Archbishop José H. Gomez, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico, is author of "Immigration and the Next America: Restoring the Soul of our Nation." He leads the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The views expressed in this column belong to Gomez.

(CNN) The new year began with a new wave of government raids targeting immigrants from Central America and Mexico. About 120 were rounded up for deportation -- mostly women and children, many of whom had come to the U.S. fleeing violence in their home countries.

The raids are yet another depressing sign of the failed state of American immigration policy.

After nearly a decade of debate, everyone agrees that our immigration system is broken and needs comprehensive reform. But year after year slips by without a solution. In the vacuum created by polarization and inaction, deportation has become our government's "de facto" policy.

Archbishop Jose H. Gomez

More than 2 million people have been deported in the last eight years alone. The overwhelming majority are not criminals. And up to one-quarter of recent deportations have been of a mother or father of a U.S. citizen child. In the name of enforcing our laws, we are breaking up families and punishing children for their parents' mistakes.

That is why many of us in the faith community welcomed Tuesday's news that the Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case of United States of America v. State of Texas

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