Minnesota’s Catholic bishops will declare Jan. 4 to be "Immigration Sunday" and urge Catholics throughout the state to welcome newcomers.

Those are among the items to be announced Tuesday in a statement from the group on immigration. It comes two years after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the Swift plant in Worthington.

The group notes: "Anti-immigrant sentiment continues to divide communities throughout Minnesota and recent immigration raids have had a devastating impact on immigrant families and our rural communities. In the context of a new administration and new Congress, the Minnesota Catholic Bishops will release a joint statement calling for comprehensive immigration reform and strategies to reduce global poverty.
 
"Representatives of both the Minnesota and United States Conferences of Catholic Bishops will discuss the long-term fallout from the Swift raid and announce the launch of the statewide 'Immigration Sunday.' … The statewide celebration will serve as an opportunity for education and reflection in the Catholic community about biblical teachings on immigration and the reality faced by so many hardworking immigrant families and the need to fix our broken immigration system."

The full statement will be released at 1 p.m. Tuesday.