February 2006
My Dear People of God,
It is hard to believe that Legislators in the United States House of Representatives could possibly have passed a Bill in late December that is not only morally unjust and totally impractical in solving the problem of immigration in our country, but would also criminalize any person who would give an undocumented person any help whatsoever. The Bill is against the basic Christian responsibility and obligation to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, which is essential to living an authentic Christian life, which is demanded by Christ to come to eternal life.
There are resolutions in the Bill that are not only morally wrong, but resolutions that would be against our American way of life and lead our country towards being a fascist State. By declaring also that any undocumented person become a felon, simply by being undocumented, is not only against basic human rights, but would lead the 10 to 11 million undocumented living in our midst into even deeper hiding in our society, and would cause grave health problems for everyone in our communities and increase tremendously the difficulty of law enforcement for our police departments. We need a comprehensive immigration bill, not an ill thought out, unjust and mean spirited Bill that legislators think will help them politically while causing serious harm to our country. Thank God most of our Representatives from the Central Valley voted against this Bill.
For the reason that so many in our country are scapegoating the undocumented for so many of our social problems and now using the fear tactics of fighting terrorism to terrorize the undocumented, the Bishops of the United States in May of last year have called for a multi-year campaign entitled “Justice for Immigrants.” As time goes on you will be hearing more of this campaign. Two of the basic goals of this campaign are to educate Catholics and others of good will about the benefits of immigrants to our nation and to advocate for just immigration laws which promote legal status and legal pathways for migrant workers and their families.
We need to protect our borders better, but the way to do this is by a comprehensive legalization bill that would give better access to those who come here with the intention of working, and allowing their families to join them after a reasonable amount of time. This in itself would stop most of the illegal entry into our country. Our immigration laws are totally ineffective and are totally unrelated to the reality of 10 to 11 million undocumented living and working in our country and to the reality of the need of our nation for these workers for the good of our economy. The laws need to be changed, but they should be changed respecting the human dignity and basic human rights of those who come here with the intention of bettering their lives and the lives of their families.
An attitude that needs to be brought into our public discourse regarding legalization reforms and protection of our borders, especially by those who profess themselves to be Christian, is brought out by the prayer intention given to the world by Our Holy Father for this last month of January: Pray that migrants “be recognized as persons created in the image and likeness of God and welcomed with respect and charity.” Most of the undocumented living here in our country are honest, hardworking people, who contribute a great deal to our economy. In this public discourse we also should be led by the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Whatever you do for the least of my brethren you do for me.” May God bless you and your families very, very much.