On Immigration, the Catholic Church Gets It Right
As a lifelong Catholic and a good liberal, I've become accustomed to separating my religion and my politics. On contraception, on same-sex marriage, on health reform -- on just about every significant social issue of our day -- the Catholic Church's position has angered me enough to pay attention during the sermon.
Which is why I'm heartened by the church’s recent push on comprehensive immigration reform. Following the call of the U.S. Conference of Bishops -- the church’s policy arm in America -- parishes across the country have been speaking in support of the bill passed by the Senate in June. The public outreach began at mass on Sunday, September 8, and will continue with special events throughout the fall as the House considers floor action.
The church’s position on immigration is refreshing and pragmatic. It emphasizes charity and compassion. Though sovereign nations have the right to protect their borders and enforce immigration laws, such laws must respect the natural rights of persons to provide for the well-being of themselves and their families.
The bishops strongly support a process for the unauthorized to achieve citizenship -- a process that balances merciful inclusion with background checks, payment of fines, and demonstration of good moral character.
The bishops also advocate a continuing emphasis on the family-based immigration priorities that have long been a hallmark of U.S. policy, while at the same time expanding opportunities for future workers, including protections for safe passage and living wages.
The third plank of their platform is addressing illegal immigration's root causes: providing aid and support -- financial, logistical, or otherwise -- to immigrants' home countries.
Many of these themes are present in the Senate bill. You don't have to be a Catholic to recognize they make for smart policy. But the bishops' advocacy could well influence the debate in the House.
Catholics form a powerful voting bloc. Though the share of Americans who consider themselves Catholic has been on the decline for some time, Catholics still represent the single largest faith group in America, accounting for a quarter of the population. (Protestants as a whole outnumber Catholics two to one, but no single denomination has as many adherents as Catholicism.)
John Kerry lost the Catholic vote -- and the 2004 election -- in no small part due to the prominent clergy denouncing his views on abortion. In the House, Catholic influence is even more pronounced, with nearly a third of Representatives identifying as Catholic.
Congress would do well to follow the church's lead. Like many developed countries -- Japan, Germany, and Italy being the best examples -- America is beginning to feel the drag of a demographic deficit. The population is aging.
In 2009, the population of Americans 65 years of age or older was 39.6 million (12.9 percent of the population). By 2030, the Census Bureau projects this number will nearly double, to 73 million, which means that in less than two decades seniors will account for one in every five Americans.
On one hand, this is great news. People are living longer and staying healthier. But as more Baby Boomers enter their golden years, there will be fewer and fewer workers to support each retiree.
Absent a larger cohort of younger workers, rates of labor-force participation and saving will fall, restraining economic growth and impairing standards of living.
Then there are the fiscal consequences. American seniors have come to rely upon generous public benefits -- Social Security and Medicare -- to assist their retirements. These programs were designed to be mostly pay-as-you-go, with taxes assessed on current workers to support current retirees. This system worked just fine during the decades in which workers vastly outnumbered retirees. But with the aging of the population, the equation no longer holds.
Social Security has already begun paying out more in benefits that it collects in revenues on a yearly basis, drawing down the assets of its trust fund to bridge the gap. According its most recent Trustees Report, Social Security will exhaust its resources by 2035, at which point the fund will no longer be able to pay 100 percent of promised benefits. This means higher future taxes or lower future benefits. The Medicare Trust Fund faces similar problems, though its finances have been put on firmer footing thanks to the reforms enacted under Obamacare.
Immigration is one of the most commonsense ways to address the demographic deficit. The populations of developing, immigrant-sending countries tend to be younger than those in developed, immigrant-receiving ones. And individuals who chose to immigrate are typically those in their prime working years, ready and willing to contribute to the labor force -- and have children.
Fully two-thirds of immigrants who were granted legal permanent residence in the United States in 2012 were 39 years of age or under. At the same time, the birth rate among foreign-born women (87.8 per 1,000 women of childbearing age) is about 50 percent greater than that among natives.
Our politicians can learn something from our preachers. In helping others, we help ourselves.
Or, as Jesus himself recognized, we often do our best when we just "let the children come."
Mike Cassidy is a domestic-policy blogger at The Century Foundation.
