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CATHOLIC
CONFERENCE
OF KENTUCKY
1042 Burlington Lane
Frankfort, KY 40601-8487
Tel (502)875-4345
Fax (502)875-2841
www.ccky.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT Rev. Pat Delahanty 502 494 3298
January 7, 2011
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE WILL CONTINUE TO OPPOSE SENATE BILL 6
The Catholic Conference of Kentucky is saddened by the vote on the Senate floor today to send Senate
Bill 6, an Act relating to immigration, to the House chamber for consideration.
This bill was described as way to send a message to Congress that it needs to repair the broken
immigration system. This is the wrong tool to use to get the attention of our federal lawmakers.
Not only does it nothing to repair the damage we suffer because federal lawmakers fail to act, it damages
the social fabric of our Kentucky community. This legislation will waste valuable resources, cost millions
of dollars to implement, and fill our jails and prisons with persons convicted of trespassing in Kentucky
after being enticed here by jobs and an opportunity to raise families in dignity.
Tourism and our signature industries, raising and racing horses and growing tobacco, will be severely
harmed, and when that economy fails, tax dollars to support needed programs will no longer be available
to meet the real needs of Kentuckians.
Kentucky’s four Catholic bishops and their brothers serving dioceses throughout the nation have
supported and will continue to push for comprehensive immigration reform because this is the only way
to create a system of immigration that works for us all.
Comprehensive immigration reform, which the U.S. bishops support, would replace
illegality with a system based on legal presence and legal entry, thus restoring the
rule of law to a chaotic system while also protecting the basic dignity, and lives, of
our fellow brothers and sisters.
It would require those who have broken the law to get on the right side of it by
paying a fine, taxes, learning English and waiting in the back of a long line to have a
chance to become a U.S. citizen. This “path to citizenship” is in the best interests of
migrants, who are able to become full members of their communities, and our
nation, which will continue to benefit from their contributions without sacrificing our
long-held values as a nation of immigrants: freedom, fairness and opportunity.
Senate Bill 6 fails to meet any standard we might use to garner the support of the Conference and our
opposition will now move to the House where we hope to see its defeat.
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Most Reverend Most Reverend Most Reverend Most Reverend Reverend
Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Roger. J. Foys, D.D. Ronald W. Gainer, D.D. William F. Medley, D.D. Patrick Delahanty
Archbishop of Louisville Bishop of Covington —_ Bishop of Lexington Bishop of Owensboro Executive Director
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