The Church Defends the Gypsies

France is having its own immigration crackdown, and for the past month President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for "security measures" in regard to the Roma people, or gypsies.  Some fifty illegal camps have been dismantled.

Archbishop of Aix Christophe Dufour was present during one of the police raids.  He gave this statement:

The caravans have been destroyed.  I do not question the police who obey orders.  But I ask for respect for persons and their dignity, under French law.  Security discourses which may suggest that there are inferior populations are unacceptable.  These people are Europeans and living here peacefully for the most part, some of them for many years.

The archbishop offered to meet with the authorities in an attempt to arbitrate (via @lepetitchose).

Today, in his weekly Angelus address, the Holy Father addressed this issue with the French-speaking pilgrims:  

The liturgical texts of today repeat to us that all men are called to salvation.  They contain a call to learn to accept legitimate human diversity, following Jesus who came to unite people of all nations and all languages.  Dear parents, educate your children in universal brotherhood.

USCCB on worksite raids

Statement of Most Reverend John C. Wester
Bishop of Salt Lake City
Chairman, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration
On
Worksite Enforcement Raids
September 10, 2008

On behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), I call upon the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Bush to reexamine the use of worksite enforcement raids as an immigration enforcement tool. The humanitarian costs of these raids are immeasurable and unacceptable in a civilized society.

In the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, we have sought to work collaboratively with DHS to ensure that raids are carried out humanely. It seems to us that DHS has attempted to abide by several humanitarian considerations in executing some of the workplace raids.

However, we believe that DHS has not gone far enough to ensure that human rights protections are consistently applied in all enforcement actions.

For over a year now, DHS has targeted employers who hire unauthorized workers by using force to enter worksites and arrest immigrant workers. During the process of these raids, U.S.-citizen children have been separated from their parents for days, if not longer; immigrants arrested have not been afforded the rights of due process; and local communities, including legal permanent residents and U.S. citizens, have been disrupted and dislocated. The sweeping nature of these raids---which often involve hundreds of law enforcement personnel with weapons---strike fear in immigrant communities and make it difficult for those arrested to secure basic due process protections, including legal counsel.

We have witnessed first-hand the suffering of immigrant families and are gravely concerned about the collateral human consequences of immigration enforcement raids on the family unit. Many of our local parishes have helped respond to human needs generated by these enforcement actions, providing counseling and legal services to parents and children and basic needs assistance to immigrant communities.

Raids strike immigrant communities unexpectedly, leaving the affected immigrant families to cope in their aftermath. Husbands are separated from their wives, and children are separated from their parents. Many families never recover; others never reunite.

As our government confronts the challenges of immigration, let it not forget one of its core duties: protecting the family unit as the fundamental institution upon which society and government itself depends.

While we do not question the right and duty of our government to enforce the law, we do question whether worksite enforcement raids are the most effective and humane method for performing this duty, particularly as they are presently being implemented. In this regard, we ask DHS to immediately pledge to take the following actions to mitigate the human costs of these raids:

-DHS should refrain from enforcement activity in certain areas that provide humanitarian relief—churches, hospitals, community health centers, schools, food banks, and other community-based organizations that provide charitable services;


-Primary, not simply sole, caregivers should be released following an enforcement action to care for their children. A variety of release mechanisms, including parole in the public interest, release on recognizance, bail, and alternatives to detention should be utilized for this purpose: DHS should facilitate access to meaningful legal representation for arrested individuals so that they are aware of their legal rights and options;


-Enforcement actions should be conducted in a manner which preserves basic human dignity: immigrants who are working to survive and support their families should not be treated like criminals.

-Mechanisms should be instituted to allow family members to remain together and to locate each other during and following an enforcement action. Non-profit and community groups should be engaged in this effort.

Absent the effective and immediate implementation of these safeguards, we believe that these enforcement raids should be abandoned.

Immigration enforcement raids demonstrate politically the ability of the government to enforce the law. They do little, however, to solve the broader challenge of illegal immigration. They also reveal, sadly, the failure of a seriously flawed immigration system, which, as we have consistently stated, requires comprehensive reform.

As they begin their general election campaigns, we urge the two presidential candidates to engage the issue of immigration in a humane, thoughtful, and courageous manner.

We urge our elected and appointed officials to turn away from enforcement-only methods and direct their energy toward the adoption of comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Traces Series on American Presidential Campaign

2008 No. 1 - Why Should We Care About the Sick (health care)? (statistics)

2008 No. 2 - Defending a True Education

2008 No. 3 - Caring for our Neighbor (immigration) (statistics)

2008 No. 4 - The City and the World (foreign policy) (terms)

Immigration: A Catholic Response, by Bishop John C. Wester

The full text of Bishop John C. Wester's Aquinas lecture, delivered at St. Catherine of Sienna Newman Center at the University of Utah (where I was baptized, confirmed, brought into full communion, married, and where our two oldest children were baptized), 27 January 2008, is now available. As chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration & Refugee Services, he is deeply engaged all issues surrounding immigration. I cannot think of a better person for this job. I do not believe that Bishop Wester has an ideological bone in his body. He is a consummate bridge-builder.

