JULIANO ARCHIVES
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Isaiah’s fasting geared toward justice issues
March 5, 2010
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
There was a time in my life when I reveled in wearing ashes on my forehead. It was like thumbing my nose at the Mormon kids who took high school classes with me. Of course, many of them looked askance at those “catlicks” who paraded around calling attention to ourselves. Brigham Young must turn-over in his grave at such a sight.
For the few brave ones who would ask for an explanation of what that “dirt” on my forehead meant, I would say something about a practice of not eating meat on Friday and “fasting” or cutting down on food intake during these 40 days of Lent.
“That’s no big deal!” they’d shrug. And they were probably right since really good Mormon graduates offered two years of their lives in doing missionary work in foreign countries. That was a big deal!
But as I put on years and matured a lot more in my Catholic faith, my Lenten practices took on so many more dimensions especially related to the work I was doing.
It’s Isaiah who stirs up my emotions and my intellect when I listen to his words in chapter 58: 1-9. Join me in this venture to find other ways of fasting which Isaiah outlines for us. – “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free….”
These bonds of injustice today are not the visible bonds which in our recent history were tied to the backs of slaves. Today those “bonds” are the “invisible” bonds of an unjust immigration system which slams the door shut on migrants who are fleeing the abject poverty of their circumstances in whatever country … a poverty which enslaves and does not nourish.
… these bonds lash out in fear-mongering during the deathlike-march through the desert where border agents search for them, topple their water supply, and look away stoically when one succumbs to the respite of death on the desert sands.
… these bonds are the exploitative employers who only see dollar signs when they hire undocumented immigrants to do their back-breaking work at less than just wages.
… these bonds are the confusing and complex rules of the temporary worker program which the Southern Poverty Law Center has called “Close to Slavery” in a report.
… these bonds are the over-reaching political power wielded by certain Congress-persons who have sabotaged efforts to reform immigration in the past.
… these bonds are the powerful restrictionist organizations that have repeatedly thwarted Congressional efforts to reform our unjust immigration system.
And to let the oppressed go free…. In the not too distant past, when undocumented immigrants were caught crossing the border, they were apprehended and then sent back to their homeland….
That is not the case today. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been busy apprehending immigrants and then incarcerating them. Most of the prisoners are those immigrants taken during a raid on a business known to hire undocumented people.
For a while it seemed ICE was appearing everywhere conducting its raids in Pottsville, Iowa, in Texas, in Laurel, Miss., arresting hundreds of immigrants and placing them in their “prisons” for undetermined time sentences. Recently ICE has modified its stance and now claims their focus is the employers not the immigrants.
Isaiah’s message about fasting encompasses more than loosening the bonds of injustice. He spotlights the poor and needy in his message of “fasting” when he says:
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them….
This past month we were witnesses via TV to the tremendous outpouring of assistance from all over the globe for the suffering Haitian people after the horrendous earthquake. And Americans responded generously.
However, let me bring up an issue that is closer to home and one which cries out for attention.
Who are the hungry in Mississippi? In the Legislative Preview in the Mississippi Catholic on Jan. 22, we read:
“There are 220,446 poor children in Mississippi (29.3 percent)
“Children living in extreme poverty – 107,094 (14.2 percent)
Among those hungry children are the children of undocumented immigrants. The Pew Hispanic Center reports a third of these children live in poverty. Can’t you imagine Isaiah screaming those numbers? Calling out names of those who should help?
Do you hear your name?
How can we respond to these issues of immigration reform and poverty facing us today? When it comes to immigration reform, we must first be sure we believe and subscribe to the principles of the bishops’ campaign, Justice for Immigrants.
If we need a review then go to their web page.
Then we write the letters and make the calls to our representatives in Congress who have the duty and the power to make the changes needed.
When it comes to poverty in Mississippi, especially poverty among children, one of the best resources is Catholic Charities. Call them and ask them how you can help the poor children, especially immigrant children, in Mississippi.
When you complete this “fasting,” then Isaiah will assure you:
“… your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and the Lord will say, Here I Am.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative
President calls for immigration reform in address
February 5, 2010
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Some advocates were heartened to hear that a president beleaguered from many sides of the political arena still called for immigration reform. He declared, “We should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system, to secure our borders, enforce our laws and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation.”
But many supporters were disappointed the president did not specifically mention the so-called 12 million undocumented immigrants who would need to be legalized. This is the crux of the problem of reforming the system.
Strong and influential forces are sitting on the sidelines eagerly waiting to jump into the wrestling arena as soon as the word, legalization, is mentioned. Of course, the word the restrictionists use and over-use is amnesty.
If the president were only addressing the immigration issue he could have expanded on his message and proclaimed with bravado and fanfare that legalizing the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living here in the United States would result in a huge economic benefit to the country, specifically a cumulative $1.5 trillion in added U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years.
This information would have fit in nicely with his over-all message of increasing our over-all productivity and strengthening the economy. And to add another benefit of legalizing the undocumented, he could have directed his attention to those who propose deporting these 12 million immigrants by informing them that a deportation-only policy would result in a loss of $2.6 trillion in growth domestic product over 10 years.
How’s that for adding to our national debt!
Now where would the president be getting the above information? Would it all be fabricated to suit his agenda? Hardly.
On Jan. 7, 2010, a new study was published at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) by Dr. Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda entitled, “Raising the Floor for American Workers, the Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”
Some more of his findings:
The higher earning power of newly legalized workers would mean increased tax revenues of $4.5 – $5.4 billion in the first three years.
Higher personal income would also generate increased consumer spending – enough to support 750,000 - 900,000 jobs in the United States.
Experience shows legalized workers open bank accounts, and start businesses, buy homes, further stimulating the U.S. economy.
Throughout the debate on immigration reform one contentious issue has always been that immigrant workers bring down wages for all workers. Unfortunately, that does happen often enough when the immigrant has no recourse to complain. But when an immigrant is legalized he does have some leverage that he did not have before.
Ojeda’s study indicates the real wages of less-skilled newly-legalized workers would increase by roughly $4,405 per year while higher skilled workers would see their income increase $6,185 per year. The wages of native-born high skill and low skill U.S. workers also increase modestly under immigration reform because the “wage floor” rises for all workers.
For those familiar with the Cato Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C., it is encouraging to discover they had a study which brought them to the same conclusion: that legalization would yield significant income gains for American workers and households.
All of this sounds like a good argument for pursuing real immigration reform … except that we all know that those zealots on the opposite side will be refuting and negating this study with their own propaganda. And so the bickering will continue.
And we will be hearing all sorts of things about those 12 million “illegals” who are criminals and need to be apprehended and sent “home” or arrested and sent to our prisons.
I think it’s about time to review some information we’ve heard before but we need to review just so we’ll have some idea of what we’re talking about.
Nearly half of the 12 million undocumented immigrants were here legally but were unable to get their visas renewed, so they stayed on.
Nearly half are couples with children and most of them, 73 percent, are U.S. citizens.
These children make up 6.8 percent of the students enrolled in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools.
Pew Hispanic Center tells us there were 8.3 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. labor force in 2008, about 5.4 percent.
Our immigration system provides only 5,000 visas for unskilled laborers.
For many of us it is the not the economic issues that motivate us to support reform but rather it is the human and spiritual side of reform that hold more importance.
“People of faith are responding to a constant reality and plight — that people have always migrated to survive. This is why our nation … must transform immigration and other policies into those that make sense for the families living in limbo and for our collective future prosperity.
“Immigration is more than a policy issue. The lives of real people hang in the balance. The separation of families, the hateful persecution of people who want a chance to come out of the shadows, and the denial of rights are all moral questions…. Can we exhibit mercy and compassion beyond places of worship?” (El Diario-NY)
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Pope urges protection of migrant children
January 15, 2010
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Just when some of us thought that immigrant children were totally neglected and ignored by government bodies, secular and religious, Pope Benedict emerged as an advocate and protector of migrant and refugee children.
As part of the celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (which will be celebrated Jan. 17), Pope Benedict chose to highlight the needs of minor migrants. In particular the pope mentioned at the last judgment Christ will consider what has been done or denied to “one of the least of these” as being done to him.
The pope further states “although there is increasing public awareness of the need for immediate and incisive action to protect minors; nevertheless, many are left to themselves and, in various ways, face the risk of exploitation.”
No doubt, with his access to many informational systems, Pope Benedict is aware many children are sold into slavery. In fact, at least 1.2 million youngsters under 18 years of age are sold into some form of slave labor.
In his address, the pope mentions “a typical aspect of the migration of minors is the situation of children born in the host country…. These adolescents belong to two cultures with all the advantages and problems attached to their dual background, a condition that can nevertheless offer them the opportunity to experience the wealth of an encounter between different cultural traditions.”
Notice the pope mentions “the wealth of an encounter between cultures.” What does wealth of encounter mean? Does it mean these children have access to enough food, adequate clothing, comfortable living conditions, and access to good schools and educational programs which will provide them with the tools to earn a decent living?
Now, that sounds pretty good. Would that all of our children, native and immigrant, fare so well.
But what is the reality of the situation? What kind of encounters do immigrant children have? Since I don’t have the actual experience, I asked a person who does deal with these realities every day.
Sister Terri Rodela is a Sister of St. Francis and the director of the Northeast Office of Catholic Charities in Vardaman. She answered a lot of my questions about immigrant children who live in her area.
Most of the children live with their parents (or one parent) in trailers and small homes which are often inadequately furnished, poorly insulated, have dangerous electrical wiring, and may be inadequately heated or air-conditioned. There are a few families who are lucky enough to find good housing conditions.
These are children who know what it means to live frugally. The Pew Hispanic Center records most of these children will live in poverty because their parents will be doing the jobs that stereotypically pay less than their native counterparts.
And in Vardaman, due to the crop losses and the economy, many parents did not earn enough to sustain themselves through the winter months. Many are unemployed, scraping by with what they have, unable to pay their rent/mortgage, utility bills and eating meagerly.
These children will also know what it means to do their share of work at home. Many babysit their younger brothers and sisters and take responsibility when the parents are working which can often be at night. Many adolescents also work in the fields during the summer months.
It sometimes happens that a parent may be delayed or arrested at a road block (which is not uncommon) for driving without a license. The oldest child will then assume the responsibility of caring for the children until the parent can be released. Sister Terri said the police usually do not keep both parents but release one, usually the mother, to be with the children.
It’s not unusual for these children to live in constant fear that their parents will not return from work. We know this reality happened too often when raids were conducted and parents were sent to detention without any concern for children. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has modified its procedures since then and is usually cognizant of the needs of children.
As far as schooling is concerned, they are able to register with the local public school. Of course, learning English is terribly important.
Some of the schools (especially those in rural areas) do not have special programs, or are inadequate, to help these language learners. So some of them do not succeed as rapidly as they hoped.
Some children will get discouraged with their lack of progress and will gradually slip into unsatisfactory work or they will act out their frustration in some kind of misbehavior, leading to suspension and eventually dropping out of school.
Children who do succeed in learning English well are often called on by their parents to translate for them when they meet with teachers or when they are shopping or when they have appointments with the doctor or with a government official.
Sister Terri did say something that startled me. She said, “These parents know they will suffer when they come here.” I guess that American dream bubble gets popped a lot sooner than they anticipated.
But their life is not all hardship and darkness. The local Catholic Church provides the spiritual support they need. And the Catholic Charities office is there to provide material, social, emotional and advocacy support as best they can, with Sister Terri being the only staff member.
Pope Benedict expressed his gratitude for “all those imbued with a spirit of faith and charity who take pains to meet the needs of these brothers and sisters of ours.” He also invited all Christians to become aware of the social and pastoral challenges posed by migrant and refugee minors.
So, we can all get involved in one way or another. Not many of us can do the work that Sister Terri is doing, but when the time for the fund-raiser for Catholic Charities rolls around, we can make a donation knowing the money will be put to good use.
Let us thank God for these good servants of God who do such important work with the immigrant children who live among us.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Citizen immigrant children generally ignored
December 18, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas! We wish you a Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!
I strongly believe our health care is in such shape because of the illegal aliens. Illegal aliens have made America the dumping ground for all their illegal children, then we have to school them and give them free medical care. (From FAIR website, 12/8/09)
O Come, Little Children, come one and all; O come to the manger in Bethlehem’s stall, And see what our Father in heaven above has sent to all people on earth with his Love.
I have no pity for any of these criminal aliens, and I want all of them out of my country, offspring and all. They are not Americans, and they don’t belong here. Period! (FAIR website, 12-8-09)
The negative attitude toward immigrant children might be expected from the members of the Federation of American Immigration Reform. After all, they oppose any type of reform which would benefit the immigrant and thus, immigrant children.
Coincidentally, NBC’s popular “Law and Order” program featured the murder of a number of children who were called “anchor” babies who could eventually be responsible for the “chain” migration of more immigrants.
The killer used a chain to suffocate his victims to make the point. But he, too, was a victim in the sense he had become inflamed with the “hate language” he heard from the hate mongers on TV.
Unfortunately, there is plenty of hate to go around even at Christmas time.
But there are knowledgeable, well-informed people who work with immigrant children and Ruby Takanishi is one of them. She and a colleague have recently co-edited a new book entitled, “Immigration, Diversity and Education.”
She says bluntly, “The fact of the matter is immigrant children are not on anybody’s agenda, except in a negative way. First of all, there has already been a decision to exclude many immigrant children and their families from public health insurance access.
There is also very little discussion in the education initiatives being presented, including the “Race to the Top” funds, the stimulus funds, and even the No Child Left Behind policy. The opportunities for doing positive social policy is not evident. ... I personally have been very disappointed the administration had opportunities to do positive things for children of immigrants, but hasn’t done anything so far.”
So far, Ruby is right. The president has not given much attention to immigrant children. Perhaps he is waiting until he really dives into immigration reform legislation with both feet.
When will that be? Advocates are hoping it will be in early 2010. In the meantime, immigrant children will continue to hover in the shadows. Most people are unaware of their presence.
In fact, it would be enlightening to hear what the ordinary American thinks about immigrant children. For years now, it has been publicized near and far there are 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows in the United States.
That astounding number seldom gets broken down to clarify the picture. The Pew Hispanic research tells us:
-- 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States.
-- 73 percent of the children of these immigrants were born in this country and are citizens.
-- The children of these immigrants, both undocumented and documented, make up 6.8 percent of the students enrolled in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools.
Though numbers can tell us a great deal, still there are facts that emerge only under other research, such as was done by Professors Marcelo and Carola Suarez-Orozco at Princeton.
They discovered nearly half of the children in their study had suffered lost contact with one or both parents, either through migration or directly through divorce or death. Children from separated families were more likely to show signs of depression which were accompanied often by poverty, isolation and a downward slide academically.
Surely, there is a need for policies and programs to support immigrant parents and children. Our Congress has been challenged with passing the Dream Act several times and each time they have been stymied by political forces that apparently have other agendas than assisting immigrant children.
We Americans claim to care about children. At Christmas time we indulge our children with all the Christmas goodies we can muster, even to the point of spending time in the early morning hours at a department store waiting for the floodgates to open so we can buy that highly-sought-after RODENT.
Perhaps, a few days later when we are finished with the rat-race (pun intended) of Christmas shopping, we can pause at the manger in our church and look little Jesus in the eye and say: Baby Jesus, these immigrant children are Americans. They are US. They are the future of this country just like our own children.
Please help us to give them a present or two for this Christmas. Some suggestions:
Present #1 — Call or write your Senator and Representative and ask them to put pressure on their colleagues to call for immigration reform in January 2010!
Present #2 — Drop off a Christmas gift for an immigrant child at the Immigration Clinic at Catholic Charities in Jackson.
Present #3 — Influence your children to make friends with immigrant children who are enrolled at the school they attend.
Then, relax, and enjoy a faith-filled, happy Christmas!
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Give thanks for special people
November 27, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Loving and awesome God! Here it is the great American feast of Thanksgiving. Thank you for all those good people who have joined together to work for the reform of our broken immigration system.
You certainly know the suffering your people have endured because of its many failures. I thank you for providing us with those special people who have dedicated themselves to fight for this cause.
Surely, dear God, you know who they are but I need to mention some of them by name.
First, our President Obama who is beleaguered on every side by all sorts of issues but he has pledged to put immigration reform on his agenda for the year 2010. I ask you to bless him with the strength and fortitude to comply with his promise. Keep him safe and strong to see it through.
Next is someone you know well. He is passionately dedicated to the cause who speaks with the experience that so many others lack.
These are his words: “We simply cannot wait any longer for a bill that keeps our families together, protects our workers and allows a pathway to legalization for those who have earned it.
