Migration & Refugee Services Articles
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May 6, 2007
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Bishops in Connecticut and Seattle marked the feast of St. Joseph the Worker May 1 with calls to welcome immigrants and encourage broad immigration law and policy reforms.
In their statement, the bishops who make up the Connecticut Catholic Conference cautioned against demonizing undocumented immigrants and said that, while the government has a right and obligation to control its borders, "faith must unite us to the more important values of love, hospitality, keeping families together and respecting every person's human dignity."
A few days later, a U.S. House subcommittee held a hearing related to a controversial employment eligibility verification system, the subject of a bill that also would authorize hiring another 8,000 Border Patrol agents and otherwise expand enforcement of immigration laws.
The National Immigration Forum, an immigrant rights organization, said election-year legislation such as the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement, or SAVE, Act, being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee, is "more like Kabuki theater than serious policy deliberation."
Doug Rivlin, communications director for the forum, said such legislation is used by members of Congress "to insulate themselves against 30-second attack ads or arm themselves with 10-second sound bites. However, underneath the election-year posturing are real policies that will affect millions of Americans who have nothing to do with immigrants and immigration."
Congressional efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill failed in 2006 and 2007. Although supporters are hopeful about passing a version of the Agricultural Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits and Security Act, known as AgJOBS, which would open up more visas for agricultural workers, most observers give little chance of any major immigration legislation passing until after November's elections.
That has prompted many state and local governments to take matters into their own hands.
The Connecticut bishops said legal and legislative actions directed at immigrants "should respect the dignity of the millions of undocumented men, women and children within our borders."
The Catholic conference statement said federal authorities, not state or local agencies, should be responsible for enforcing immigration laws.
"State and local law enforcement should be primarily concerned with maintaining order in our cities and towns," the bishops said. "Undocumented immigrants within our communities should not be fearful of local and state authorities should a need arise to report a crime, a case of domestic abuse or other illegal activities."
They said there's a danger of continuing a "shadow" community in the state, where a segment of the population fears that cooperating with state and local authorities might lead to deportation. "Criminal activities would surely flourish in such an environment. State authorities should also halt the exploitation of undocumented immigrants by employers when and wherever it may occur," they said.
The bishops said that "activities that seek to deny undocumented immigrants basic human rights, for example, the arrest of workers seeking employment to sustain themselves, and the denial of housing and fuel assistance based on immigration status, do not reflect the understanding and compassion our Catholic faith calls us to practice."
The statement was signed by: Hartford Archbishop Henry J. Mansell and Auxiliary Bishops Peter A. Rosazza and Christie A. Macaluso; Norwich Bishop Michael R. Cote; Bridgeport Bishop William E. Lori; and Bishop Paul P. Chomnycky of the Ukrainian Diocese of Stamford.
Archbishop Mansell sent Gov. M. Jodi Rell a copy of the statement with a letter asking that it be used as guidance for Connecticut's citizens and public officials as state and local governments consider regulations to try to address immigration-related problems.
"Unfortunately, Congress has failed to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation that would address our national security and economic interests and treat undocumented immigrants in a manner respectful of their human dignity and rights," said the letter. Because of that, many communities across the nation are trying to deal with immigration locally, Archbishop Mansell said.
Connecticut has not seen the legislative efforts to crack down on illegal immigration that other states have, said Michael Culhane, director of the state Catholic conference.
The only major immigration-related ordinance of recent years has been the city of New Haven's creation of an ID card for use by local residents, whatever their immigration status, he said.
In Seattle, Archbishop Alex J. Brunett sent a statement to participants in an immigrants' rights march May 1, echoing Pope Benedict XVI's call at the United Nations April 18 to promote human rights as a way of eliminating inequalities and increasing security.
Archbishop Brunett said the pope's call "has assumed urgency because outdated immigration laws have led to family dislocations and the denial of basic human rights to immigrants living right here in the Archdiocese of Seattle."
He called for a comprehensive immigration reform law that creates a viable path to permanent residency for the estimated 12 million immigrants in the country illegally; provides wage and safety protections; reduces the backlog of applications for legal immigration; and assures due process rights. The Connecticut bishops made similar points, adding that the borders should also be secured.
In a May 5 teleconference hosted by the National Immigration Forum, representatives of union, agriculture and immigrants' groups said states that passed strict immigration enforcement laws are now beginning to pull back from them, as the costs are becoming apparent.
Arizona, for instance, is considering creating its own program to bring in guest workers from other countries, said Craig Regelbrugge, senior director of government relations for the American Nursery and Landscape Association. The state's crackdown on who can work there and increased enforcement of federal immigration laws by local police agencies has led to an exodus of many immigrant families.
Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice and former director of the National Immigration Forum, said the families that move away from such jurisdictions aren't even necessarily in the country illegally. Some are in "mixed-status" families, where some members are U.S. citizens, some are legal residents and others lack permission to be here, he said. Others leave because of the changed climate that focuses suspicion on all immigrants, said Sharry.
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