The title of his lecture is Immigration: A Catholic Response.

"Some of you might ask why the Catholic Church would speak out on the
issue of immigration. It is primarily because of the Gospel mandate to 'welcome
the stranger,'” with strong roots in the Old Testament. Deuteronomy warns Israel
that 'the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, almighty
and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the
orphan and who loves the stranger, providing them food and clothing' (Dt. 10-17-
18). Israel’s care for the stranger was to be guided by God’s command and their
own experience: 'You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the
land of Egypt' (Dt. 10-12)."

So, you can now either watch or read Bishop Wester's lecture courtesy of our diocesan newspaper the Intermountain Catholic. I do not hesitate to give Barbara Stinson Lee, the IC's editor, credit whenever possible, we are blessed to have such a knowledgeable, tenacious, passionate, and committed person in our local Church. We are also tremendously blessed to have Bishop Wester leading our diocese. All of us in the U.S. are fortunate to have him as the Church's spokesman and advocate on this issue at this time.

The old US guest workers: the Bracero program

"Guest worker proposals renew interest in retired migrants"

The program, which took its name from the Spanish word for arms - brazos - was initiated in 1942 to replace American field workers who went to fight in World War II. After the war, farmers lobbied the government to keep the program going until 1964.

Wikipedia: Bracero Program

And here's the Smithsonian's Opportunity or Exploitation: The Bracero Program.

Before starting new guest worker programs, we should evaluate the one that happened before.

A classic investigative report on immigrant farmworkers

The following quotes are from a 1995 article that I used in the Peace and Justice classes I taught in the Bronx during the 1995-96 school year. Looking over it again today, I'm still wowed by its descriptive power, statistical richness, and incisive commentary. It brings together a close look at one industry with the big picture. Yes, it has a particular point of view which is political and ideological, but it also demonstrates a seriousness at investigating the reality in question. I would be interested in reading complementary or contradictory studies.

a bit of history:

«Philip L. Martin is a professor of agricultural economics at the University of California at Davis and one of the nation's foremost authorities on farm-labor demographics. According to his estimates, during the 1920s there were some two million migrant farm workers in the United States. During the 1940s there were about one million. And during the early 1970s, when Cesar Chavez's labor-organizing drive among migrant workers was at its height, there were only about 200,000. Then the number began to climb. Today it is impossible to gauge the size of the migrant work force with any precision, among other reasons because so much of it is composed of illegal immigrants. Martin believes that 800,000 to 900,000 migrant farm workers are now employed in the United States. And not only are there far more migrants today but they are being paid far less.»

An interesting fact:

«It is risky and expensive to grow, but it can yield more revenue per acre than virtually any other crop except marijuana.»

Source: "In the Strawberry Fields" by Eric Schlosser. Atlantic Monthly. November 1995.

Overwhelmed by the Complexity of Reality

Reading "JACK"s post below, "More Questions, No Answers," I feel a bit overwhelmed at the complexity and contradictions of immigration. I dream of a solution that I could get my head around: something quick, simple that could erase the problem.

1. the words of Psalm 131 come to mind again: I do not busy myself with great matters, with things too sublime for me. Since I am not the Ruler of the Universe, the solution of this problem does not rest on my shoulders.
2. I'm suddenly aware of my preconceptions - my ignorance of the details of immigration: it's history, its causes, etc. Here's Fr. Giussani on preconceptions:

«preconception is irrational for at least two reasons: first, because you claim to know something you don't know, claiming to know it already - thus, it's an evident contradiction - and second, it's irrational because normally what you think you already know about what you don't know is simply what the others think, not even an original idea of your own.»

(Giussani, It Is Possible to Live this Way, p 15. Traces 1, 2008)

If we are going to examine this issue (or many others), we need first of all to (as we say in sales, especially complex sales) move off of the solution. A cultural work is needed to educate ourselves, to research and examine the variety of factors involved in immigration. Otherwise, we just end up replicating talking points produced by others.

(as I type this, I'm half listening to African American Lives 2 on PBS. A great deal of what I thought I knew about American slavery is being challenged!)

The Fragile Immigrant Families

On the occasion of the coming World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and looking at the Holy Family of Nazareth, icon of all families, I would like to invite you to reflect on the condition of the migrant family. The evangelist Matthew narrates that shortly after the birth of Jesus, Joseph was forced to leave for Egypt by night, taking the child and his mother with him, in order to flee the persecution of king Herod (cf. Mt 2:13-15). Making a comment on this page of the Gospel, my venerable Predecessor, the Servant of God Pope Pius XII, wrote in 1952: “The family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, emigrants and taking refuge in Egypt to escape the fury of an evil king, are the model, the example and the support of all emigrants and pilgrims of every age and every country, of all refugees of any condition who, compelled by persecution and need, are forced to abandon their homeland, their beloved relatives, their neighbors, their dear friends, and move to a foreign land” (Exsul familia, AAS 44, 1952, 649). In this misfortune experienced by the Family of Nazareth, obliged to take refuge in Egypt, we can catch a glimpse of the painful condition in which all migrants live, especially, refugees, exiles, evacuees, internally displaced persons, those who are persecuted. We can take a quick look at the difficulties that every migrant family lives through, the hardships and humiliations, the deprivation and fragility of millions and millions of migrants, refugees and internally displaced people. The Family of Nazareth reflects the image of God safeguarded in the heart of every human family, even if disfigured and weakened by emigration.