“It is time we had a workable plan making its way through Congress that recognizes the vast contributions of immigrants to this country and that honors the American Dream.” Who else but the Representative from Illinois, Luis Gutierrez.
Are you still listening, God? The next person is also a politician. (We might as well get them out of the way first.) This time I am going to use poetic license and listen in on her talk with you when she was given a special job.
Let’s listen:
“My God, you really are testing me now. When I was asked to be the Secretary of Homeland Security, I was very tentative until I talked to you and was assured your grace and help would be with me. And I do feel you are with me along this very difficult way.
“So, I tried to do my job without being too heavy-handed. I have taken a lot of flak from the advocates of reform. They say I have continued the same inhuman practices my predecessors did. But, God, you know I had to do my job.
“When it comes to immigration, I took an oath as Secretary of Homeland Security to secure the nation by enforcing the law and managing legal flows across the border. Let me be clear: to do this job as effectively as possible, DHS needs immigration reform. And, dear God, I am counting on your help. Thanks”
Are you smiling, God? I think a lot of people know that was Janet Napolitano, who did become the head of Homeland Security. By all means, I hope you give her special help.
Now, God, you know and love the next person in a special way.
“Ah. My God, my great and loving God! You have been so good to me. Here I am in the North living a decent life with my family. It is you who helped me cross those borders safely before they put up all the new fencing and those watch-lights.
“I am so grateful that my kids are in a good school and are learning English and all those things they will need to be good citizens of this great country. Thank you, thank you. And, maybe, do you think you can manage to help me get a new truck for Christmas??” Thank you! Thank you! Eduardo Ruiz
Now, I can see why he is special to you, Lord.
But, God, how do you deal with those good people who can’t support immigrants in our country? Here’s a lady who belongs to a group, Numbers USA that wants to cut immigration drastically.
“Dear God, you know I’m grateful for all the good things you have given me through the years. And you know I don’t wish harm or evil on anyone but I just have to tell you that I can’t support those people who want to help “illegal aliens” to be legalized.
“Right now our jobless rate is too high, almost 10 percent. Too many of our real Americans need jobs so how could I support amnesty for millions of immigrants who would flood the job market. Thank you, my Lord. And please don’t think too harshly of me.”
It’s a good thing you’re God and I’m not. I’d have a hard time with her.
And, finally, my faithful friend, I was fortunate to be part of a group of people at a prayer meeting. I was impressed with their sincerity and candor. I recorded their closing prayer, but, of course you are aware of them. Just remember I was there, too.
Our loving God, we know you love us and provide for our needs even when we do not deserve such great attention. Thank you for allowing us the privilege to provide the food on our tables today. Truly, it is by the sweat of our brow and the work of our hands that we have an abundance of food to share with each other.
Using the words of our great leader, Cesar Chavez, help us to take responsibility for our own lives; give us honesty and patience, so we can work with others; grant us the courage to serve others, for in service there is life.
Let us remember those who have died for justice, for they have given us life. Help us to love even those who hate us, so we can change the world. Bring forth song and celebration as we thank our God from our hearts. (Taken from The Farm Workers’ Prayer)
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Latinos overcome obstacles to thrive in America
November 6, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“Hey, black wop! I eat spaghetti and you eat slop!” These taunts were common when my sister and I would walk to school way back in the forties.” So commented my 84-year-old aunt who still lives in a small town in Utah.
She hadn’t seen the documentary, “Latino in America,” aired by CNN this past week, but she had first-hand experience of living in a small Western town where the native “white Mormon majority” ruled.
I laughed when she repeated her detractor’s epithet “black wop” because my aunt was one of the light-skinned members of the family. She even had green eyes.
But we were Italian and that fact brought with it the inevitable onslaught of unflattering names: wop, dago, guinea and most frightening of all names: Mafia!
I learned early in life that when you are different you can expect to be singled out for all sorts of unwanted attention. And that surely is the case for millions of Latinos who live here in the United States.
Many have experienced discrimination in so many different ways just as so many ethnic groups have done that preceded them to the U.S. And like these groups they have made their home here and are living the American dream, whatever that means.
CNN and Soledad O’Brien took on quite an assignment with this documentary about “Latino in America.” How does one tell a story about the many different ethnic groups listed as “Latino?” There are Mexicans, of course, and Puerto Ricans, Guatemalans, Ecuadorians, Cubans, etc., etc. They share a common language and sometimes other characteristics and so we tend to lump them altogether in calling them Latino or Hispanic.
And stereotypes abound! Number 1: All these people who speak Spanish are Mexican. Number 2: These “Mexicans” are all “illegal aliens!”
After watching just a few minutes of this documentary, you can come away assured all these Latinos do not fit the stereotype image. Instead, Soledad introduces us to the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly about Latinos today.
We are reminded immediately that Latinos numbering 51 million make up the largest minority group in the U.S.
We meet a number of people with the surname Garcia who could be lumped with all the “Joneses” that typify American heritage. They have dealt with discrimination and have succeeded in pursuing their version of the American dream.
Among them is Isabel Garcia who is a fourth generation Mexican-American and a human rights activist who leads protests against the infamous Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio who rounds up “illegals” every day to send them back where they came from.
Another Garcia named Lorena is a “Latina Martha Stewart” who managed to win her battle to keep her accent and her heritage as a TV chef. So, we see all sorts of friendly, smiling faces of Latinos who call America home.
Of course, Soledad doesn’t overwhelm us with smiling, happy-faced Latinos. After all when you are the subject of a video then you’re going to put your best foot forward, but she will also give us a picture of the bad and the ugly.
We are reminded that too many Latino students are dropping out of high school. Some of them drop out because they are pregnant and need to take care of their children.
We share the sad stories of young people struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide; of young people torn between rejecting their Latino heritage and growing up “American.” Of students who have progressed successfully through their schooling only to discover that higher education may not be available to them because they are “illegal.”
For others it’s a struggle to learn English well enough to apply for the dream job they have pursued for years.
Naturally, I was particularly interested in the segment about religion and Latinos. It was painful to watch a group of Catholics discussing the situation at Holy Trinity Church in Missouri where some characterize their situation as two separate parishes operating under one roof.
They have Mass for the English-speaking and a Spanish Mass for the influx of Latinos. But both the “Anglos” and the Latinos express their dissatisfaction with the lack of communication between the two groups. This is a reality of many parishes today.
Some parishes have bridged the gap between the groups and are making progress in forming one parish with the two language groups. As one parishioner said, “Heaven on earth is all kinds of people. We don’t have to wait ‘til we get up there.”
Pew Forum tells us right now Latinos make up one-third of all Catholics. There are those who claim that Latinos are the future of the Catholic Church. This statement may cause some unease among Catholics in the pew right now.
Perhaps we should remember the words of Christ in Matthew 25:31-46 that we will be judged not on the color of our skin, not on our family roots or origin, not on the thickness of our wallets, not on the numbers we bring to the pews, but rather we will all be judged on how we treated our brothers and sisters who were in need whoever they may be.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Health care debate often demonizes immigrant
September 9, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
During retreat I often watched with curiosity and fascination the antics of five ducks which lived on the lake. Four of the ducks were white and one was smaller and speckled with light-brown feathers.
The four white ducks generally would swim together or walk about the yard together. The brown duck hung close but it was obvious he wasn’t part of the gang.
But every once in a while, for some reason unbeknownst to me, one white duck would turn on the brown duck, jump on his back and peck him on the neck and head. Sometimes all four white ducks would gang up on him and do the same pecking while they quacked away in unison.
It made me think of the political situation of health care reform. Town halls and open forums had been held around the country. At many of these “tea parties” some people present were venting their angry emotions about health care reform and it didn’t take long before the talk moved to providing health care for “illegal aliens.”
Ganging up on “illegal aliens” seemed to energize some folks. After all, these aliens were not Americans and entitled to health care and nobody who has “broken our laws should be able to get a penny of assistance.”
As often happens in such an atmosphere of anger and fear, statements are made that are inaccurate and false. President Obama tried to clarify the issue when he addressed the nation in an evening speech. Instead of clarification we got more confusion resulting from the now infamous remark by Rep. Joe Wilson.
And the attention is now focused on Congress and the Senate Finance Committee which is still studying the Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) bill, particularly when it comes to “the enforcement against subsidies for illegal aliens.”
You can be sure any and all legislation will get a thorough going-over to make sure there are no hidden loopholes that would allow “illegals” to get health care.
But, what about legal immigrants? Our Catholic bishops strongly support including legal immigrants in any national health care reform program and oppose the imposition of a 5-year ban on legal immigrants above the Medicaid eligibility threshold from receiving subsidies to purchase coverage.
After all, legal immigrants pay taxes and contribute to the economy. It is a matter of justice for their inclusion in a national health care program. Where are the voices of the restrictionists who have proclaimed, “We love legal immigrants. We’re only opposed to “illegal immigrants?”
On Sept. 17, 2009, a delegation of Hispanic bishops met with legislators from both parties to offer their recommendations. Among the topics raised the bishops insisted “health care legislation must allow all legal immigrants, regardless of income level, to participate in any new health care system and oppose any ban that would prevent them from participating for five years. Such legislation must also support the inclusion of pregnant women and children, regardless of their legal status.”
And what about those undocumented immigrants who may wish to purchase health care on the free market?
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, (D-Ill.) a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus remarked “soon after Rep. Wilson called President Obama a liar, the White House started saying illegal immigrants cannot even purchase health care on the free market health care exchange.”
A disappointed Gutierrez said he and the Hispanic Congressional Caucus were revisiting their support for health care reform. Adding to that, Rev. Luis Cortez, president of Esperanza, the largest evangelical Latino organization in the country said, “We are seeing a demonizing of immigrant people. The political price is going to be high for both parties.”
It seems this demonizing of immigrants has encompassed not just the undocumented but also the legalized. The angry masses have found a scapegoat that may assuage their fear of the unknown … at least at this stage of the reform process.
And still we hear these undocumented immigrants are criminals because they entered or stayed in the country without authorization. Little consideration is given to the fact our broken immigration system makes it nearly impossible for people to acquire a visa to enter our country legally.
Desperately poor people will take risks to feed, clothe and educate their families. And it is a journey of peril and suffering to cross the border into the United States.
Holy Cross Father Daniel Groody, who teaches theology at Notre Dame University and has written extensively on the immigrant experience, contends, “What is most difficult for them is not the pain and suffering of the physical journey … but rather the indignities they suffer.”
As one man from Mexico explained, “What hurts the most is when people treat you like you are worth nothing as a human being.”
Father Groody further explained “Christian discipleship reminds us the more difficult walls to cross are the ones that exist in the hearts of each of us ... who have so disconnected ourselves from our neighbor in need that we fail to see in the eyes of the stranger a mirror of ourselves, the image of Christ and the call to human solidarity.”
We Catholics would do well to remember these words when we find ourselves in a situation in which it seems patriotic to protest some government action. We certainly have a right and often a responsibility to express our discontent.
But if this discontent leads us to malign our brothers and sisters in Christ, whoever they may be, then we should draw the line where patriotism must take a back seat to the principles of our faith.
We must learn to disagree without tearing down the Body of Christ.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Here’s food for thought about immigration reform
September 4, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Jesus’s life and ministry was all about relationships, especially with people in need. He ministered to the paralytic, to the man born blind, to the woman with a hemorrhage, to the thousands of hungry men and women he fed with a few loaves and fishes.
He fed their souls by urging them to be concerned about justice, mercy and faith. He not ony spoke of compassion and forgiveness but also practiced what He preached. Compassion was even practiced between “enemies.” (The Good Samaritan) He encapsulated his teaching with the “golden rule” that “you treat others the way you would have them treat you.”
As you ponder the following statements, determine whether they conform or conflict with Christ’s teachings and those of our church. Only to the extent that they reflect the real teachings of Jesus will immigration reform have true Christian meaning.
“With respect to immigration reform, I continue to believe that is also in the long term interests of the United States. We have a broken immigration system . . . . Now, I’ve got a lot on my plate. . . . I would anticipate before the year is out we will have draft legislation along with sponsors potentially in the House and the Senate who are ready to move this forward, and when we come back next year, that we should be in a position to start acting….” (President Obama at a press conference in Mexico August 10, 2009)
“. . . the Mexican government should tend to the social and economic needs in the marginalized regions of Mexico that force thousands of migrants northward instead of lobbying for immigration reform in the US…” (Father Luis Cobacame, spokesman for the Hermosillo Archdiocese in northwestern Mexico.)
The goal is to make it extremely difficult for unauthorized persons to live and work in the United States. There is no need for taxpayers to watch the government spend billions of their dollars to round up and deport illegal aliens; they will buy their own bus or plane tickets back home if they can no longer earn a living here. (Posted on the Website of Numbers USA. Aug. 2009)
“The net impact on US households from tighter border enforcement is unambiguously negative, because even low-skilled immigrants expand the economic pie and create jobs farther up the ladder. Cato’s Dan Griswold says the study shows a $250 billion difference between the most and least restrictive immigration policies.” (From Newsweek, Aug. 24 & 31, 2009, page 66)
“. . . there is no doubt that foreign workers, despite any difficulties concerning integration, make a significant contribution to the economic development of the host country through their labour, besides that which they make to their country of origin through the money they send home. Obviously, these labourers cannot be considered as a commodity or a mere workforce. They must not, therefore, be treated like any other factor of production. Every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance.” (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, Chap.5, The Cooperation of the Human Family, Section 62)
The 1986 amnesty was a failure; rather than reducing illegal immigration, it led to an increase. Any new amnesty measure will further weaken respect for our immigration law. All amnesty measures that increase either legal or illegal immigration must be defeated. . . . Cut the numbers. . . . Federation for American Immigration Reform, website www.fairus.org
“One of the most glaring mistakes of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was its failure to provide for the necessary flows of employment-based immigration needed by the U.S. economy, setting the stage for more illegal immigration and depriving the economy of necessary workers and innovation.” (Doris Meissner, Migration Policy Institute Senior Fellow, 7/24/2009)
What we learned from response to the Postville Immigration Raid on May 12, 2008:
-- Trust your heart to the need of the moment with compassion and wisdom
--Interfaith prayer, dialogue and advocacy are powerful and essential
-- Innumerable people within the U.S. were shocked by the action of our government and wanted to offer whatever help they could
-- People can be touched by the humanitarian needs of immigrants and at the same time feel conflicted over questions of breaking the law, even to the point of exhibiting great fear and anger. (Mary McCauley, BVM, Network Connection, May/June 2009, p. 15)
As our diverse faith traditions teach us to welcome our brothers and sisters with love and compassion – regardless of their place of birth – we call for immigration reform because each day in our congregations, service programs, health care facilities, and schools we witness the human consequences of a broken and outdated system.
We see the exploitation of undocumented workers and the plight of separated families, as well as the escalation of community fear due to indiscriminate raids and local police acting as federal immigration agents. Humane immigration reform would help put an end to this suffering, which offends the dignity of all human beings. (Interfaith Platform on Humane Immigration Reform)
“Immigration reform is a spiritual concern, not only an issue of earthly problem-solving…. I believe our nation will not be judged by the productivity of our budgets, or the genius of our laws, or even the earnestness of our faith communities. We will be judged, both by history and by God, by the way we treated people, especially those who needed our help.” Dr. Joel Hunter, senior pastor in Orlando, Fla. –Sojourners, Sept.-Oct. 2009, p. 16
“Amidst a deep economic recession and a growing climate of fear and alienation within immigrant communities, many states, cities and counties that ‘plunged into the immigration debate are having second thoughts.’ In states like Texas, Alabama, and elsewhere, hard-line immigration legislation has been repealed or modified by lawmakers that have come to terms with the fact that the time and expense of implementing such policies has made their anti-immigrant position less popular with their constituents.” (USA Today, Feb. 10, 2009)
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
No consensus among advocates on immigration
August 7, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Immigration reform has been standing in the wings as the president’s health care plan took the stage these past weeks. Restrictionists and advocacy groups have been jostling for good seats and access when the real discussion on reform begins.
And no one knows when that will happen.
The main actors have expressed their support for immigration reform: the president, Homeland Security Head, Janet Napolitano, and the Chairman of the Senate Immigration Committee, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) who promises to have legislation ready for Labor Day.
His proposal for a “forgery-proof” worker ID card, secured with biometric data such as fingerprints, has stimulated heated discussion both positive and negative.
But what does “reform” mean to so many organizations and people? There is no consensus among them.
