(Photo by AP) Bishop Jerome Hanus, of Dubuque, Iowa, directs an immigration rally march, Sunday, July 27, 2008, in Postville, Iowa. Busloads of people from Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul and other nearby cities came to protest a federal immigration raid of the local Agriprocessors plant. Nearly 400 people were arrested during the May raid of the plant.
Here's a summary of a statement released today by the American Bishops. You can read the complete statement at the USCCB site.
WASHINGTON— Speaking on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Migration, urged 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,” Bishop Wester said. “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.”
The statement, released September 10, addresses the increase in worksite enforcement raids across the nation over the last year, in which 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, immigrants arrested have not been afforded the rights of due process, and local communities, especially relatives including legal permanent residents and U.S. citizens, have been left to cope with the aftermath.
“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,” say the bishops in the statement. “Many families never recover; others never reunite.”
In the absence of comprehensive reform, the U.S. Catholic Bishops have sought to work collaboratively with DHS to ensure humanitarian considerations in executing workplace raids. The statement calls for refraining from enforcement activity in certain areas that provide humanitarian relief such as churches, hospitals, community health centers, schools, food banks, and other charitable services. It also calls for the release of caregivers who have dependents offering a variety of release mechanisms available under the law; access to legal representation; respect for basic human dignity; and, mechanisms for families to remain together and locate each other following an enforcement raid. It also states that non-profit and community groups should be engaged in this effort.
“Absent the effective implementation of these safeguards, we believe that these enforcement raids should be abandoned,” the statement reads, adding that “[i]mmigration 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.”
The bishops urged the two presidential candidates “to engage the issue of immigration in a humane, thoughtful, and courageous manner” and to turn away from enforcement-only methods.
I am not often one who applauds the U.S. bishops, but in this instance they have my wholehearted approval. I do sincerely hope that immigration reform will have a high priority in the next administration. A humane solution to this human problem is long overdue.
ReplyDeleteI just finished the bishops "Faithful Citizenship." While I do not agree with everything, I do think it is a very comprehensive, helpful document. For me one glaring error was in Paragraph 86 on discrimination. In a list of categories not to be discriminated against, race, sex, ethnicity, etc., "sexual orientation" was omitted. I cannot imagine that this was an oversight, as I am sure this document was proofed and reproofed many times. Telling.......
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that you have read "Faithful Citizenship" - I hope my other readers do the same.
ReplyDeleteRegards your comment above...
In their pastoral letter to parents, families and friends of gays and lesbians ("Always Our Children"), the US Bishops wrote:
"Respect for the God-given dignity of all persons means the recognition of human rights and responsibilities. The teachings of the Church make it clear that the fundamental human rights of homosexual persons must be defended and that all of us must strive to eliminate any forms of injustice, oppression, or violence against them (cf. The Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, 1986, no. 10).
It is not sufficient only to avoid unjust discrimination. Homosexual persons "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2358).
While I agree that the inclusion of "sexual orientation" might well have been in the list of categories referred to, I wonder if the writers of "Faithful Citizenship" believed that "sex" in the list was inclusive of sexual orientation.
The strength of their statement in "Always Our Chidren" leads me to think that "orientation" was not deliberately omitted.
For whatever reason it does not appear in "Faithful Citizenship," I wanted to indicate what the bishops have written on that topic.
(Google "always our children usccb" and you'll find the document)
Thank you, CP. I too wondered if the writers might have believed that "sex" was inclusive of sexual orientation. I believe the sentence would have been stronger had it included the terms "gender" and "sexual orientation" rather than just "sex." Thanks for drawing our attention to "Always Our Children."
ReplyDelete