The longer Washington waits, the worse the problem gets. Communities are strained and millions live in a constant state of uncertainty. This serves neither justice nor the common good.

As a bishop entrusted with the care of souls, I want to reiterate the consistent call of Catholic bishops around the U.S. for true statesmen to step forward, set aside partisan calculations and enact meaningful federal immigration reform.

Recent failures can’t be ignored. The nation was poorly served by those who threw the border open. The flood of migrants overwhelmed local communities, eroded public trust and weakened the rule of law. Compassion divorced from order isn’t compassion at all; it’s negligence.

At the same time, it’s wrong to blame undocumented immigrants themselves, many of whom came here seeking safety, work or family reunification. Solidarity can’t be selective. We must stand with citizens and undocumented immigrants together as human beings created in God’s image.

The Catholic tradition insists on holding together truths that politicians prefer to separate. Nations have the right and duty to secure their borders and enforce their laws. Immigrants are human beings with natural rights that must be respected. Authentic justice requires both the rule of law and mercy, both accountability and hospitality.

In this light, it is right to respect the efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers when they are fulfilling their mission to identify and detain serious criminals who have illegally entered the country. The removal of dangerous people serves the common good. Protecting the innocent is a moral obligation.

Yet the current environment is untenable. Even law-abiding immigrants are living in fear that any interaction with authorities could separate parents from children or unravel years of honest work.

What’s required is a comprehensive, long-term solution that reflects reality rather than ideology. That solution must include the granting of a lawful status for those who have put down roots, contributed to their communities and lived here for years. A workable solution would also have to acknowledge that some people will be deported. Mercy doesn’t negate consequences, and compassion doesn’t mean wide-open borders.

The 2013 Senate bill offered a glimpse of what responsible governance can look like: bipartisan engagement, attention to enforcement and legal pathways and a recognition that widespread irregularity benefits no one. That effort sadly failed, not because the problem was unsolvable, but because political will collapsed under pressure from the extremes. We have paid the price for that failure ever since.

As a pastor, I see the human cost on all sides. I minister to immigrant parishioners who are fearful of driving their children to school or shopping for groceries, regardless of their legal status. I also serve those who feel abandoned by leaders who have seemed more interested in political posturing than in protecting their communities. The church can’t choose one flock over another. Neither should the nation.

Immigration reform isn’t about erasing borders or demonizing newcomers. It’s about restoring moral order, strengthening families and promoting the common good. That work demands courage, humility, and a willingness to compromise—virtues that define proper statesmanship. If we continue to delay, the debate will only grow more bitter and the solutions more elusive. The moment to act is now.

Archbishop Hebda leads the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.