"You have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith!" (Matthew 23:23) 

In the flurry of legislative activity and reluctant, though productive, bipartisanship that characterized the lame-duck session late in 2010, one proposed piece of legislation was sadly left on the side of the political road like an unwanted piece of furniture.

Unable to raise enough votes to end a filibuster, the DREAM Act – which stands for the Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors Act – is aimed at providing a path to citizenship for young people who entered the country illegally with their parents as children or infants, on the condition that they complete two years of higher education or two years of military service. It is believed that as many as 2.1 million young persons could have benefited from the enactment of the DREAM Act.

Opposition to the DREAM Act seems to center on the idea that it is a backdoor move toward amnesty for all illegal immigrants, an untenable thought for many politicians in today’s anti-immigrant culture. Too few of our elected leaders seem to have the political or moral heft to effectively challenge the opposition on this illogical and ill-conceived notion.

To be clear, children who were brought to this country by their undocumented parents are not party to any illegal act. They do not require amnesty; they have done nothing wrong. This offer is extended to them, not their parents. The fear tactics employed by the opposition do not hold up against even the most basic measure of plausibility.

When we are saying that the DREAM Act should not become the law of this land, we are saying one of two things: 1) Either we seek to deny the basic human right of citizenship to these young people because of the illegal acts of their parents, thereby punishing the innocent; or 2) We simply don’t care enough about them living in the shadows as they try to build responsible lives.

Either reason is unacceptable. We cannot hold these children accountable for their parents’ actions any more than we can hold responsible the children of a murderer or a thief to serve a prison sentence or pay restitution to the victim. Our nation’s laws must be built on the moral principles that uphold basic human rights and dignity.

If we look away and refuse to see why we should get involved, we are certainly not living up to our Christian calling. It is we who will be doing wrong if – through our lack of will to take positive and pro-active steps to resolve the immigration crisis – we leave these young people (even as young adults) in a state of citizenship limbo, having grown up in a country that refuses to claim them as their own.

The U.S. Catholic bishops have consistently called for the passage of this law as a common-sense humanitarian measure. President Barack Obama has expressed his intention to push it in the new session of Congress.

It is notable that the opening of the 112th session of Congress, in which hopes for the DREAM Act are renewed, we, as a Church, also mark National Migration Week, with its theme, “Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice.”

Let us take this opportunity to raise our voices in support of the children of undocumented immigrants, so that they may go to school, serve in our military, raise families and give back to the only country many of them have ever known.

Contact your legislators today, and call for the passage of the DREAM Act.