As an American Catholic, I can certainly understand Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley’s reasons to err on the side of charity regarding illegal immigrants and those of the Muslim faith, as he wrote in a recent op-ed. I maintain that erring on the side of caution would be a wiser approach, and if that means imposing a temporary ban, then we should support it.

There are two main reasons why we are in the mess we are: failure to enforce our immigration laws and misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment. This amendment was crafted during Reconstruction to ensure that newly freed slaves and their children would be recognized as American citizens, effectively undoing the Dred Scott decision. It was never meant to grant automatic citizenship to the children born of foreign nationals, be they legal or illegal.

Immigration has become a touchy subject, but the fact remains that we must acknowledge the policies that brought us to this mess before we find a reasonable solution. Maintaining the status quo will only bring more chaos.

Mark Splain

Billerica