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breaking a secular law does not = committing a religious sin.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan I think guides the conscience of many in the Church who help illegals.

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s = obey the law

From the Source

The lesson of the parable of the Good Samaritan, like the lesson of the woman caught in adultery, is one in which too many people take away only half of the message, or the wrong message altogether. Explicit in the story of the adulteress is that "we are not to judge." That's the message, the ONLY message, that too many people -- especially liberal Christians and secularists want to walk away with. But also explicit in the story is that there is somebody who does have the authority to judge, there is somebody who does have the authority to forgive, and that forgiveness requires genuine repentance. None of these messages are convenient to a certain world-view.

Inconvenient to the same world-view are several messages in the Gospel that poverty born of circumstance is altogether different from poverty born of laziness (which is unacceptable.)

I wonder what message it is you think the Good Samaritan is supposed to convey? What I learned -- in Catholic High School -- is that parable is more about the salvation of the Gentiles than it is about the person who receives charity. But even if the story is, in your interpretation, primarily about charity rather than the person who gives it, could the Church not provide charity to illegals by admonishing them not to break the law in the first place? Or to provide those who have with a good meal and a ticket back home?

Love is not primarily about giving people what they want, but about doing the right thing for them: simply because a certain criminal element in our government, Mexico 's government, and among American employers lures them here, this is not the best thing for Mexico. Nor is it the best thing for America, or ultimately for the Church. If the Church wants to do good works for Mexico, it should focus on the endemic corruption and criminality that has made the country ungovernable, disease ridden, and impoverished despite a beneficent climate and a wealth of natural resources.