What do the “restrictionists” say? This includes the Federation of Immigration Reform, Numbers USA and the Center for Immigration Studies.
1. Cut the numbers of immigrants.
2. No amnesty for the millions of “illegals” already here. Let them return to their home countries.
3. No mass guestworker program. The need for guestworkers must be determined by objective indicators that a shortage of U.S. workers exists.
4. Enact major upgrade in interior enforcement led by strong employer penalties.
There are “right-wing” individuals who have reputations for strong anti-immigrant views. Among them are those who stand out and have daily access to radio and TV such as Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh. Stay tuned when the real legislative discussion begins on reform.
How about labor organizations? On April 14, 2009, Joseph Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and chair of the Change to Win Immigration Task Force (a six-million member partnership of seven unions founded in 2005) and John Sweeney, international president of the AFL-CIO, unveiled their plan for comprehensive immigration reform.
1. Set up an independent commission to assess and manage future flows, based on labor market shortages determined by actual need.
2. Provide a secure and effective worker authorization mechanism.
3. There should be rational operational control of the border.
4. Adjust the status of the current undocumented population.
5. Improvement, not expansion, of temporary worker programs, limited to temporary or seasonal, not permanent jobs.
These labor unions and many advocacy groups have called for a halt to guest worker programs but when one considers the attitude of congressional leaders and business people, it behooves groups to reconsider their position.
For instance, Sen. John McCain, a past leader in supporting reform, has said, “I can’t support any proposal that doesn’t have a legal temporary worker program … without a commitment to a legal temporary worker program for our high-tech and agricultural sector, there is no such thing as comprehensive immigration reform.”
And McCain has wide-ranging influence in the Senate on such issues. And keep in mind it is Congress which is responsible for passing legislation which would reform immigration. It’s not likely our legislators are going to bypass the business leaders who often provide contributions toward their campaigns.
Certainly, there are problems with the current worker program. The Southern Poverty Law Center called the program “close to slavery.” The criticisms of the labor unions are justified but reality also suggests that corrections can be made.
The bishops have suggested major changes to the program which could allow it to continue.
1. Provide a path to permanent residency. Currently, there is no provision for workers to apply for such status.
2. Currently, family members are not allowed to join the worker. Change this ruling to allow immediate family members to be with the worker.
3. One of the most restrictive guidelines does not allow a worker to change jobs and/or employers. Job portability should allow workers to change employers for specific, valid reasons.
4. Labor protections which apply to U.S. workers should also be applied to the guest worker.
5. Wages and benefits should not undercut domestic workers.
6. Workers should be allowed mobility between U.S. and homeland and within U.S. Currently, workers’ mobility is highly restricted.
If business leaders and influential congressional legislators are not willing to support immigration reform without a humane, just guest worker program, then immigration reform will likely stall and die.
It’s ironic the real “enemy” of comprehensive reform will not be the restrictionists or the demagogues of the airwaves but people within our own support system who refuse to consider any type of compromise toward the guest worker program.
In addition to the foregoing guidelines which apply specifically to the guest worker program, the bishops also call for:
1. Earned legalization for the undocumented living and working in U.S. This should also provide for permanent residency.
2. Restoration of due process protections.
3. Include the DREAM ACT and AgJobs.
4. Address the root causes of migration.
Surely, restrictionists will be ready to “wage war” against any legalization program for the undocumented. Any humane reform must seek to allow 12 million people to come out of the shadows, identify themselves and earn legalization.
We Christians have much to pray for. Let us implore the awesome Holy Spirit to enlighten and guide us on our way toward reform.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Fear: Major obstacle to immigration reform
July 10, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Finally, the president has trumpeted his support for immigration reform. After meeting with congressional leaders he declared “my administration is fully behind an effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.”
Yet, just a few hours before uttering this commitment his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, reported a bill on reform lacks the necessary votes to pass it.
Does that sound like Obama is not talking to his Chief of Staff or are they playing a shrewd game of politics to prod those legislators who might be sitting on the fence on this issue but who may need Obama’s support and that of an ever-growing voting bloc of Hispanics in the United States when time rolls around for their re-election to Congress?
Yet, President Obama rightly stated the American people want a solution to this vexing problem of immigration. They must begin working right now and not wait for next year or the next or never.
Of course, the restrictionists will do all they can to block any constructive discussion of immigration reform. It seems the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (FAIR) is deathly afraid of any reform which may include legalization of the large undocumented immigrant population living and working in the U.S. right now.
They seem to be so obsessed with the idea of “amnesty” that any discussion of reform whether it be about border security, or family reunification, or a guest worker program, always ends in their denunciation of amnesty in some way and no action.
To me this is a sign of unrelenting FEAR of any future reform of the immigration system. However, I must admit FAIR has no monopoly on fear since it seems to overshadow both sides (or however many sides) in this controversy of immigration reform.
Let’s listen to the voices of some people from both sides of this discussion who live with fear in their every day situations.
1. A mother in Laurel who wears an ankle bracelet: “I am so worried about taking care of my children since my husband was arrested and deported after the raid. I cannot work yet so I must rely on the charity of church and civic groups for my living.”
2. A citizen-worker in Tennessee who lost his business as a bricklayer so he couldn’t collect unemployment. Then he lost his home. Now he is applying at a Tyson chicken plant. “For me to apply for a job like this is killing my pride.”
3. A recent high school graduate. “My parents brought me to the U.S. when I was four. I have worked hard in school so I could get this diploma. My dream is to go to college and be a doctor. But they tell me I am ‘illegal’ just like my parents so I can’t get any help with tuition or even work legally in the United States which is the only home I know.”
4. A college graduate. “Hey, this is my country. Why do I have to compete with these ‘illegals’ who have fraudulent documents that get them jobs? I deserve to be considered for a good-paying job before any of these people especially during this recession. I’m afraid I’ll end up digging ditches for pennies!”
5. An undocumented woman driving without a license. “I’m scared to death every time I get behind this wheel. But I don’t have any choice. I have to get my kids to school and I do have to get to work. I work in the home of a very nice lady who doesn’t ask me about my legal status. I depend on this money to support my two kids.”
6. A policeman in a large city. “Sometimes I don’t like this job but now they tell me I can go after all these ‘illegals’ who drive without authentic licenses. I’ve been accused of ‘profiling’ but I’m afraid I’ll lose this job if I don’t do what I have to do.”
7. A Mexican border patrol agent. “I’m from El Paso, Texas. I’ve been working on the border for years. But nowadays I fear for my life. People hassle me because I arrest these people who try to sneak over the border. I was born in this country and I will do my job as best I can even though I know that the people I arrest come from the same roots I do.”
8. A congressman from a northern state. “I really believe we need to reform our immigration system. I think we must seriously consider a way to help undocumented people in our country to earn their legal status. But I am afraid to really voice my opinion because the radical wing of my party will make sure I don’t get re-elected.”
And as if the fear expressed by the foregoing people is not enough, we are bombarded every day by the pundits who spout their messages to inspire fear.
The Christian Science Monitor published an article by Lawrence Harrison whose primary message is to warn us that “heavy immigration from Latin America threatens our cohesiveness as a nation.”
He asserts population growth, fueled primarily by immigration, is the “principal threat to the environment via natural resource use, sprawl, and pollution.”
But then I can turn to one of my favorite pundits, Walter Ewing, who is a senior researcher for the Immigrant Policy Center. He reminds NumbersUSA that population and sprawl are not the same. “Immigration cannot be credibly blamed for the fact that urban planners long favored a development model which is environmentally and economically unsustainable in the modern world.”
After being enlightened and encouraged by such information, I feel that I am on the right side of this immigration issue.
And that may be where a problem lies. We have reached a stalemate, an impasse, a brick wall!
The restrictionists insist their cause is right and we pro-immigrants persist in our stance as well. We keep shaking our fists at each other … and we get nowhere. And we continue to harbor our secret and not-so-secret fears!
Let’s ask the awesome Holy Spirit to embrace us, to encourage us, to diminish our fears and to help us tackle just and humane immigration reform.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Labeling impedes just immigration reform
June 12, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Finally, one can see a tiny flickering light at the end of a long tunnel!
The White House has announced that it would hold a high-level meeting with congressional leaders to discuss plans for immigration reform. This column will have gone to press before the meeting but we are hopeful the group will jump-start a campaign for real reform in the near future.
Another hopeful sign emerged when leaders from immigration reform groups in 40 cities kicked off a new national campaign to push for legislative action for this year. This new coalition is called Reform Immigration for America and includes some well-known groups like the AFL-CIO, NAACP and the National Council of La Raza as well as local groups from this area.
Another recent event would indicate that momentum is building towards reform. Sens. Robert Menendez, Kirsten Gillibrand, Edward Kennedy and Charles Schumer have introduced legislation that would help to resolve the backlogs to family reunification.
Yes, these are positive signs that immigration reform may soon be on the agenda for our legislators and for us. It also becomes a clarion call for all advocates for immigration reform “to arm themselves for action.”
You can be sure the anti-reform groups which scuttled the last effort Congress made to reform the system are re-grouping and readying themselves for another battle. And they are a formidable opponent!
They are as dedicated to their cause as any advocacy group I know. They are informed; they are relentless in communicating with their legislators; they are willing to make the economic sacrifices necessary to keep their organizations going.
Their leaders know how to get them mobilized just by using certain vocabulary to label their so-called adversaries. The watchwords they commonly use to describe those of us who favor just reform, are: AMNESTY and OPEN-BORDERS ADVOCATE!
They are also adept and clever at using statistics to bolster their arguments. They have used the “law-breaker stigma” beyond rationality but they can convince the uninformed listener of their argument because they so sincerely believe what they are saying!
And I am cautious as to how to describe them. Should they be labeled as well? The word anti-immigrant is often used though some of them will say they are only anti-illegal immigrant. Should we quibble over a simple word like “illegal”?
The term that is often used to describe them is an innocuous word which communicates little emotion: restrictionist. They want to restrict the numbers of all immigrants, that is, legal immigrants.
The largest restrictionist group is FAIR — the Federation for American Immigration Reform. They have published their “Seven Principles of True Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”
In future columns I would like to respond to their seven principles by using the principles outlined by the U.S. bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign.
Back to the word amnesty. These restrictionist groups use the word “amnesty” to describe any movement which calls for bringing the 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows for legalization. Amnesty by definition is an automatic pardon, a free pass, granted to a group of individuals without any consideration in return for the amnesty.
During the debate over the reform bills in 2006 and 2007, the bishops supported the concept that undocumented immigrants must “earn” their permanent residency or their legalization by paying fines and back taxes, by submitting to background checks, by learning English and civics and by going to the end of the line. This procedure is far from the real meaning of amnesty.
Perhaps, the restrictionists are thinking about the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 when 3 million undocumented immigrants (of 5-6 million present) were granted amnesty without many requirements. However, IRCA has been maligned as a failure because it did not stop undocumented immigration. IRCA failed for other reasons which we can pursue in future columns about reform.
So, when restrictionists keep referring to pro-immigrant groups as amnesty advocates, they are continuing to avoid the truth of the situation. There may be groups or people who advocate for amnesty without strings attached, but right now we from the bishops’ campaign do not belong in that group.
Nor do we belong with people who advocate for “open borders.” In this day and age of terrorism, trafficking, drug peddling and violence, our country must continue to be vigilant in securing the borders. But there are many ways to do this without constructing thousands of miles of fencing.
For right now, the restrictionists need to find some other words, other than Amnesty and Open Borders, to describe some of their opponents. These labels just don’t stick for everyone.
The immigration issue is complex and laden with rhetoric and history that stirs up strong emotions which can cloud one’s reasoning ability to realize there are often many sides to a seemingly simple problem. We adults must be able to discuss these issues without rancor and hate-laden speech.
I am reminded what President Obama said at Notre Dame about not demonizing those who hold positions different from our own and to realize they can be as sincere in upholding their position as we are.
Let us remember we must be heralds of the truth as we see it. Let us rely on the Holy Spirit to guide our minds and hearts as we strive to be true to our Catholic values regarding immigration reform.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Climate of hate prompts personal reality check
May 15, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“Low-income Latino immigrants in the South are routinely the targets of wage theft, racial profiling and other abuses driven by an anti-immigrant climate that harms all Latinos regardless of their immigration status.”
This declaration comes from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) based in Montgomery, Ala. The report, “Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South,” is authored by Mary Bauer, director of SPLC’s immigrant Justice Project.
This report was based on a survey of 500 low-income Latinos living in Nashville, Charlotte, New Orleans, rural southern Georgia and several towns in northern Alabama.
The survey depicts these southern towns as places where Latinos are routinely cheated out of wages, racially profiled by police and victimized by criminals who know how vulnerable immigrants can be.
These findings do not surprise anyone who has been following the journey of immigrants in the United States. This survey could have been taken in Colorado, Utah, Arizona or any number of northern and western states and the conclusions would be essentially the same.
Immigrants are facing discrimination wherever they go and wherever they live. It is part of the human condition. It is the result of a very human propensity to blame others for our problems while refusing to acknowledge our own participation in negative behavior. From the time of Adam and Eve who passed the blame to someone other than themselves, we humans have easily pointed the finger to someone else when something goes wrong.
The recession has prompted us to find the culprits who put our nation at such risk. And we have found the GREED and arrogance of our brightest people on Wall Street have surfaced as the primary instigators of our plunge into an ocean of red ink.
So far, I haven’t read that the public is blaming the immigrant for our monetary problems of this recession. But immigrants have been blamed for all sorts of problems of our society:
— first and foremost immigrants have been blamed for taking jobs away from Americans.
— immigrants are blamed for burdening taxpayers for their free emergency health care and education.
— immigrants are being blamed for bringing the swine flu into the U.S. and other diseases as well.
— immigrants are blamed for smuggling drugs into the U.S. thus triggering the bloody war at the border.
We need to ask ourselves what role we may play in contributing to the discrimination that Latinos feel are part of their living in the US but particularly in the South as the report indicates.
Each of us should do a personal reality check. Let me list a few ways that we might be involved in the discrimination reported. For example, the report says low-income Latinos are routinely cheated out of wages.
Am I a business owner who has hired immigrants and then knowingly paid them less than the going price for their work?
Did I assume they were undocumented people who presented me with fraudulent documents which I accepted as valid knowing that even as I cheated them, they would not complain because of their illegal status?
Or did I hire a domestic worker in my home and pay them “under the table,”?
This way I could cheat the worker as well as the government. Am I capable of such deceit? Only I know.
The report says some immigrants have been robbed and assaulted, especially on paydays when they are vulnerable because they do not have access to bank accounts.
Just such a murder occurred in Jackson on May 8 when an immigrant was shot by a gunman who was asking him for money. How tragic and senseless. Surely, most of us would not be guilty of such a crime.
Let’s approach this from another angle. The Southern Poverty Law Center tells us there are 926 hate groups in the U.S. Twenty-two of them reside here in Mississippi. The center reports these groups are “fueled by immigration fears, the economy and the rise to power of a black president….”
Am I a member of any of these groups that espouse hate toward immigrants? Have I listened to their hate-filled messages without response? Even though I am not a member of such groups, do I often bad-mouth and criticize immigrants in our area? Do I feel justified in my contempt for immigrants because they have broken our laws and I feel they deserve to be punished?
Do I resent the presence of immigrants who can freely participate in our public schools and get free emergency health care?
Have I closed my ears and heart to any of the messages our Catholic faith teaches and our American Constitution preaches about the inalienable rights and human dignity of all people, including undocumented migrants?
Am I a messenger of love and hope or am I a messenger of hate and intolerance? As a messenger of love and hope, do I welcome any and all immigrants in my community and especially in my church?
Do I actively engage in advocacy efforts by informing myself about legislation which affects immigrants on the local and national level? Do I communicate with my state and national legislators to urge them to pass legislation which benefits immigrants and the rest of our community?
Do I form personal relationships with immigrants in my community? Above all, am I an ambassador of peace and harmony in my community and in my church?
Let us pray the Lord will make us channels of his peace wherever we are.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Reflect while praying the way of cross
May 1, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Save the children! By whatever means, save the children! And Irena Sendler saved quite a few Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II.
Like many of my fellow-Americans I watched the film that introduced me to the heroic exploits of this remarkable woman who helped save more than 2,500 boys and girls from the death chambers of the concentration camps operated by the Nazis.
Of course, Irena did not accomplish all she did single-handedly. All sorts of “good” people, from parish priests to fellow co-workers to Polish families played a crucial roll in helping to rescue the children. All of these people placed themselves at risk of arrest and imprisonment and death to play a roll in saving the children.
