Cupich and Obama discuss immigration

The newly installed Arch­bishop of Chicago, Blase Cupich, met with President Barack Obama last week when the president visited the city for an immigration rally. The brief meeting occurred before the rally, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Last month, Mr Obama issued an executive order granting temporary protection to a large number of undocumented migrants. Speaking in Spanish to parishioners at the largely Latino parish of St Agnes of Bohemia after Mass on Sunday, Archbishop Cupich said, “On Tuesday this week, I was invited to meet with President Obama and the only issue I discussed with him was the executive order … I told the president that the Catholic bishops of the United States favour this action but see it only as a first step to a comprehensive reform of immigration policies.”

Archbishop Cupich said the two men also discussed the need to have some confidentiality provision for migrants “so that when people register for the protection, the information they give will not be used against them in the future.” “We also discussed the need to protect immigrants from people who may try to exploit the undocumented,” he added.

The archbishop told the president that the Church was “ready to help immigrants and provide security as the plan is being implemented”. “I wanted to tell you today about my discussion with the President so that you know that you can count on me as a good friend of the immigrant community,” Archbishop Cupich told the parishioners.