The Catholic Way: Immigration Reform in a New Era

The need to migrate drives the action in much of the Bible, from Adam and Eve, to Abraham and Moses to Jesus and the Holy Family. Our Catholic faith has strong teaching about welcoming the suffering stranger –always. How do we as Catholics reconcile immigration with other life issues? How do we advocate for real reform in this area, consistent with Jesus’s words, Catholic teaching and values? In this session, we will consider the bedrock principles in which faithful Catholics should always ground their actions and discuss the specific ways US immigration law must change in a new era. This session will include compelling stories of those who had to migrate, a description of the existing law they faced, and Catholic teaching that forms the longstanding teaching of our Church.


Linda Dakin-Grimm is a lawyer and immigration advocate.  Working Pro Bono, she has helped more than 75 unaccopanied children and separated families to navigate the complex immigration system.  Linda's book, "Dignity and Justice: Welcoming the Stranger, (Orbis Books, 2020), tells stores and explains both the law and Catholic teaching.  Linda holds a B.A. from Yale University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.A. in Theology from LMU.  She is a 2020-2021 Advanced Leaderhship Initiative Fellow of Harvard University.