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Congress should help U.S. churches get green cards for their priests

It is an immigration catastrophe no one is talking about.

By Letters to the Editor | 2024-03-13

(iStock)

Regarding the March 9 news article "Border Democrat finds new allies":

Immigration debates in Congress have long been contentious. But lawmakers should listen for a sound that might soon disappear: church bells and sermons in churches across the country that face the expulsion of their priests, rabbis and pastors thanks to changes in how green cards are processed.

Last year, the Biden administration combined some pools of green-card applicants. Priests, nuns and other pastors found themselves in line with children and young adults from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. As a result, faith leaders, some of whom have served their American congregations for years, were pushed back in the queue and now have no clear sense of when they might be able to obtain their green cards.

In hundreds of churches, like ours, Saint Martha in Sarasota, Fla., priests from different countries are being effectively deported, even though their congregations very much want them to stay. We stand to lose a priest and several others are in similar status.

The fact is, without bringing priests from other countries, our churches would be devastated. Already, many churches are closing or selling their properties, making it difficult for the faithful to attend neighborhood churches. Churches that held mass four times a day have now only one. Imagine needing a priest to service a funeral, call on someone in a hospital, or to get married, only to get a response of "Sorry we can't help, we don't have a priest!"

You won't have to imagine much longer. Congress should act to make sure people who have been faithful to America can stay and be of service to people of faith.

Lynn McDonald, Sarasota, Fla.


This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/13/priests-rabbis-green-cards-immigration/


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