I wonder how many of us would be willing to put our lives on the line to save the children. Of course, we are seldom called on to do heroic, life-threatening deeds. But there are children in our midst who need help, and they need it NOW. And you and I can help them without risking our lives.
These are children who were brought to the United States by their immigrant parents without authorization and who subsequently became undocumented. That means the children became undocumented as well.
These children, for the most part, enrolled in American schools and joined in the educational process along with their American counterparts. But when they graduate from high school, they are at a definite disadvantage.
In a sense, these children through no fault of their own are being punished because of decisions their parents made years ago. Because they are undocumented, they will not be able to work legally. They would be forced to live and work “in the shadows.”
Although they can legally attend most colleges, they are not eligible for most forms of financial aid and without this aid most of them would not be able to enroll in higher educational institutions because the expense would be prohibitive.
The Dream Act would make it possible for them to be eligible for in-state tuition to continue their education.
Consider that many have overcome language and cultural barriers to succeed in school. They include valedictorians, class presidents, honor roll students, outstanding athletes and artists.
Because of the barriers to their continued education and their exclusion from the legal workforce, only between 5 and 10 percent of undocumented high-school graduates go to college. Without suitable options, they could drift into non-productive behaviors such as getting involved in gangs and drug dealing.
Would it not be to our advantage to provide these students with the option of pursuing their education and to become productive members of society? According to a RAND study, an immigrant who graduates from college will pay $5,300 more in taxes and cost $3,900 less in government expenses than if she had dropped out.
Today’s global economy depends on the creation, acquisition and use of knowledge from an educated and skilled population. Passage of the Dream Act would add thousands of talented, motivated, multilingual and multicultural young people into our workforce.
But the plight of these children or students has not gone unnoticed by prominent politicians who wish to remedy their unjust and un-American status.
On March 26, Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar, (R-IN) reintroduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM) or as it is popularly called the Dream Act. (An earlier version of this act was part of the Immigration Reform Bill of 2007 which failed passage.)
The Dream Act would permit most students with good moral character (who came to the U.S. at age 15 or younger at least five years before the date of the bill’s enactment) to qualify for conditional permanent resident status upon acceptance to college, graduation from college, graduation from a U.S. high school, earning a GED in the U.S., or service in the U.S. military.
This conditional permanent resident status would be similar to lawful permanent resident status, except that it would be awarded for a limited duration — six years.
Students with this conditional permanent resident status would be able to work, drive, go to school and participate in day-to-day activities. They would not be able to travel abroad for lengthy periods and they would not be eligible for Pell grants or certain other federal financial aid grants. They would be eligible for in-state tuition at state educational institutions. The senate bill requires the student to be under 35.
At the end of the conditional period, unrestricted lawful permanent resident status would be granted if they graduated from a two-year college or vocational college, or studied for at least two years toward a B.A. or higher degree or served in the U.S. armed forces for two years. If they fail to qualify, their unconditional status would be revoked.
Now, what can you do to help these children become legal residents with all of the positive benefits that result from such status?
Mississippi legislators in Washington will soon be asked to vote for or against the Dream Act. With a phone call you can do your part in helping immigrant children to participate in the educational benefits our country offers. Please call the Washington offices of our Mississippi legislators and ask them to VOTE FOR THE DREAM ACT!
Here are the names and phone numbers of our senators and representatives in Washington. When you call, identify yourself as a Mississippi constituent and then ask the secretary to relay your message to the legislator.
Call both senators and your district representatives and ask them to support the Dream Act:
Sen. Thad Cochran, 202-224-5054
Sen. Roger Wicker, 202-224-6253
Rep. Travis Childers, First District, 202-225-4306
Rep. Bennie Thompson, Second District, 202-225-5876
Rep. Greg Harper, Third District, 202-225-5031
Rep. Gene Taylor, Fourth District, 202-225-5772.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Reflect while praying the way of cross
April 3, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
I. Jesus Is Condemned to Death
“These nativist extremists groups go after people not policy. These fringe outfits target and confront immigrants as individuals. Almost all of them disseminate vicious, immigrant-bashing propaganda. In the United States these groups rose from 144 in 2007 to 173 last year.” (David Holthouse, Southern Poverty Law Center)
II. Jesus Carries His Cross
Our nation continues to believe newcomers to be a source of energy, hope and cultural diversity. More than that, we have a common faith in Jesus Christ that transcends borders, discrimination and violence, resulting in a spirit of solidarity. (“Welcoming the Stranger: The Human Rights of Migrants”)
III. Jesus Falls the First Time
The largest single-workplace immigration raid in U.S. history has caused panic among Hispanic families in this small southern Mississippi town (Laurel), where federal agents rounded up nearly 600 plant workers suspected of being in the country illegally. (The Clarion Ledger, 8/27/2009)
IV. Jesus Meets His Mother
Warned by her lawyer not to put her fingers through the fence separating her from her mother, Francelia could not resist when her mother Francisca put small wrinkled hands up to the cast-iron gate. She reached out and touched them. (Ashley Surdin, Washington Post Staff)
V. Simon, the Cyrene, Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
“We are called to be pastoral to those in our midst who are struggling with the prospect of immigration, who feel threatened by it, who are troubled by the fact that the undocumented are skirting the law, or whose compassion for the stranger is offset by a genuine concern that their own lives will be negatively affected.” (Harlon Dalton, professor of law at Yale)
VI. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
“I don’t feel comfortable,” she said of the world beyond the workplace. “We live in a Latino community, and we bring our customs here, but we’re looked down on, judged, and criticized. People have the right to say we have to adapt to life here. It’s their country. We’re the foreigners. But I want us to be taken into account.” (Luz Dominguez, from “Illegal People,” by David Bacon)
VII. Jesus Falls the Second Time
“The potential decline in undocumented immigration comes as no shock. The U.S. economy is in a slump and the immigrants are smart. They come to work.” (Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center)
VIII. Jesus Speaks to the Weeping Women of Jerusalem
Sexual exploitation is by far the most commonly identified form of human trafficking (78 percent) followed by forced labor (18 percent). A disproportionate number of women are involved in human trafficking, not only as victims, but also as traffickers. (Anti-Human Trafficking Newsletter, 3/2009)
IX. Jesus Falls a Third Time
Marcelo Lucero, 37, was killed late Saturday night near the commuter railroad station in Patchogue, N.Y., a middle-class village in central Long Island. He was beaten and stabbed. According to an eyewitness, seven teenage boys on bicycles killed Lucero after they bragged: “Let’s go find some Mexicans.” (Editorial, New York Times, 11/11/08)
X. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix will order approximately 200 illegal aliens to be chained and marched from the Durango jail to a segregated area of the “Tent City” incarceration complex. (Video by America’s Voice)
XI. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross
“Jesus, it is so cruel and unjust, what they did to you. Now they nail us, the migrants, to the cross of poverty, of marginalization, of ignorance and of the scarce opportunities for work.” (Houston Catholic Worker, March-April 1997)
XII. Jesus Dies on the Cross
Since 1994 more than 4,000 people have died crossing the border into the United States.
XIII. Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross
“We should not accept the fruits of the labor of these workers at the same time we refuse to provide them the protection of our laws. As a democratic and free nation protective of human rights, we cannot have it both ways. Congress must mend a broken system and show courage to enact comprehensive immigration reform.” (Bishop Wester of Salt Lake City)
XIV. Jesus Is Buried in the Tomb
“If I could meet the pope, I would tell him to put his hand on peoples’ hearts and to fight for our rights.” Margo Andino from St. Joseph Church in Washington, D.C. (Bill O’Leary, Washington Post, 3/15/08)
XV. RESURRECTION
“Brother Bishops, I want to encourage you and your communities to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks.” (Pope Benedict XVI)
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Recession affects undocumented population too
March 20, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
There’s a huge recession cloud hanging over the U.S. right now. It’s difficult to remain optimistic about the future. But there’s also an old saying “that every cloud has a silver lining.” Can you see that silver lining?
I know somebody who has figuratively been doing cartwheels because he sees that silver lining as the decline in the numbers of the undocumented immigrants who are leaving the U.S. as a result of the enforcement of immigrant laws. At least, that’s how he sees it.
That man is Mark Krikorian who heads the Center for Immigrant Studies which describes itself as a “pro-immigration think-tank which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted.”
Krikorian boasts, “Proof that our belated efforts against illegal immigration are bearing fruit is piling up by the day. Combined federal, state, and local initiatives are demonstrating that the strategy of attrition through enforcement reducing the illegal population over time, largely thru self-deportation rather than mass roundups actually works.”
But other experts disagree with Krikorian’s theory of enforcement being the major factor in the decline of immigrants. Demetrios Papademetriou from the Migration Policy Institute states several factors contribute to the declining numbers of undocumented immigrants, namely, the growing anti-immigrant attitude in the U.S., increased enforcement, and the worsening U.S. economic climate.
As a Christian, I am disheartened immigrants would leave our country because they are not welcome or wanted. Yet, one cannot deny that in recent years the anti-immigrant climate has been growing, fueled by a media that daily reminds the public that “illegal aliens are over-running the country.”
Indeed it is true, that we have millions of undocumented immigrants living and working here contributing in a positive way to our economy, but they are generally looked upon as “criminals” who have broken our laws.
In such a climate of antipathy it makes sense many immigrants will leave as the Migration Policy Institute claims.
Of course, many immigrants are leaving out of fear they will be the next victims of the raids that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has been conducting throughout the country. It is no secret that thousands of immigrants have been arrested and placed in detention because they are here without authorization. And one never knows where they are going to strike next.
Currently, however, the main reason immigrant numbers have declined is that during these days of recession in the United States thousands of Americans have lost their jobs and this pattern will continue for some time.
We can assume some of those who have lost jobs are immigrants. We also know when jobs are scarce then it follows there will be a scramble to compete for available jobs and the immigrant would normally lose out.
Since it is difficult to gather data on a huge population that lives “in the shadows” we have to assume many immigrants are working in those vulnerable occupations, such as construction, leisure and hospitality and support services where jobs are lost every day.
Yet, many of these immigrants will endure all sorts of hardships in order to be able to continue working to send money home to their families. They will move from place to place and take the most undesirable jobs in order to continue support for their needy families.
The Mexican government reports the outflow of Mexicans — both legal and illegal — declined by 50 percent at the end of 2008. No doubt, potential immigrants realize the jobs they would be seeking in the U.S. are in greater demand by the native population.
Contrary to what some people have been arguing for years, immigrants are not coming to the U.S. to benefit from welfare programs. In fact, during these difficult days when jobs are lost, some American households seek the help of the government for food stamps or unemployment benefits.
Undocumented immigrant households are not eligible for such services. They come for the jobs and when there are no jobs, the immigration flow will diminish.
So, what conclusions can we reach about the effect of the recession on the immigrant population or specifically the undocumented immigrant?
1. The major factor contributing to the return of immigrants to their homelands is the economic crisis in the US where jobs are becoming more scarce each day.
2. The enforcement of immigrant laws, including the growth of workplace raids conducted by ICE, is a contributing factor.
3. A hostile, anti-immigrant climate in the US is also a contributing element.
In our parish churches, we have been encouraged to pray for all those people suffering from the negative effects of the recession on their families. Let’s remember to include our immigrant brothers and sisters who are suffering as well. Some of us may call them “aliens” or “illegals” but they are children of the One to whom we both pray.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Mississippi legislators ponder anti-immigrant bills
March 6, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Woe to the legislators of infamous laws, to those who use tyrannical decrees, who refuse justice to the unfortunate and cheat the poor among my people of their rights. (Is 10:1-2)
(Melody and Julio, our special Guardian Angels, are on another journey.)
“Melody, where are you taking me this time?”
“Be cool, Julio, we’re going to the Heart of Dixie, to Mississippi. Actually, we’ll be in Jackson, the capital, in no time. Look, see that beautiful building. It’s the home of the Mississippi legislators who are busy making and amending laws to run the state.”
“You’re right; it is beautiful … and busy. Look at all these people moving around. Are they all legislators?”
“No. Many of them are staff members who keep the place buzzing and then there are lots of lobbyists who trail after the legislators trying to influence them about legislation.”
“Julio, as you know, we’re both interested in immigrants and their welfare so we’re going to take a look at the immigration bills the legislators are working on.
“First of all, I want to remind you that last year most of these legislators here today were responsible for passing a very infamous law attacking immigrant workers.
“The bill is called Senate Bill 2988 which in essence makes it a felony for undocumented immigrants to work in Mississippi while requiring all new hires to prove their legal status through the government program, E-Verify.”
“Wow! A felony for working? I thought it was good for people to work, Melody? Are they going to change this inhumane law?”
“I wish. Unfortunately, this Legislature is now considering another bill which continues to enhance the bad one. Senate Bill 2144 calls for penalizing immigrants and anyone else who creates or uses false identification for any purpose.”
“But, Melody, it seems to me that those people who produce false IDs and charge big fees for them, should be punished.”
“I agree, Julio, but unfortunately, it’s the immigrants who feel the brunt of this bill when they use such documents. But, wait, there is another element in the bill which will affect lots of people.
“Now get this, if anyone knowingly transports or harbors an undocumented immigrant, he or she will be subject to imprisonment or a fine of $1,000 or both.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“Actually, Julio, there is an exception to this section of the bill which indicates there are some compassionate, level-headed legislators. Those providing any health care, food, shelter or material goods would not be penalized. However, can you envision how problematic this would be? “
“Yeah, all those good caring people could engrave a cross on their foreheads!”
“Julio! Be serious!”
“There’s another bill which would require immigrants to prove they are legal before they can apply for public benefits. This is an indication these legislators are not well-informed about the existing federal laws. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for welfare, food stamps or Social Security. And even legal immigrants cannot apply for such benefits for at least five years after they arrive in the U.S.”
“But, Melody, what about all those little kids that were born here and are citizens. Aren’t they eligible?”
“You’re right, Julio. They are eligible but maybe that’s one reason some folks may get confused if an adult who is undocumented applies for them. I also want to emphasize that federal law also dictates undocumented immigrants can get emergency health care, immunizations, disaster aid and assistance.”
“There’s another bill that would require a person who is here legally to go through all sorts of hoops and red tape to prove their legal status before they could get a license. But then in contrast another bill authorizes the state to expend funds for undocumented children who are placed in the care of the state.” “Melody, it seems to me there are a lot of confused legislators who want to be humane and compassionate at times and then at other times they are voting for laws that are punitive and unfair.”
“Well, Julio, I do know there are a good number of these legislators from both political parties who are really the friends of the immigrant. They can be counted on to oppose negative legislation and support the bills which are good. I just don’t know how that 2988 got passed last year.”
“I can understand how people get confused. They hear a lot about breaking laws and how such actions should require some sort of penalty, so they figure these undocumented immigrants broke the law so they should be punished.”
“Maybe. But some bishops have made it clear some immigration laws are discriminatory and unjust. They need to be changed. The whole immigration system needs reforming. Right?”
“Easier said than done, Julio.”
“Hey! I have an idea. Let’s go spread some of our ‘miraculum dust’ around these legislators’ heads. Maybe it will help to enlighten their minds and open their hearts.” “That’s a great idea, Julio. Let’s do it!”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Immigration law: A brief history of good, bad
February 20, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“Touchdown! Pittsburgh.” Like millions of other football fans, I watched in awe as the Steelers came back in the last 35 seconds of the Super Bowl with a spectacular catch that would put Pittsburgh ahead.
But the rules say a player must keep both feet in bounds and control the ball even if he hits the ground. Officials check the replay to verify the play and we accept their decision, even if we groan and complain.
For the most part we grow up with a respect for the rules or the law. Sometimes we become so possessive of the “law” that we take it personally when someone breaks those laws.
Over and over again, I hear and read that one of people’s main complaints about undocumented immigrants is that they have broken our laws and indeed they are often labeled as criminals. But not all laws are sacred, so to speak. Some of our Catholic bishops have declared our immigration system “broken” and in need of reform.
In fact, our immigration laws have often been unjust and discriminatory. Let’s take a look at a short history of immigration laws which were often harsh and “racially” suspect according to Walter A. Ewing the author of “Opportunity and Exclusion: A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Policy.”
Before the 20th century there was no bureaucracy responsible for enforcing immigration laws but that didn’t stop the United States from passing the Indian Removal Act of 1838 which caused the up-rooting and removal of 70,000 Native Americans from their homes. This was a case of the “immigrants” displacing the natives. We know where they ended up.
In 1850 with the Slave Fugitive Act we went after anyone who tried to help a slave to freedom. (Right now in our more civilized era, we have states including Mississippi trying to enact laws to punish anyone who transports an undocumented immigrant.)
