LEDYARD - Illegal immigration is a contentious subject. There is little debate in that, no matter where one stands on the issues. As for how it should best be resolved, though, there is no shortage of disagreement.

But for two staff members of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Rochester, the controversy surrounding immigration should center on one's faith.

They expressed their views at a talk hosted by the Ledyard United Methodist Church late Sunday afternoon.

Sister Janet Korn, Catholic Charities' social justice awareness coordinator, urged a course that heeds the message of Matthew 25:35 - that if someone is hungry, or thirsty, or in a strange land, the others more fortunate must “be present and care for the least among us.”

Joining Korn from Catholic Charities was Ruth Putnam, who coordinates their social outreach programs and other activities for much of the Finger Lakes region.

An attentive crowd of close to 60 attended the gathering, despite significant snow drifts and blowing snow that made driving difficult on Route 34B. As several women knitted and others sipped coffee, Putnam began with a brief talk.

“Is there a way to justly resolve the immigration debate?” she asked the audience.

Korn then answered that question in turn, beginning by deriding the level of rhetoric that often surrounds the nationwide discussion - such as the comments made by bombastic talk-radio hosts.

“That's not what we're about. We look at these issues through the tenants of our faith,” she said. “And how we treat one another is a moral issue.”� �

Illegal immigration is certainly an important topic for Cayuga County residents, especially farmers.

Large dairy farms often find it impossible to staff their operations without hiring non-residents, people who often come here from Guatemala. For sweet corn growers, there is a pool of around 100 workers - predominantly Haitian - who live in a migrant labor camp in King Ferry during the summer.

They reside in southeastern Florida the rest of the year, working there to bring in the sugarcane crop.

For Sister Korn, there is an urgent need for Congress to focus on enacting “comprehensive immigration reform.” She condemned the current construction of a 700-mile fence in certain border sections of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

“We have to secure the border, but do it so it respects the dignity of the persons involved,” Sister Korn said.

She also said there must be a guest-worker program that insures employers pay reasonable wages, an earned path to naturalization that is fair, and a family reunification program that recognizes the realities when poor families are split apart.

Catholic Charities runs a “sanctuary” home for immigrant families in Sodus, and Sister Korn told of one family that faced severe hardship after a pregnant mother of one saw both her 26-year-old husband, and her 70-year-old grandmother, in the process of being deported. �

Debbie Patrick, who coordinates a wide range of services for the migrant camp through the Good Shepard Catholic Community of Southern Cayuga County, smiled as she talked of her volunteerism each summer.

“It's very rewarding for me, and these are very hard-working people,” she said.