Cardinal Francis George (l) and former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert address the business community in support of fair and just immigration reform at DePaul University. Photo courtesy of DePaul University.
Fr. Brendan helped create and now serves on the steering committee of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition (IBIC) which in February sponsored a panel at DePaul University. Panelists included Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George and former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert. A Republican, Hastert called for legalization of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living and working in the country. “My own party must acknowledge and embrace ever-growing Latino and Asian constituencies,” he said. “We should provide them with a path to citizenship.”
Cardinal George made the moral case for immigration reform and deplored increases in deportations. “Our churches have too many families torn apart by our immigration laws, too many good people who only want to be Americans, to work and be safe in their homes. I know that our nation’s soul requires that we treat them fairly.”