In 1882 we passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which suspended immigration of all Chinese workers to the U.S., barred Chinese immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens and provided for the deportation of all Chinese immigrants unlawfully present in our country.
In 1891 we officially established a Bureau of Immigration. With the bureau it became easier for the federal government to establish a growing list of grounds for exclusion from the United States; for example, with the Anarchist Exclusion Act of 1903, we barred anarchists or other political extremists.
Perhaps the most shameful act of discrimination occurred in 1942 when in responding to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, an Executive Order gave the Army power to arrest every Japanese-American on the West Coast. That meant about 120,000 persons of Japanese descent were arrested and relocated in camps under armed guard until 1945. About two-thirds of these Japanese were U.S. citizens.
Years later, President Ronald Reagan would admit we committed a “grave wrong.” In 1988 Congress passed a bill to pay reparations of $20,000 each to the survivors.
We should also mention that sometimes immigration would try to amend its past failures. In 1943 an act was passed which allowed the immigration of Chinese workers to resume (with quotas) and allowed them to be eligible for naturalization. This act was extended to Indians and Filipinos in 1946.
But a few years later we barred the entrance of anyone with membership in the Communist party or any such totalitarian political party. Most of us remember the controversial Sen. Joe McCarthy who headed a committee to seek and deport any such Communists.
And, of course, we must dwell on another significant event in immigration history. World War II caused severe farm labor shortages as our American men were called to military service.
“The U.S. government instituted the large-scale importation of temporary agricultural workers from Mexico, which became known as the bracero program, and eventually brought a total of five million Mexican field workers into the country, frequently under horrendous working conditions, by the time the program ended in 1945.”
The United States’ record on immigration has been spotty to say the least. Surely much good has been done in the name of immigration for untold numbers of people who have come to our country for refuge, for settlement, for temporary labor but we cannot assume that all our immigration laws are good laws and therefore we must support them.
Cardinal Roger Mahony has said, “While we are bound to respect our laws and not violate them, we also are bound to correct unjust laws … we must advocate for an enforcement regime which respects basic human dignity and human rights.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Immigration reform advocates
optimistic about change
February 6, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Change! Change! It’s in the air and all-around us!
Buoyed up by President Obama’s appointments of Janet Napolitano as head of Homeland Security and Cecilia Munoz as intergovernmental affairs at the White House, the “Big Guns” for immigration reform are boarding the Immigration Bandwagon urging their followers and all people of good will to join them in this crusade.
Leading these advocates are the bishops of the Catholic Church who have been waging a Justice for Immigrants Campaign with Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles, as a leading spokesman; Janet Murgia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza; John Wilhelm, president of the union of the Hospitality Industry, Unite Here!; Frank Sharry, director of the advocacy organization, America’s Voice; and Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum.
These national leaders manifest an optimism that reform may well be addressed in the latter months of 2009 or early 2010. Positive signals have been given by Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, who said immigration reform was one of Congress’s top 10 priorities.
Ali Noorani declared, “When the president is ready, we will be ready.”
But these leaders are also realistic enough to know that the economic crisis will keep Congressional leaders and the president busy for an unknown number of months of this year.
Frank Sharry remarked, “Legalizing workers will increase wages, increase tax compliance of the workers and the employers who hire them and it would restore the rule of law.”
Cardinal Mahony minces no words when he states, “As a nation, we cannot have it both ways. We cannot accept the toil and taxes of immigrants while relegating them to a permanent underclass subject to abuse and exploitation. The issue of immigration is an economic and social issue, for sure, but ultimately it is a humanitarian one and should be viewed through that lens.”
Change! Change! It’s in the air and all around us! Or is it?
There are other bandwagons forming throughout this country, led by well-known anti-reform groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform and Numbers USA, which have been successful in the past to muster enough support from their members and non-members to thwart the past efforts of immigration reform in 2007.
And you can be sure influential talk-show hosts Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck and Pat Buchanan and, of course, radio celebrity, Rush Limbaugh, will be using their own platforms to vent their agendas opposing just and humane reform of the immigration system, if they remain true to their past behavior. All aboard!
Change! Change! It’s in the air and all around us!
Or is it?
That word “change” can stimulate all sorts of feelings. Actually, I would venture to say many people negatively react to the word, change. Change is not easy for most of us who have lived a few decades. Even if the current situation is not completely comfortable, there is something that makes us uneasy with the prospect of change.
Should one feel guilty if he or she has lingering doubts as to the benefits of making changes to our current immigration situation? Who can answer that? Let’s take the liberty to listen in to the possible mental ruminations of an ordinary Catholic who may read this column and respond.
As a Catholic I readily agree with our bishops who remind us that we should have a deep respect for life at all of its stages, from life in the womb to natural death. I believe the human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should always be respected just as I expect my rights to be respected.
But I also have strong feelings these immigrants must obey our laws and should not be rewarded with legalization and /or citizenship. The responding argument that the immigration system is currently set up so the ordinary immigrant laborer cannot access a visa for years, has not really settled into my brain yet.
I am concerned if “amnesty” is granted these millions, around 8 or 9 million, of immigrants then there will be an influx of more immigrants clamoring at our gates waiting to get in to take our jobs. At this time in our history, our economy could not absorb an increasing number of workers while so many Americans are losing their jobs.
I’m also concerned about the “watering-down” of our culture with so many people not speaking English. I really believe if a person wants to come here to live and work, he should learn some English so he can converse with Americans.
I’m not xenophobic. I am not afraid foreigners though I am aware they do drive without a license some times which puts all of us in jeopardy.
I do want to welcome our immigrant Catholics to celebrate the Eucharist with us in our churches. I am willing to participate in bilingual liturgies but I wouldn’t want to do it on a regular basis.
I think I understand the connection between my faith and what the church tells me about immigration. I would like to accept “illegal” immigrants as my brothers and sisters in Christ, but I still struggle about it.
I need more help and more prayer, I guess.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Stand in solidarity with immigrant brothers, sisters
January 23, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“We are like ghosts. No one cares about our past or our present.”
I leaned over to increase the volume on my car radio, hoping to find out who uttered those ominous words. As it turned out, National Public Radio was sponsoring a special report on immigrants in Europe and those words were spoken by such an immigrant in Italy.
The report had ended before I could get more information, but I nodded my head and murmured, “Well, it’s bad for immigrants all over the world so it seems. Nobody cares!”
But I know that statement is not universally true. Lots of well-intentioned people and advocacy groups in the United States care about the immigrant and are trying to do whatever good they can for the immigrant population.
And what do you know? Later in the day, President George Bush stands before a host of reporters and admits he should have pushed for immigration reform instead of putting his attention on social security reform.
Oh, Mr. President! I wonder what influence you might have wielded on those senators who were responsible for throttling the Immigration Reform Bill of 2007.
We have stopped crying over spilled milk! But the president did have a strong message to his party regarding immigration. He warned them about becoming anti-immigrant. Rather he urged them to become “compassionate conservatives.”
Haven’t we heard that phrase before? I remember in April 2005, President Bush remarked, “I know there is a compassionate, humane way to deal with this issue (his guest worker program). I want to remind people that family values do not end at the Rio Grande border.”
So, instead of “compassion” we saw fences being built on the Mexico-U.S. border, border patrol agents increased dramatically, even the National Guard got involved, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) escalated their workplace raids causing untold misery and havoc to immigrant families.
We have seen an increase of “hate crimes” targeting immigrants. Forty-one states enacted 205 laws which could be characterized as “anti-immigrant.”
There are times when it seems the “undocumented immigrant” is buffeted on different sides. On Jan. 7 of this new year, Attorney General Michael Mukasey ruled undocumented immigrants do not have a constitutional right to effective legal representation in deportation hearings, arguing the sixth amendment applies only to criminal, not civil, cases.
The director of the American Immigration Law Foundation, Nadine Wettstein, expressed her outrage at such a ruling, saying, “With this ruling, the Administration is attempting to undermine an immigrant’s right to a fair hearing on whether he should be thrown out of the country … it is yet an example of this Administration’s disregard for fundamental principles of due process of law.”
And not surprisingly, a good number of ordinary Americans believe undocumented immigrants have no rights at all since they are here without authorization. These Americans express no concern or sympathy for immigrants who have “lost” family and close relatives in the recent raid in Laurel. Sadly, some of these Americans are Catholics who worship alongside us at Mass on Sundays.
The newly-arrived Bishop of Little Rock, Ark., Bishop Anthony Taylor believes “that the major current issue about which American Catholics are most confused today has to do with immigration. Many people simply do not have accurate information, and this is certainly an area where the teaching of the church is not well known.”
Bishop Taylor has written a pastoral letter on the human rights of immigrants, “I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me.”
He says his purpose is to teach briefly, but authoritatively, the biblical and theological principles that are the indispensable foundation on which just and humane immigration must be built.
His basic premise is that “intrinsic human rights derive from our inherent dignity and transcendence as persons created by God and redeemed by Christ. … These intrinsic human rights are universal, belonging to all regardless of race, citizenship, culture or gender and valid for all times and places.”
The bishop reminds us the United States Declaration of Independence states “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness….”
Surely, Catholics would benefit from reading and studying this letter. It can be accessed on the website: www.dolr.org.
Let us stand in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters. Let us assure them that we know they are not “ghosts” and that we care.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
World witnesses many forms of migration
January 9, 2009
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
I. Did you know that of the 6.5 billion people living on this earth, nearly half live on less than $2 a day?
Did you know a billion others live on less than a $1 a day?
Did you know that extreme poverty can influence parents to “sell” their children into slavery often to benefit the family or merely to provide the child with the possibility of a better life in the first world countries?
Did you know that as many as 17,500 men, women and children are trafficked into the United States each year for the purpose of forced labor or sexual servitude?
These were just a few statistics that caught my attention as I began reading some material about 2009 National Migration Week, Jan. 4-11, sponsored by the U.S. Catholic bishops. During the week the bishops are highlighting the different types of migration that are manifesting themselves today. Human trafficking is just one form of migration.
Just by coincidence I came across a news story about Shyima, a young Egyptian girl who was just 10 when a wealthy Egyptian couple took her to their California home to be their maid.
According to the National Human Rights Center at the University of California in Berkeley, “around one-third of the estimated 10,000 forced laborers in the United States are servants trapped behind the curtains of suburban homes.”
Shyima arrived in Los Angeles in August 2000 and was brought to the family’s spacious five-bedroom, two-story home. She was told to sleep in the garage which had no windows and was neither air-conditioned nor heated. The garage’s one light bulb soon burned out and was never replaced. Shyima lived in the dark.
Shyima washed and ironed the family’s clothes. She took care of the 5-year-old twins providing for all their needs. Shyima was expected to fix breakfast for the husband and wife who watched TV while she cleaned the house from top to bottom. They were seldom satisfied with her work. She was not allowed to wash her clothes with the family laundry; rather she washed her clothes in a bucket.
Later, when authorities became aware of her situation, she was asked why she didn’t run away. Shyima replied, “I thought this was normal.”
Shyima’s story does end “happily” to a certain extent even as she ended contact with her family in Africa. The couple pleaded guilty to forced labor and slavery and was ordered to pay $75,000 to Shyima as the amount she would have earned at minimum wage. She was adopted by a couple in Beaumont, Calif.
But other horrifying stories are emerging about young women, in particular, who have been trafficked into sexual slavery.
II. Did you know that the World Refugee Survey of 2008 reports more than 14 million refugees have been driven from their homes as a result of ethnic, political and religious persecution?
If we watch the national news on a regular basis, it won’t be long before we become acquainted with a type of forced migration that plagues many peoples today. When war, pestilence and natural disasters take place, it is not uncommon for people to flee their homes to seek refuge in a safer place.
It should come as no surprise to us who live in coastal regions that natural disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, etc., have displaced thousands of people and made them refugees. Global climate change poses one of the greatest threats to the most vulnerable around us. As lands become unusable due to flooding or drought, people may have no choice but to leave their land in search of new lands and new work.
The Catholic Church has actively participated in helping to resettle refugees in the United States. Our local Jackson Catholic Charities has addressed this problem in recent years in helping to resettle young men who were refugees.
III. Did you know that the Pew Hispanic Forum has estimated about 12 million undocumented immigrants live and work in the United States?
In January of 2003 the American bishops joined with the Mexican bishops in writing a joint pastoral letter entitled “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope.”
This letter helped to launch the Justice for Immigrants Campaign which had several objectives: 1) to educate Catholics about the challenges that immigrants face in the U.S. 2) to build support for the passage of a national immigration reform policy.
This column for the past three years has tried to work toward achieving these goals.
Each year the bishops set aside a week to focus on migration issues facing our global world today such as the before-mentioned human trafficking, forced migration of millions of refugees and the plight of the millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
The bishops urge us Catholics to create welcoming communities for any and all of our brothers and sisters who may be “strangers in our midst.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Amidst problems, let us praise our Savior
December 19, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Julio and Melody are two angels on a break from their usual responsibilities.
“Julio,” calls Melody, “where shall we go today?”
“Let’s go down to Washington, D.C., I understand there is some excitement because the Secretary of the Treasury is making a special appearance?”
“Wow! Look, Julio. Mr. Paulson is speaking about the bailout he’s planning. He’s mentioning some names. Who’s Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?”
“I don’t think Freddie and Fannie really exist, Melody, but their companies do and it looks like they are in real trouble which will affect tons of people. They’ll lose lots of money. It looks like the little guy will lose out but it looks like the two CEOs of the companies will leave with their pockets full. One’s getting $12.4 million and the other is getting $17.1 million.”
“But, Julio, that doesn’t seem fair, does it?”
“Melody, I don’t think fair is the name of the game. Mr. Paulson is proposing a $700 billion bailout for banks and investment firms that are failing, too. But some of these banks and credit companies were led by greedy, incompetent people who were not accountable to anybody so they did what they pleased and fell on their faces. Now the taxpayer is really the one who is going to bail them out.”
“Well, I do know that lots of people who took out mortgages on houses they couldn’t afford, are now having problems paying that mortgage and they will probably lose their houses. Somebody will benefit from that situation but it won’t be the poor person who is losing the house. Sure, doesn’t smell fair to me, Julio.”
“Oh, Melody, while we are in the groaning and moaning state, let me tell you some good news about some workers in Chicago who were fired from their jobs. They got a notice on Tuesday that Friday was their last day but they have decided to picket the place and are refusing to leave.
“The workers claim they are entitled to severance and vacation pay. They are calling on the Bank of America to help them since the bank got help from the big bailout. And, guess what? The bank is going to help the company out so they can take care of the workers. Not bad, huh?”
“That is good news, Julio, but did you know that the auto companies are asking for a handout from the taxpayers so their companies can survive? And it looks like
the same old story. They’re failing because the leaders did not plan ahead for better, greener vehicles.
However, Americans were asking for those big SUVs so the auto makers complied. Now they are paying the price. Foreign automakers are now dominating the market. In order to survive they are asking Congress or the American people for a loan, a big one. But it looks like the Senate will not agree to such a loan. So they may have to claim bankruptcy unless the President intervenes.”
“Julio, I’m becoming rather sad at what’s happening to our earthlings. We spend a lot of time watching over our earthly charges so they can do the right thing. But when I see what is happening now, I get discouraged.”
“Wait ‘til I tell you some of my stories, Melody, then you’ll really get discouraged.
“As you already know part of my job is to look after a couple of immigrants who have migrated to the United States. Last night I witnessed the beating of one of two brothers from Ecuador in Brooklyn, N.Y. These two brothers, Jose and Romel, had been to a church party and then afterward stopped at a bar. They must have drunk too much because they started to walk home arm in arm, close to each other for support, but some people misinterpreted this behavior.
“Three men drove up in a car and jumped out. One man hit Jose over the back of his head with a broken bottle. The other men joined in by hitting him with an aluminum bat. Romel managed to run away. Jose is currently in a hospital in a coma on life support.”
“That’s awful, Julio. What can you do?”
“I can pray that our great God will help him survive or accept whatever may happen. I am appalled at the hatred that some people have toward immigrants. It doesn’t matter where they come from or whether they are legally here.
“You know many of these immigrants did come into the U.S. without a visa or without authorization but only because they were unable to get a visa and enter legally. The U.S. immigration system is set up to keep immigrants out even though the country needs the labor. And all these men and women want to do is work and support their families.”
“Unfortunately, Julio, most people assume all immigrants are here illegally and are therefore criminals. ‘They have broken our laws’ seems to be their mantra. But, I heard something the other day about immigrants and breaking the law by Bishop Thomas Wenski from Orlando.
