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The church teaches that a nation has (at least) two obligations with regard to immigration. The obligation to aid those looking for a better life…2241 The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood *which he cannot find in his country of origin.
**…*as well as the right and obligation to control their borders to serve the common good.*Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions.
*We should start by recognizing that these two obligations are sometimes in conflict. Welcoming too many foreigners may work against the common good of the nation receiving them; restricting immigration for the good of existing citizens works against the needs of those trying to better their own lives. It is not sufficient to look only at one concern as if the other was irrelevant, which, unfortunately, appears to be exactly what the bishops have done.
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