically manipulated, poor and sometimes desperate people are made vulnerable to abuse. 

 

At the same time, legitimate migration related concerns are raised about the use of financial resources, about cultural integration and about national security.

 

One particular element of the immigration question will need to be addressed early in this coming year. It is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. 

 

The program began as an executive order by President Barak Obama in 2012 to allow minors who had arrived or stayed in this country illegally to avoid deportation and obtain a work permit for a duration of two years, which could be renewed with a condition of good behavior.

 

In September of 2017, President  Donald Trump announced the end to that program. However, he delayed its termination for six months to allow Congress to follow its constitutional duty and pass a bill for him to sign that would address and resolve this problem more permanently. 

 

In this way the constitutional process would be followed and stability would be provided for those who have come to this country as minors under these circumstances.

 

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, denounced the cancellation of the program at that time. He pointed to the large numbers of such young people who have lived in and contributed to this country and to their families. 

 

He noted, “DACA youth are woven into the fabric of our country and of our Church, and are, by every social and human measure, American youth.” 

 

In short, for many who arrived at a young age, they have known no other home, no other country. They cooperated with the previous government policy, even to the point of identifying themselves and giving personal data. 

 

They have attended all levels of school and even served in our military to keep this country safe and bring the benefits of freedom to other countries and oppressed societies. They now face the fear of deportation, caught in the middle of an ideological battle.

 

The deadline for action on this matter comes in March. It is imperative that our congressional legislators in the House and the Senate resolve this matter once and for all.

 

For us as citizens of this country, we have a right to expect more clarity and improvement in our immigration policy. 

 

As Catholics, we seek the respect and treatment of immigrants in keeping with their dignity. They are our brothers and sisters, bearing the image and likeness of God, our common Father. 

 

The issue is not just legal. It is also a moral statement about who we are as a country.

 

There are legitimate issues for debate on both sides of the immigration question. That debate needs to take place this year. 

 

We simply must address the migration problem and a just resolution of the DACA matter will be the place to start.