“This is what he said: “The so-called ‘illegals’ are so not because they wish to defy the law; but, because the law does not provide them with any channels to regularize their status in our country – which needs their labor: they are not breaking the law, the law is breaking them.”
“Thanks, Melody. Bishop Wenski says it just as it is. It’s hard for me to believe so many Americans are willing to forgive and bailout those people who are greedy and willing to cheat and lie about their crooked dealings but then they turn their wrath and hatred on good-willed immigrants who only come to work and give to their community.”
“Here we are close to Christmas, that great day when the Savior came to live among us in peace and harmony. Come on, Julio, let’s go back to our jobs of spreading Christ’s message of peace and love among all people of good will.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative
Let’s put money for fence to better use
December 5, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
I feel elated. I feel encouraged! A new poll tells us 64 percent of Catholics are opposed to the construction of a wall or fence along the U.S. border with Mexico. It also revealed that 69 percent support a path to citizenship for the undocumented. This, too, makes me feel good.
This poll was taken nationwide but it is not broken down into regional areas. So, I will just assume our Southern Catholics are included in that 64 percent and 69 percent. So, we can feel good about the results … unless you consider yourself with the minority. But for right now, let’s put ourselves with those 64 percent who oppose the fence or wall.
I’ve been opposed to the idea of a fence on the border because it is such an un-Christian way to settle a problem. Yes, thousands of immigrants have managed to avoid fences and other obstacles in their effort to get to this “Promised Land” of the United States.
Of course, if they had known they would not be welcomed here, they might have turned back. If they had known that in many instances they would be scorned as an intruder, that they would face discrimination in the work place and on the streets, they might have turned back before they reached the border.
But when one is desperate, he or she is willing to endure all sorts of pain and suffering for a better life for self and family. Most of us would do the same.
Unfortunately in an effort to curb illegal immigration, our Congress voted to construct a 750-mile fence along the Mexico/U.S. border. It gives the wrong impression to Mexico and the rest of the world that we can solve this complex problem of illegal immigration by constructing this fence to keep certain people out. The trouble is we also fence ourselves in. That’s seldom a good idea.
But if we looked beyond the fence to the situation beyond the border, we might be able to resolve to some degree this problem of illegal immigration at its source inside Mexico.
As long as many of these people live in grinding poverty and we Americans are addicted to cheaper fruits and vegetables, and to lower costs at restaurants and hotels, we should come up with some solutions to help these people take charge of their own lives with the proper economic assistance.
Tim Padgett, the Miami and Latin American bureau chief for Time magazine, made a visit to Mexico. He learned millions of Mexicans have little or no access to the benefits of a banking system. Only three banks handle 70 percent of Mexico’s financial activity and little if any of it is conducted in the rural areas that produce the lion’s share of illegal immigrants.
Padgett also learned some wives took a chunk of the remittances their husbands and relatives sent from “el norte” (the United States) and founded a microcredit bank. With starter loans of $5,000 and up the bank has helped build businesses as diverse as furniture-making and tomato greenhouses.
Slowly but surely the bank is helping to create the jobs that will keep the people from leaving their homes for “el norte.” And to their credit, the bank is able to boast more than 90 percent of the loans are being paid on time.
So, it’s obvious what I will suggest now. The United States is spending big bucks to build these fences. The estimate for building that 750-mile fence Congress has okayed may come to $7 billion!
Wouldn’t it be possible to ask for a few million of that huge sum to fund the founding of more microcredit banks which would be available to people in the really poor areas of Mexico?
Wouldn’t it be possible to enlist the assistance of some church groups and reputable civic groups to run these banks until they can turn over the function of these banks to local groups? Considering the problems our own American banks are now facing, could we ask one of them to take over such a project?
Remember this is not a “handout but a hand-up” to help people take charge of their own banking system to help generate the jobs these poor people need.
Of course, it will not solve everybody’s problems. But it would be a start.
I reported several weeks ago how the North American Free Trade Alliance (NAFTA) needs some reforming in order to rescue the poor Mexican farmers who lost their little plots of land to the agri-businesses from “el norte.” Surely, some changes need to be made to the alliance to help these farmers survive.
Lately we have heard voices denigrating the idea of foreign aid as a bad investment for the United States. But we have always provided foreign aid to needy countries. Oftentimes we have failed to see good results of our generosity. And our aid has slipped into the hands of people who have lined their own pockets with little care for the poor people who need it.
Mexico is not a poor country. There are plenty of rich people in Mexico and in the United States who are enjoying the good life while many in our countries are locked in lives of poverty. Neither country has been able to solve the problem of poverty in spite of our good intentions.
We are talking about some ways of curbing illegal immigration. If we can help people find jobs in their own country to support their families, they would not be tempted to jump a fence to get to “el norte.”
Perhaps our example of providing loans to some poor people in poor areas in Mexico, may stimulate Mexico to do the same to benefit the potential illegal immigrant.
Let’s put a bug or two in our legislators’ ears. If they could use their power and influence in helping people set up microcredit banks for the use of the poor then maybe illegal immigration may be somewhat reduced.
When people can see a way to support themselves and their families, who knows how much good it will generate.
Isn’t it worth a try?
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Mr. President-elect, stop immigration raids
November 14, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Dear President-elect Obama,
“I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will raise up one shepherd who will pasture them….”
Coincidentally, these words from Ezekiel 34 were the entrance prayer for our Mass on the ever memorable day of Nov. 4, 2008, when Americans elected you as their president and shepherd of our great nation.
May God be with you and guide you as you assume your awesome responsibility to lead this country in the years ahead.
Your plate is over-flowing with challenges facing our country, like an economy heading into recession, two wars that need resolving, global warming that threatens our earth, the war on terror that threatens liberties at home and abroad, an energy policy that reaches beyond our borders, etc., etc.
Mr. President, I would like to call your attention to one of those challenges as I stand in line at your door hoping for a chance to submit a cause, certainly not new but one which affects millions of people living and working in jeopardy in these United States. You know the cause well: Immigration Reform.
` Though you and your opponent, Sen. John McCain, did not touch on immigration in your debates, I know it is an issue you have addressed in previous years. In the Senate, for example, on May 23, 2007, you stated, “The time to fix our broken immigration system is now. It is critical that as we embark on this enormous venture to update our immigration system, it is fully reflective of the powerful tradition of immigration in this country and fully reflective of our values and ideals.”
I’m sure I need not remind you 66 percent of the Latino voting population cast their ballot for you, which was more than John Kerry got in 2004 and certainly more than your opponent received.
What message are they sending you? No doubt, the vast majority have the same concerns that other American voters have: the economy, jobs, housing, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, global warming. But I am also certain that many of them voted for a Democrat because of immigration.
So, now, what can you do about immigration reform? Judging from the debates and your campaign speeches, immigration reform was not up there in urgency with the economy, or the wars, or a new energy policy. Besides, immigration reform will require the cooperation of a Congress which failed to pass on reform in 2007. Of course, the 2007 bill was seriously flawed but it would have been a beginning on such a complex issue.
Let’s agree that immigration reform will have to be shelved for a while as you deal with the issues previously mentioned. Let’s hope that “a while” does not mean years of waiting.
Why am I writing this letter to you if I concede that Immigration Reform may have to wait awhile as you deal with the urgent issues of the economy. Mr. President, there is something you can do as soon as you as you step into that Oval Office after swearing to accept your obligations as president of the United States.
Please call a halt to the raids which Homeland Security has been perpetrating as an enforcement tool.
On Sept. 10 of this year, concerned over the effects of these raids on families and communities, the bishops of the United States urged President Bush and the head of Homeland Security, Secretary Chertoff, to drop the raids.
Among the concerns expressed by the bishops: “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 families never recover; others never reunite.”
We in Mississippi have experienced the damage raids can do when ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) descended on the workers at Howard Industries in Laurel. At least 481 workers were arrested for working and then were sent to Jena, La., where they are being held in sub-human conditions waiting for judges to determine their future.
These immigrants are being held in groups of 250 in one room where they must sleep and eat with no privacy. Their meals consist of boiled peas or corn and a bottle of water. Hygiene concerns are at a low level.
They are treated worse than prisoners in our high-security prisons.
Apparently the pleas made by the bishops (and I imagine there must be other people and groups who have expressed the same request) have fallen on deaf ears because the raids are continuing in places like South Carolina, Florida and Los Angeles. Yes, ICE continues its mission proudly enumerating how many fugitives have been arrested and deported or placed in prisons or how many have been arrested for identity theft.
I know they are “doing their job” but it’s that collateral human damage suffered by families, and children especially, which is seldom mentioned in ICE reports.
Mr. President, you have said that immigration raids are ineffective and have “placed all the burdens of a broken system onto immigrant families.” On Jan. 21, 2009, it will be time for you to address immigration reform and declare, “Yes, we can!”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Where do candidates stand on immigration reform?
October 31, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“Presidential debates ignore 12 million elephants in the room, bypass immigration!” That’s the headline of the blog that Angela Kelley, director of Immigration Policy Center, sent to The Huffington Post after the Oct. 8 debate. Angela states, “Everyone from the Latino community to immigration advocates to probing journalists have been eagerly waiting to hear more about what the two candidates plan to do about the 12 million undocumented people living in the U.S. To date, they’ve heard very little.”
During the last debate on Oct. 15, I waited to hear, too. But to no avail. The Presidential Debates have ignored those “12 million elephants.”
Most of us are very much aware that the upcoming election for a president obliges us to become well-informed about issues that impact our lives. The U.S. bishops, in their pamphlet, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” remind us that “justice requires the mind and the heart of Catholics be educated and formed to know and practice the whole faith.”
Where do our two candidates stand on such issues? Since we won’t hear first hand from the candidates, I’d like to share some information with you that the Internet provides.
If you go to the party websites and read about their views of immigration, you’d say that McCain and Obama share similar ideas about reforming immigration. In general and allowing for some minor differences, both candidates favor securing the borders; using electronic systems to screen immigrants for work-eligibility; prosecuting employers who hire undocumented immigrants; establishing temporary work programs; eliminating the backlogs preventing legal immigrants from uniting with family; setting-up programs to allow the undocumented currently in the U.S. to become legalized.
The major difference between the candidates is the issue of securing the borders.
McCain emphasizes the borders must be secured before any other action can take place. Yet in 2006 McCain, as a co-sponsor with Sen. Ted Kennedy on a bill calling for Comprehensive Immigration Reform stated, “I believe the only way to truly secure the border and protect our nation is through enactment of comprehensive immigration reform. As long as there is a need for workers in the U.S. and people are willing to cross the desert to make a better life for their families, our borders will never be secure.”
The following year, in 2007 on “Larry King Live,” McCain said, “I want to assure you that I’ll enforce the borders first.”
In explaining his shift on this issue, McCain replied, “I say it’s a lesson learned about what the American peoples’ priorities are. And their priority is to secure the borders.”
Informed people tell us McCain’s shift on this issue is due more to the right-wing segment of the Republican party than to the nameless “American People.” But we cannot judge McCain too harshly because he is a seasoned politician who knows that he could not secure the support of his Party if his stance on immigration included reform that would eventually provide legalization to the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. If he has any hope of winning the presidency he would have to capitulate to the conservative wing of his party.
Because of his emphasis on border security first, McCain must delay his ideas on reform until the borders are secure. His plan calls for the border governors to certify the borders are secured. How long will this process take? Unless McCain sets a time-table the real reform of immigration may be years into the future.
Barack Obama has not been painted into a corner by his party regarding immigration issues. He can and does come forth with reasonable ideas for reform which are similar to the bill that failed in 2006. Obama did support and vote for this bill which eventually failed.
Securing the borders is a priority for Obama as well but he supports other actions at the same time. For example, he has joined with colleagues to create a new employment verification system that employers will use. He believes the system must be fixed to allow workers into the country legally to work at jobs which the economy requires.
He also wants to work with Mexico to promote economic development to decrease illegal immigration. McCain does, too. Sounds like a good idea, but where are the details, the plans? Obama supports a plan for the legalization of the 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working here now.
We have two candidates who seem to be sincere in their efforts to reform the broken immigration system. Their parties may be a support or a hindrance.
There is an anti-immigrant organization, Numbers USA, which keeps track of
our legislators and their stance on immigration issues. They even issue a report card on legislators regarding their voting record.
On 16 such issues regarding immigration, both McCain and Obama received failing grades or the term used frequently was “abysmal” or poor. Both candidates voted for positive immigration reform which meant they did not vote with the organization’s negative stance on immigration. McCain did get a “good” grade for his stance on securing the borders.
Judging from their stance today, McCain would delay reform for years while the borders are secured. Obama would begin reform simultaneously with border security.
It’s a matter of beginning immigration reform sooner rather than later.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
NAFTA displaces millions of Mexican workers
October 17, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
In their pastoral letter, “Strangers No Longer,” the American and Mexican bishops consistently singled out economic inequality between nations as a global disorder that needed to be addressed. They wrote the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which was then 10-years-old had harmed small businesses in Mexico, especially in rural sectors.
The bishops had no way of knowing that just five years later (February 2008) tens of thousands of peasants and farmers would converge on Mexico City in protest to specifically demand the repeal of NAFTA.
They charged NAFTA and related government policies were responsible for expelling five million people from Mexico’s countryside. Merely 2 percent of Mexico’s agricultural production units benefit from the treaty, while 80 percent of Mexican farm exports are controlled by foreign capital.
Their battle cry, “Sin maíz, no hay país” (“without corn there is no homeland”), shattered the heavens in protest. The peasants protested the loss of their ejido (common) lands which the 1917 Constitution protected. These lands belonged to the people and could not be sold.
But in his eagerness to join in the treaty, the then President Salinas managed to change the Mexican constitution in 1992 so that ejido lands could be made the “private” property of individual members of the collective, who then could sell their plot of land to private individuals.
This privatization of ejido lands was a critical component of NAFTA since these communal lands comprised 29,000 communities and three million producers, encompassing 75 percent of all agricultural production at the time. (Davis, Stecklov & Winters 2002).
The ejidos were broken up and title given to the individual campesinos (farmers). This would seem like a good idea, at least, to Americans who are used to owning property.
But the poorly educated farm laborers were soon to realize some of the helps they had in the past would no longer be available to them, for example, the government subsidies they used to receive and the tariffs which used to protect them from the more “efficient” agribusiness of the U.S. The subsidies and tariffs were disallowed by NAFTA.
But somehow the U.S. agribusiness still got their subsidies, and that fact, as well as the economies of scale available to giant corporations, meant that it was cheaper for a campesino to buy American corn shipped across the border than to grow it himself and be left to the mercies of the “free market.”
Unable to make a living on the land, no matter how hard they worked, the campesinos had to sell their patrimony, and, with no bargaining power, they sold it for a pittance. The result was that much of the land that supported the rural Mexican economy now belongs to the same major corporations, and their affiliates, that own the land in the U.S.
Dawn McCarty, LMSW, from the University of Houston-Downtown, reported, “Some of the former campesinos still get to work on the land, but it is no longer their land, and they get paid what the corporations are willing to pay. The minimum wage in Mexico is a little more than four dollars a day.
“Some corporations pay twice that, or more, but to get that kind of money you have work very hard for very long hours, and be very lucky. There are many people desperate for a job, and few jobs offered. And the work is sporadic.”
Mexico’s problems multiplied. Mexican workers lost jobs when the market for the output of the border factories shrank during the U.S. recessions. In 2000-01, many jobs were lost. The rosy predictions of NAFTA’s boosters that it would slow migration proved false. Between just 2000 and 2005, Mexico lost a million and a half jobs, mostly in the countryside.
David Bacon who has written at length about immigrants, especially “illegal people,” has called displaced people: NAFTA’s most important product.
And where do these displaced workers go? What choices are available to them when jobs are not available in their homeland? Everybody knows the answer. With few green cards or permanent visas available for Mexicans, most of these displaced workers are undocumented and head north. Since 1994, 6 million Mexicans have come to live in the U.S. How many of these migrants are among the “displaced people?”
Is it any wonder the suffering Mexican peasants are calling for change? They are demanding that it be replaced by a new model ... that sovereignty and food self-sufficiency be the goals of the national transformation of the economy because without corn and beans, there is no country.”
So, if perhaps, NAFTA becomes a topic of the presidential campaign, we can keep in mind what poor, displaced Mexicans have experienced with the treaty and what changes they are suggesting.
It is certainly to the benefit of the United States to seek major changes in the treaty to benefit Mexico as well as ourselves and Canada which is the third country of the treaty.
