After reading about a website commemorating Ellis Island immigrants, I tried to locate my grandparents. More quickly that I could ever imagine, I was transported almost a century back in time to share the migration experience with my long-deceased grandparents.

I saw the signature of my grandfather, Janos, who migrated from Slovakia in 1909 onboard the RMS Carpathia. With a little more searching, I found my grandmother's signature as well. Anna, his young wife, arrived three years later on the SS Roon.

Staring in amazement at the images of the passenger manifests where they had signed, I felt a genuine and immediate connection to a grandfather I never knew and a grandmother who died when I was young.

Did they miss each other by sailing three years apart? Was she afraid of the North Atlantic crossing? Did grandpa select a house for her? My heart ached when I imagined the adversity they faced and the families they left behind.

I never thought of myself as an immigrant. I can't even pronounce the name of the village where my grandparents lived (too many consonants!). But only one generation separates me from the challenge of the passage and the confusion of a new land.

Surely, after so many years, the immigration process has improved. Or has it?

Astoundingly things have become worse, not because migrants need to save enough money for the passage, but because the U.S. immigration system is failing. That assessment is shared by virtually the entire political spectrum.

Spouses and children today can be separated for years as they navigate the modern immigration maze --- even though one of the guiding principles of U.S. immigration policy is family unification.

A spouse or minor child migrating from Mexico or other impacted nations such as India or the Philippines may have to wait more than seven and a half years to receive a visa. A parent can miss almost all of a child's grade school years.

Even for non-impacted countries, the wait is five years. And an adult son or daughter must wait more than a decade for a visa.

While there are many reasons for the backlog, one thing is clear: A policy designed to keep families together is not doing so. Parents and children are missing large portions of each other's lives, when it isn't necessary.

Like many immigrants, my grandparents were driven by the promise of a better life. Others were --- and still are --- escaping war, poverty, famine, religious intolerance and other forms of tyranny and abuse.

Even with the desire to support one's family, to improve educationally, or to escape evil, the decision to leave all you know behind --- possibly forever --- isn't easy.

The Bible is full of admonitions to help the migrant. A recent Sunday reading was particularly clear: "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 22:20). Hence, the Catholic Church has a long tradition of supporting immigration.

It is also part of our national heritage. In fact, stories about how this nation was built by immigrants have become almost clichés. And because they have become so common, the lessons learned are not always appreciated.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates a shortfall of 10 million low-skilled wage earners by 2010. A large portion of this gap in the U.S. labor market will need to be filled by immigrants.

A national effort now under way --- Justice for Immigrants --- addresses both our U.S. immigration legacy and the difficulties with the current system. The campaign is sponsored by the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, Catholic Charities USA and many other groups.

The collaborating organizations are urging Congress to reform the system in a compassionate way that reunites families and opens new avenues to earned citizenship.

Grassroots efforts to support the campaign are also being organized in dioceses around the nation, especially where immigrant populations are large, the need readily apparent, and memories of the immigration experience are still fresh.

Immigration will be an important story in the coming months leading up to the mid-term elections in November 2006. Will a new law "oppress the alien" or treat our new citizens with compassion?

As followers of Jesus we're called to be on the compassionate side. And we can call our elected representatives to exhibit equal compassion and concern as they struggle with what are sure to be some difficult questions, fears and uncertainties in the coming debate.

Steve Pehanich is the executive director of Catholic Charities of California. He supports public policy and other initiatives for the 12 Catholic Charities agencies. Contact him at spehanich@cacatholic.org.