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI called attention to the fragile condition of migrant families throughout the world in his World Day of Migrants and Refugees Message. He offered as a model of compassion the Holy Family that lived through this displacement, in their case as for many war refugees, as a result of lethal threats. We are invited to see every family as the image of the Trinity. This is not necessarily the first thought in the immigration debate which is rife with accusations and acrimony.

The most shameful aspect of the new crackdown on immigration has been the separation of families, including young children (citizens if born here) taken from their parents who are then incarcerated pending deportation proceedings. Some cases are documented here (Face 1, Face 2 and Immigration Families). Others are in financial and legal limbo awaiting immigration proceedings, as for those caught in a raid last September 27th at a McDonald's in Reno:

Marta lost everything after the arrest. She is now out of work and can’t get a new job until her immigration case has gone to court, presumably within the next two months. Unable to pay rent or even buy supplies for her two infant children, she is forced to live with friends and rely on services provided by NHS. Marta says her hardships don’t change the fact that living in Reno gives her the opportunity to improve her circumstances. If she had stayed in her hometown, Mexico City, there was hardly a chance to earn a decent living....

Elena has family in Reno, who have helped since her arrest. She has also been unable to work until her legal status is clarified. Left with no alternative, she has sold most of her belongings in order to pay her bills and feed her three children. She will have to remain unemployed until her case can be heard by an immigration judge. The judge will determine if she can acquire a work permit. Though nervous, she says she hopes she can stay in the United States because living here provides better opportunities for her children than in Jalisco.

For those brought to this country illegally as children, educated by Supreme Court mandate through high school, what awaits them is also a legal limbo. They cannot legally work, and they have to pay out-of-state tuition for college. An independent movie, "This is America", produced by a young man who was brought here illegally at three years of age, makes the case for the now dormant Dream Act.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would have allowed certain students to apply for conditional status for up to six years of legal residence. During that time, the students would be required to graduate from a two-year college, complete at least two years of classes toward a four-year degree or serve in the U.S. military for at least two years. At the end of six years, students would be given permanent residency if they met the conditions. To qualify, students would have to have come to the United States when they were 15 or younger and would have to have been here at least five years before applying.

Introduced in some form every session since 2001, the most recent version died last fall.... The National Immigration Law Center blamed the Dream Act's failure, in part, on a White House statement against the measure that was released the day of the congressional vote. (Caught in the Crossfire)

Hillary Clinton recognizes the special need to keep immigrant families intact:

We do need to work with the Congress to get legislation that is comprehensive. I am proud to work with Sen. Menendez on trying to make sure that in the process of doing immigration reform, we don't separate families, we try to have family unification as one of the goals. So in addition to giving people a path to legalization, we want to make sure their families can come along with them. There does have to be an intensive effort with our friends to the south to see how the United States can once again be a partner, with a relationship based on mutual respect, where we work together to find ways that we can help them address the needs of the people living in countries to the south. Finally, we have to educate the American people about why immigration is as important today as it was when my family came through into Ellis Island.

Immigration and Families

An immigration "dilemma" or a mother's worst nightmare. See also a restatement of the Church's position on protecting the human rights of immigrants from earlier this month in Spain. The Church cite is superfluous; this is a no-brainer on basic human rights, Nantel's "I'm just doing my job" justifications notwithstanding.

Saída Umanzor, is an illegal immigrant and was taken to jail to await deportation. Her 9-month-old [breastfeeding only] daughter, Brittney Bejarano, who was born in the United States and is a citizen, was put in the care of social workers....

The case exposes a recurring quandary for immigration authorities as an increasing number of American-born children of illegal immigrants become caught up in deportation operations. With the Bush administration stepping up enforcement, the immigration agency has been left scrambling to devise procedures to deal with children who, by law, do not fall under its jurisdiction because they are citizens.

“We are faced with these sorts of situations frequently, where a large number of individuals come illegally or overstay and have children in the United States,” said Kelly A. Nantel, a spokeswoman for the agency. “Unfortunately, the parents are putting their children in these difficult situations.”...

About two-thirds of the children of the illegal immigrants detained in immigration raids in the past year were born in the United States....

Based on that finding, at least 13,000 American children have seen one or both parents deported in the past two years after round-ups in factories and neighborhoods. The figures are expected to grow. Over all, about 3.1 million American children have at least one parent who is an illegal immigrant, according to a widely accepted estimate by the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington.

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