Our government has been emphasizing enforcement to keep “illegal migration” down. Perhaps, if they shaped a treaty to benefit the Mexican worker as U.S. businesses manage to do for themselves, we could significantly cut down the flow of illegal migration.
The bishops emphasize this concept when they write “employment opportunities in Mexico would help reduce poverty and would mitigate the incentive for many migrants to look for employment in the United States.”
Let us pray together we can make the changes in NAFTA that will benefit the three nations involved.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
`We need comprehensive immigration reform’
October 3 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Numerous times in these columns I have stated the only way to address and solve the issue of illegal immigration is to reform the system. The bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign has outlined a plan for such reform. Let’s take a look at a summary for this reform.
Family-based immigration should be made more humane. U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents must endure many years of separation from close family members who they want to join them in the United States. The backlogs of available visas for family members result in waits of five, 10, 15 and more years of waiting before a visa to become available. Obviously, the backlogs need to be dealt with so family members can reunite in a much more timely manner.
Immigration law should reflect our dynamic labor market. Each year our economy creates hundreds of thousands of low-skilled jobs — in such sectors as retail, cleaning, food preparation, construction and tourism — that require short-term, on-the-job training. At the same time, the supply of Americans who have filled these jobs is dwindling because the American worker becomes older and better educated.
According to data from the 2000 census, even if native workers could readily have moved to any part of the country in which jobs were available during the 1990s, and even if they had been willing to accept any job offered, there would not have been nearly enough unemployed native-born workers to fill all available jobs. The current number of 5,000 visas for low-skilled workers is woefully inadequate and needs to be raised to meet the need.
The current Guest Worker Program needs a complete overhaul.
The United States currently has two guest worker programs under which employers can import unskilled labor for temporary or seasonal work lasting less than a year: the H-2A program for agricultural work and H-2B program for non-agricultural work. The program has been compared to slavery.
The Guest Worker Program is fundamentally flawed. Because workers are tied to a single employer and have little or no ability to enforce their rights; they are routinely exploited. It should be radically altered to address the vast disparity in power between guest workers and their employers.
There should be job portability to allow workers to change employers; there should be labor protections for workers’ rights; wages and benefits should not undercut domestic workers etc.
Broad-based legalization should be available to those who are currently here working without authorization.
This perhaps is the most volatile of issues. Many Americans perceive the possible legalization of those here undocumented as amnesty. But amnesty as it is commonly understood is a pardon without strings attached.
The bishops’ earned legalization program provides an opportunity for those undocumented immigrants who are already living in our communities and contributing to our nation to come forward, pay a fine and application fee, go through rigorous background checks, demonstrate they are paying taxes and learning English. Only then would they be eligible for a visa which could eventually lead to permanent residency and citizenship.
Worksite enforcement is insufficient, ineffective and highly disruptive to communities of newcomers and natives alike.
On Sept. 10 of this year, Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, speaking on behalf of the bishops’ conference, asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop the raids on the immigrant communities.
He cited the suffering of immigrant families which often never recover from such raids. He said raids do little to solve the broader challenge of illegal immigration and reveal the failure of a seriously flawed immigration system.
The U.S. bishops recognize the right of sovereign nations to control and protect their borders. The bishops make clear that in any enforcement action, the human rights and dignity of the person should be preserved and respected to the greatest extent possible.
Opponents of immigration often characterize the bishops’ stance as one for “open borders” in order to discredit the church’s voice. Obviously, that is not true.
The bishops have more to say about immigration in their pastoral letter, “Strangers No Longer, Together on the Journey of Hope.” It is available in bookstores and on-line at www.usccb.org/mrs/stranger.shtml.
Let me conclude by urging you to pray for immigration reform. Pray that the next president of the United States will be committed to initiate immigration reform in the early months of his administration.
And, of course, keep the lines of communication open to your Congressional Representatives and Senators, for they will have a pivotal role in the reform process.
Let us remember and affirm that “in the church no one is a stranger, and the church is not foreign to anyone, anywhere.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Who is enemy in immigration raids?
September 19 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
It was too surreal. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you….” These words of today’s Gospel swirled in my consciousness as my imagination replayed the 9/11 tragedy in my memory.
I was not personally affected by 9/11. I did not know any of the people who lost their lives that day nor did I live in close proximity to Ground-Zero but like so many Americans those images of death and destruction were vividly engraved on my mind.
And I’m not sure if I have completely forgiven those enemies who struck us that day. And, in a way, those events are fading into my memory bank where once-vivid emotions of enmity and revenge have faded into oblivion. Besides, those “enemies” were foreigners whom I could not identify with.
It’s a different story when the one or ones I perceive as my “enemy” turn out to be my American neighbor.
When Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided Howard Industries in Laurel on Aug. 25 and arrested 481 workers (most of them immigrants) and sent them to a privately-run detention center in Jena, La., I was angry. To whom should I direct my anger? Who was the enemy that day?
Was the enemy ICE? They would seem to be the logical culprit but as Bishop James Tamayo of Laredo, Texas, declared, “…we have respect for our enforcement personnel, both federal and local law enforcement personnel. They have a difficult job and deserve our support.”
Well, I’d have to agree. They are only doing their job and from what I hear they have learned a few hard lessons themselves especially after their last big raid in Postville, Iowa. ICE was roundly criticized for their handling of that raid.
In Postville, ICE filed criminal identity-theft charges against 305 workers who ended up pleading guilty during mass hearings and were jailed to serve five-month prison sentences.
In Laurel, most of the workers were being held by ICE on civil immigration charges which would generally lead to deportation.
ICE also tried to be more concerned about breaking up families by leaving one parent with a child/children even though they required the mother to wear an ankle bracelet so they could be under house arrest.
Well, maybe the “enemy” is Howard Industries. On the day of the raid, Howard released a statement saying the company performs “every check allowable” to determine the immigration status of all applicants.
One disgruntled worker who quit because of the low wages complained “there weren’t a lot of white or black people left in there anymore, it was all Mexican.”
Just how much of his statement is really true or just second-hand babble would be difficult to verify. But if it were true, would it mean that Howard was operating outside of legal boundaries?
ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez remarked that too often, Americans believe raids indicate the end of investigations. “They don’t,” she said. “In fact, the investigation continues.” We are not sure what that means but it’s possible that Howard may not be Scot-free of charges.
Well, then, maybe the enemy is some of the townspeople who expressed their satisfaction with results of the raid. It was reported both black and white natives asserted the “Latino newcomers” have created tension in the town. Some of the people even expressed the usual stereotypical criticisms that the undocumented workers were taking the few available jobs and depressing wages.
It was reported prospective workers were lining up to sign up for the jobs vacated by the arrested immigrants, presumably at the same low wages.
Maybe the enemy is the immigrants? Maybe they are at fault for working at a place where they could be exploited; a place where they could be arrested by ICE and sent off to another facility in a nearby state.
Maybe, Pogo was right. We have seen the enemy and he is us. Maybe we all share some of the responsibility for the shameful situation of illegal immigration and the raids. But there is a solution we can all work toward as expressed by Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City.
Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop Wester on Sept. 10 declared: “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 families never recover; others never reunite … immigration 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.”
So, who is the enemy? We are all the enemy. So, what did Jesus say? Love your enemies. Do good. And the good we must do is to help resolve this disgraceful situation of treating our fellow human beings as criminals.
Let us resolve to work for comprehensive, humane and just immigration reform.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
‘It was bound to happen sooner or later’
September 5 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
It was bound to happen sooner or later. On the day Gov. Haley Barbour signed into law the infamous Senate bill 2988, Mississippi broadcast to all the world that undocumented immigrants working in the state would be considered “felons” according to the law and could be hunted down as readily as any deer roaming the backwoods of the Hospitality State. It would be open-season on “illegal immigrants.”
On Aug. 25 the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency launched the largest single-workplace raid in history, rounding up nearly 600 employees suspected of being “illegal” at the Howard Industries in Laurel.
It seemed fitting ICE’s raid would be the largest in a state that had passed the harshest anti-immigrant law in the United States, at least up to this date. One good superlative deserves another.
I wonder how many Mississippians are now boasting about being #1 when it comes to harsh immigrant laws. I would wager most of the populace were more concerned about how to prepare for the onslaught of Hurricane Gustav.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officially reported:
595 “ illegal aliens” were arrested.
106 were identified as being eligible for an alternative detention based on humanitarian reasons.
8 of the immigrants are being held on charges of aggravated identity theft.
Approximately 475 were transported to an ICE facility in Jena, La.
9 identified as juveniles were transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Immigrants came from Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Brazil and Germany.
Those are the hard numbers but they tell us little about the human side of this event. Did anyone really care what was happening to these people? And the answer is an emphatic “YES.”
Present at the Laurel and Hattiesburg sites were ministers from El Pueblo representing the First United Methodist Church, counselors from Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA), some Catholic Charities personnel from Jackson, Empower from the Poultry Association, the Catholic churches from Laurel and Hattiesburg and the Peniel Christian Church. I’m sure there are many more that have not been noted in newspaper articles.
These are the advocates who offer their expertise, their time, their sweat and tears to help these immigrants who are undoubtedly confused and apprehensive about themselves and their families.
And, as always, there are elements at such events which indicate that compassion and concern are rare commodities. For example, in one newspaper article reported by Holbrook Mohr, union bosses were less than enthusiastic about having immigrant union members working with them.
In fact, when some of the suspected immigrants were taken into custody, some fellow workers broke into applause. Apparently, there has been some tension between the two factions because it was reported that some of the immigrants were allowed to work overtime while the regular union workers were not.
Traditionally, union members have been considered strongly united in supporting one another. (Robert Shaffer, head of the Mississippi AFL-CIO, reported he didn’t know if any of the arrested workers were union members. He doubted “illegal immigrants” would be offered union membership. Obviously, that is not the case here.
Another item of interest here is the report that as soon as the immigrants were hauled away, about 30 cars were lined up with people looking for jobs. I wonder if there would be as many cars waiting if Howard were a chicken plant and not what it is.
And, of course, such a raid seems to paralyze many immigrants, both legal and undocumented, from pursuing their daily routines. Many have not allowed their children to attend school; many are afraid to venture to the grocery store or outside for fear of what might happen to them; many businesses that rely upon the financial support of the immigrant workers will suffer losses to their businesses. In addition, many are afraid to attend church as well.
Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., recently remarked that when the ability to practice their faith is involved, then “that becomes a concern for me right away.”
It should become a concern for all of us, whether we are in Mississippi or Rhode Island, or Iowa.
Yes, we advocates will admit that many working immigrants are illegal who will be held accountable for their situation. But we must keep in mind, these are the people who are the “victims” of an unjust immigration system that needs reform.
For more than a decade ICE or its equivalent did not enforce the laws on the books regarding employers hiring undocumented workers. And because there was a need for immigrant workers, border controls were so lax that it was an invitation for these workers to risk the perilous journey to get here.
Now, it seems ICE is going after certain places of employment but even when it does, it is not the employer who suffers the dire consequences, rather it seems it is the immigrant who will pay the greatest price; as well as, local businesses.
That hardly seems fair or just. It hardly seems American.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
ICE gets cool response to self-deportation program
August 22, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Calling all “illegal fugitives” in San Diego, Santa Ana, Phoenix, Chicago and Charlotte! Here is your chance to leave the United States without fear of being arrested and serving time in prison.
We will give you a grace period of 90 days (you must not have a criminal record). You can get your affairs in order, then report to one of our offices to provide the proper information. If you cannot afford the fare to your home country, we can provide you with financial aid. But hurry! This program runs from Aug. 5 to 26. First come, first served!
If Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expected a good number of the 457,000 “fugitives” to storm the gates to benefit from this program, they may be sorely disappointed. As of Aug. 8 only a handful of takers have turned themselves in. These “fugitives” have ignored court orders to leave the country and are in danger of spending years in prison if they are arrested again.
No doubt, ICE is trying to soften their image as harsh, unfeeling agents who break down doors and storm workplaces to arrest terrorized immigrants and their families. The stick has been replaced by a carrot! “We understand the impact it has on them when we knock on their doors early in the morning and take them out of their homes,” says Robin Baker who heads ICE’s removal operations. “This allows them to leave on their own terms.”
Juan Laguna, a Santa Ana immigration attorney, remarked some clients may be interested in the program just to improve their image with ICE which publicized “surrendering to authorities will be noted by ICE as a factor in your immigration records.” Currently according to immigration rules, such fugitives would not be allowed to return to the United States for 10 or more years!
But ICE has been basking in the perceived success of their greatest triumph!
On May 12 they conducted the “largest criminal worksite enforcement operation ever in the United States.” This raid took place in Postville, Iowa.
305 of the 389 “illegals” were arrested on criminal charges;
30 were sentenced to five months in prison and three years of supervision for falsely using a social security number;
eight were sentenced to five months in prison and three years of supervision for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported;
21 were sentenced to five years probation for falsely using a social security number that did not belong to an actual person. And the list goes on.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association voiced concerns the proceedings did not allow the immigrants meaningful access to defense attorneys who had immigration law expertise. These court-appointed attorneys were asked to represent groups of up to 10 immigrants at a time. Such proceedings have led to widespread violations of the basic civil liberties and human rights of those who are targets of such operations.
While ICE publicizes their successes, there are victims of the raid whose story we haven’t heard. Father Paul Ouderkirk, who had retired from St. Bridget Catholic Church in Postville in 2002, was attending a meeting in Dubuque, Iowa, when he received an urgent message from Sister Mary McCauley, the administrator of St. Bridget’s: “We need to see a collar here.”
When Father Ouderkirk arrived at St. Bridget Church, there were nearly 400 families that filled the rotunda and social hall. They occupied every pew, every aisle, every folding chair, every inch of floor.
Father conducted his own version of a census in this predominantly Hispanic parish. Gone were all but two members of the choir he had assembled over the years. Gone were all but one of the eight altar servers. Gone were the husbands from the weddings he had performed, and gone were the fathers of the children he had baptized.
Though St. Bridget’s is a small parish of about 350 members, Father Ouderkirk was able to hire four temporary staff members to assist with the distribution of food and with tracking court cases. The parish is spending $500,000 in the relief effort.
One of the mothers who was arrested and then released with the stipulation that she wear an ankle bracelet, remarked she went to the church with her two-year-old daughter because she felt secure there. “I feel protected. I feel at peace. I feel comforted.”
During his tenure, Father Ouderkirk had experienced several immigration raids but never on such a scale. “It’s like God saying, ‘I gave you a little practice,’ but this is the worst. This has happened after 10 years of stable living. These people were in school. They were achieving. It has ripped the heart out of the community and out of the parish. Probably, every child I baptized has been affected. To see them stunned is beyond belief.”
“The only redemptive thing that can be said, perhaps, is in the crisis at Postville ... the beacon of the Roman Catholic Church to immigrants has rarely shone more brilliantly.”
No doubt, there are many different responses people can make to this story. Father Ouderkirk received an anonymous phone message warning him, “What you’re doing is against the law. Harboring criminals.”
Sister McCauley received an unsigned letter stating: “You are as far as possible from being the image of Mother Teresa. May you rot in hell.” (Source: NYTimes, 7-12-08)
I wonder what responses our readers would make.
I wonder what Jesus would say.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Cable newscasters spread message of ‘fear, loathing’
July 11, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Our attitude toward immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as their talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.
— Robert F. Kennedy
The foregoing quotation is typical of the rhetoric we often hear around this time of the year during our celebration of Independence Day. We are reminded by TV programs and local celebrations that we are a country of immigrants who worked diligently to make this such a great country, that we should be grateful to all those people who endured hardship of every kind to enable us to live out the ideals of a freedom-loving country.
And, indeed, we Americans should reflect on the role our ancestors played in making this country what it is today. We should be proud of their accomplishments.
But not all voices we hear are praising current immigrants who contribute to making this country great. You can hear the strident voices of Lou Dobbs, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck on a regular basis on cable news programs spreading their vitriol against undocumented immigrants. Nicole Belle, a blogger for “Crooks and Liars,” best summarizes their programs this way:
“If your only source of news is cable during prime time, you might be among those who believe the U.S. government and American society are groaning under the weight of undocumented immigrants. You might believe there is a terrifying crime wave attributable to illegal immigration.
“You might believe undocumented immigrants feast on a cornucopia of social services, while avoiding paying taxes. You might also believe they are voting illegally in large numbers, and they bring with them all sorts of diseases ….”
These are the themes the afore-mentioned newscasters promote on a regular basis. In fact, a new report was recently released by Media Matters Action Network entitled, “Fear and Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths advanced by Dobbs, O’Reilly and Beck.”
According to the report, fully 70 percent of the episodes of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” contained discussion of illegal immigration; “The O’Reilly Factor” with 56 percent of his episodes and Glenn Beck trails with 28 percent.
These men “serve up a steady diet of fear, anger, and resentment on the topic of illegal immigration.” These are well-educated and articulate men who must feel they are on a crusade to rid our country of these “illegal immigrants.”
For example, MYTH # 1- Undocumented immigrants consume a disproportionate amount of social services and don’t pay taxes, thereby constituting a drain on American society.
The TRUTH: Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive any welfare benefits. Even legal immigrants must wait 5 years before they can be eligible. What must be made clear is that the citizen children of undocumented immigrants may be eligible for such benefits.
And if that is the case, it is logical to assume a parent may accompany such a child to the office and apply for him/her. Such an adult would most likely purchase foodstuffs for the child or accompany her/him to the doctor. But any bystander would assume those “illegals” are getting food stamps or health care.
As for the taxes, undocumented immigrants pay all kinds of taxes. They pay sales tax when they purchase goods and services; they pay property taxes whenever they pay rent and when they are paid at a job, payroll taxes are taken out of their wages.
As a matter of fact, the Social Security Administration estimates 75 percent of undocumented immigrants pay as much as $7 billion into the Social Security system and another $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes. And unless the law changes, none of these undocumented immigrants will ever collect in the form of Social Security or Medicare.
Undoubtedly, our critics are referring to education and medical care when they rant about immigrants being a drain on society. Though undocumented immigrants are not eligible for welfare benefits, the federal government has mandated that children of undocumented immigrants are entitled to free public education, regardless of their status. These services are covered by local sales and property taxes which immigrants do pay.
The government has also mandated undocumented immigrants may receive free emergency medical treatment at U.S. hospitals. Hospitals in Dallas and Fort Worth report many of their patients do have jobs and do try to pay for their care as best they can.
In the long run, our country will benefit from investing in the education and medical care of these immigrants who work and live in our midst. The benefits may be long term but they will eventually pay off.
What can a responsible Catholic do about the “fear and loathing” spouted by these newscasters? Briefly, let us click the remote to another channel when immigrant bashing takes place. Let us not repeat such ranting when we know it is groundless, distorted half-truths. Let us be discerning, critical listeners of such programming.
Let us remember that our Catholic teaching reminds us the dignity and human rights of undocumented immigrants should be respected. Let us not join those voices that do nothing but create a climate of “fear and loathing.”
Let us build-up the Body of Christ, not tear it down. You might also believe that there are secret plans afoot to give away American sovereignty, as the United States joins with Canada and Mexico in a North American Union similar to the European Union. You might even believe that there is an enormous “NAFTA Superhighway,” running all the way from Mexico City to Toronto, in the works as we speak.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Enforcement alone will not
resolve immigration problems
June 27 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Have you seen those TV clips of apparent undocumented immigrants scaling the fences on the border and then running like mad toward the United States? Well, I know some people who get absolutely irrational when they witness such a scene.
“Where are the border agents? How can they just get by doing that in daylight? Why can’t somebody stop them … even with gunshots? I thought they were going to enforce the border so this can’t happen!”
These people feel personally affronted. They take it as if someone had invaded their own homes.
Trying to reason with them at such moments is like talking to the wind. No doubt, these clips are probably pretty old and are paraded out periodically to keep the issue of illegal immigration before the public eye, to stir up those anti-immigrant feelings that help the cause of those who would rid our country of all such “foreigners.”
The Congress that failed to pass legislation directed toward comprehensive immigration reform in 2006 did later address border enforcement by voting for 720 miles of border fencing and the addition of more border agents which would finally number up to 18,000.
President Bush willingly offered the services of the National Guard as well to assist in policing the border.
The question is, has it worked? Have we managed to stop illegal crossings of our southern border? And the answer is YES and NO ... depending where you look.
According to an Associated Press article in the Arizona Daily Star in May, “the U.S. crackdown is causing the longest and most significant drop in illegal migration from Mexico since the Sept. 11 attacks. … Border patrol arrests are down 17 percent so far this year.…”
A total of 3,000 agents now search the vast desert for illegal migrants by truck, horse, ATV and helicopter.
In addition, many more people are returning to their home towns after failing to make the trip across the border. So far, 2500 people have returned to their homes.
This is evidence enforcement is working to some degree. But the migrants have still not given up trying to get to their Promised Land.
A group of scholars studying and documenting the effectiveness of U.S. border enforcement interviewed over 3,000 migrants and potential migrants in their hometowns in the states of Jalisco, Zacatecas, Oaxaca and Yucatan, as well as in some border U.S. cities.
They found these potential migrants are not deterred by the dangers/deaths other migrants have suffered. And we might add our own immigrant ancestors also experienced similar difficulties without being deterred from their main goal of finally reaching U. S. shores.
These modern-day immigrants will keep trying even after being apprehended the first time. They will try again, usually with a high-priced coyote. And they usually succeed the second time. They migrate when the U.S. economy is strong.
Is there anything in these findings we didn’t already know? Not really. So our border patrols have managed to apprehend a few thousand immigrants or maybe more. Who really knows how many are deterred from crossing over? This “game” could go on for years and we’d still have the same problems.
What about the 12 million or more living and working in the United States? Yes, it seems many state legislatures are enacting laws to prevent undocumented immigrants from working in their states. Arizona, Oklahoma and our own Mississippi have passed laws making it a felony for immigrants to work in their states.
Many eyes are cast upon these states to see if they really succeed in “ridding themselves of wanted illegals.”
I am appalled at the hateful rhetoric spewed out by people who respond in answer to articles appearing in newspapers. Their ignorance of issues is disturbing.
It’s obvious we, advocates for the immigrant, have not succeeded in getting the message out to a lot of folks. And what is that basic message?
It is the basic teaching of the church the bishops expound through their Justice for Immigrants Campaign.
People have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families. Sovereign nations like the U.S. who benefit from and desire their labor should arrange to provide the necessary visas for legal entry.
I believe if we had a fair system of making visas available to the unskilled laborer, we would find these people eager to comply with our laws. They are here to contribute to our country as well as benefit from it.
The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected in all situations, especially in a job with a just, living wage — a basic need.
So, let’s enforce our borders primarily to prevent terrorists, drug smugglers and gangbangers from entering our country. Apprehending those without proper visas and documents should be of secondary concern if we have a fair system in place.
Through reform of our broken immingration system we can urge these immigrants to emerge from the shadows, tell us who they are, where they live and work and how they are contributing to the well-being of our country. Let us keep our legislators’ feet to the fire so justice can reign.
And let us keep praying to that God who has made it clear “You shall not wrong or oppress the stranger … for you were once strangers” yourselves.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Raids reveal plight of children, detainees
May 30, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents have been “high-fiving” each other for the success of a raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. Plant in Postville, Iowa. The United States attorney for Northern Iowa who oversaw the operation called it an “astonishing success.” About 270 unauthorized immigrants were sentenced to five months in prison for working at the plant with no documents. More pats on the back.
ICE agents have been busy making raids and arrests in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Meanwhile, in Postville, a nun at a local Catholic church reported many children were sleeping in the pews, fearing more raids. She said most of these children are not going to school. They are traumatized and fearful. Any high-fives here? Any pats on the back?
The principal of a school near the site of one of the raided apartment complexes, said “agents shone flashlights in the children’s faces. Parents were handcuffed in front of their kids. The next day 40 of the students were too frightened to show up for class, while others arrived in tears.”
“They left behind them a trail of fear.”
So, who are the real victims of these raids? The National Council of La Raza reports approximately five million children in the U.S. live with an undocumented immigrant parent. The vast majority of these children are U.S. citizens.
The Urban Institute researchers found for every two immigrants detained, one child is left behind as a result of worksite raids.
Pro-immigrant social agencies throughout the country and in Jackson as well, have been racing against the clock to work with immigrant parents in securing care for their children if they should be apprehended in a raid.
La Raza and other organizations have written the Department of Homeland Security citing them:
– for their failure to provide access to telephones for parents so they could notify family members to provide for children.
– for not considering hardship on children by placing parents in detention facilities out of state.
– for detaining nursing mothers, resulting in infants being forcibly weaned from breast milk.
To their credit, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Workforce Protection held a hearing on May 20, on “The Implications of Immigrant Enforcement on America’s Children.” Let us hope after hearing from many of the organizations like La Raza, the House of Representatives will come up with a just, compassionate formula in reference to these raids.
Interestingly enough, La Raza is not calling for an end of enforcement, rather it states “the U.S. can and should enforce its immigration laws. As with any set of laws, the nation should enforce them wisely and well.”
Our specific concern has been for the well-being of the children but what about all those immigrants who are being detained in jails or detention centers? What is happening to them?
According to two staff writers for the Washington Post, Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein, our detention centers are best described as a “System of Neglect.” In their first article the journalists cite the death of a young man as “a single tragedy in a larger story of life, death and often shabby medical care within an unseen network of special prisons for foreign detainees across the country. Some 33,000 people are crammed into these overcrowded compounds on a given day, waiting to be deported or for a judge to let them stay here.”
Though not all of these detainees are undocumented immigrants arrested in raids, all of them are deserving of the respect and dignity accorded human beings. But the care they are receiving is “slow care, poor care and no care.” Surely, this does not reflect positively on our country and what it stands for and what the church teaches.
The journalists, Priest and Goldstein, also discovered the U.S. government has injected hundreds of foreigners it has deported with dangerous psychotropic drugs against their will to keep them sedated during a trip back to their home country.
According to government rules such sedation can only be used on those with severe mental illness or those so aggressive they are a peril to themselves or others. The writers found files indicating the government often ignored its own rules. This is a disgrace for our country!
Of course, these raids are politically motivated; nevertheless, they are causing real harm to children as well as other people who are authorized to be in the U.S. Some immigrants have gotten the message they are not wanted here and have returned to their home countries. Others have fled to other places in the U.S. It is not likely that 12 million immigrants will leave the U.S. But the suffering will continue.
The best resolution to this problem of illegal immigration is a complete overhaul of our immigration system. The visa system needs to be changed to accommodate all the unskilled workers who wish to work here in jobs for which natives are over-qualified.
The visa system for family members is harsh in requiring years before families can be re-united. And the guest-worker program which is now close to slavery needs a complete overhaul.
We Christians must let our legislators in Washington know a just, humane, compassionate immigration system is necessary.
Remember and save the children!
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Laws must enforce justice with compassion
May 9, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
They buried “Moses” a few weeks ago. Charlton Heston was laid to rest like any other man after establishing an acting reputation as the quintessential Biblical hero of the Old Testament. Who can forget the movie in which the rugged, imposing figure of an enraged Moses crashed the tablets of the Ten Commandments on the rocks below Mt. Sinai?
His people were making a mockery of God, a God whose thunderous voice permeated his being and the tablets of stone with the sacred commandments for his people and for all of humankind that would follow through the ages.
The Ten Commandments still hold a place of honor for Christians who follow the Christ. And even though Jesus Christ encapsulated his message with two brief commandments, we continue to steep ourselves in innumerable laws covering it seems any and all situations in life.
How else can we control the chaos that results from wanton human behavior. We have devised laws that shape our religion, our politics, our economics, our social behavior.
But we have been less than consistent in enforcing certain laws such as the employer sanctions provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Such sanctions were weakly employed and as a result illegal immigration continued and increased.
So, now, after years of benefiting from the labor and presence of immigrants in the United States; after Congress failed to reform the immigration system, states and municipalities are making their own laws to curb illegal immigration. And they are doing it with a vengeance.
Our own state of Mississippi joined some other states and passed a stringent law that would punish the worker immigrant much more than the employer who hired him.
These workers are not criminals or terrorists. They are hard-working, tax-paying people who are contributing to the economic and social well-being of the community where they live. But they have broken our laws so they must be punished.
No matter our immigration system makes it nearly impossible for these immigrant workers to come here legally; no matter they are coming to work and not to wreak havoc on our people and our community; no matter the former permissive attitude at the border almost “encouraged” them to ignore the law; no matter that nearly half of these workers entered legally and then overstayed.
The law must be respected and obeyed. Yet, how is it our government can allow Secretary Chertoff to waive and “break” 30 laws protecting the environment, endangered species, migratory birds, the bald eagle, farms, deserts, forests, and Native American graves to continue building a border fence that is already being breached by drug traffickers and illegal crossers.
So, how do we decide which laws can be ignored and which ones should be obeyed? All of us were invited guests to watch baseball “heroes” testify before Congress on their alleged participation in breaking the “rules” regarding the use of steroids.
All of the implicated players were granted amnesty. Have we heard that word before? Amnesty! In facing criticism about the amnesty ruling, baseball commissioner Bud Selig hastened to assure critics that it was not amnesty.
“I want our players to do public service and our clubs to do public service.” Our players will also educate young players about the dangers of steroid use. They will also pay or contribute $200,000 in fines.
The Immigration Reform Bill that Congress bungled in June of 2007 called for undocumented immigrants to pay hefty fines and back taxes, to learn English and civics, and then to go to the back of the line to apply for a visa that would allow them to wait almost 13 years for citizenship. And the restrictionists still called it amnesty! If only the immigrants could disguise themselves with baseball caps!
Let me be clear. Laws, good laws should be respected and observed. But let me repeat what Bishop Michael Jackels of Kansas City, Mo., had to say about laws. “. . . a law does not have unquestionable authority just because it is enacted.
“Laws are subject to higher principles such as respect for the dignity of the human person. When a law does not flow from this fundamental respect – when it is inhumane, or does not serve the common good – people have a moral responsibility to change it, not to worsen its effect . . . a law can also be judged bad and in need of reform when it enforces justice not tempered by compassion.”
In recent days our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the bishops (and us) to continue “to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrow and trials, and to help them flourish in their new home.”
It seems to me the best way we can help immigrants flourish in their new home” is to demand our legislators in Washington take seriously the need to reform our immigration system humanely and justly.
This strong message must also be conveyed to our presidential candidates. Comprehensive immigration reform is right up there in urgency with the economy and health insurance. The lives and human dignity of millions of people demand our care and concern so “they can flourish in their new home”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Guest worker program close to modern-day slavery
April 25 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“I am a man. Dignity.” These words were written on placards held in the hands of many of the 100 Indian guest workers leading a protest on the steps of the Mississippi capitol on March 20. These workers made Jackson one of their stops in their march to Washington, D.C., where they hope to meet with members of Congress to ask for changes in the guest worker program.
These workers walked out of their jobs at Signal International in Pascagoula claiming Signal had made fraudulent promises to them when they hired them for jobs in the H2B guest worker program.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SLPC) in Montgomery, Ala., and the New Orleans Workers Center have helped them to file a class action lawsuit against Signal.
I find it interesting their placards did not call for better wages but rather that Signal recognizes they are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Our Catholic bishops have been drumming that very message in their Campaign for Justice.
At the center of this dispute is the guest worker program which is part of our immigration system. Let’s take a look at the program prompting this protest.
The SLPC has this to say about the H2B current system: These workers are not treated like ‘guests.’ Rather, they are systematically exploited and abused. Unlike U.S. citizens, guest workers do not enjoy the fundamental protection of a competitive labor market … the ability to change jobs if they are mistreated. Instead, they are bound to the employers who ‘import’ them. If guest workers complain about abuses, they face deportation, blacklisting or other retaliation.
In fact, Rep. Charles Rangel (D, New York ) is quoted as saying, “This guest worker program is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to slavery.”
Keep in mind these workers are brought in legally, with temporary visas that stipulate the time of their stay in the U.S. The law center outlines the abuses of the program on guestworkers who they say are: routinely cheated out of wages, forced to mortgage their futures to obtain low-wage, temporary jobs, held virtually captive by employers or labor brokers who seize their documents, forced to live in squalid conditions, and denied medical benefits for on-the-job injuries.
One of the Indian workers at the protest previously mentioned told the press “we were like pigs in a cage.”
And to add to the caged feeling the men say they were forced to pay $1,050 a month to live in crowded company housing in isolated, fenced labor camps where as many as 24 men shared a trailer with only two toilets. And when they tried to find their own housing they were told they would still have the rent deducted from their pay.
These workers from India who SPLC says paid recruiters $20,000 for travel, visa and other fees were told by these recruiters they would get good jobs, green cards and permanent U.S. residency. And for an extra $1,500 per person they could bring their families to live in the U.S.
Many of these recruiters all are said to make a hefty profit carrying on their business. They know how to appeal to desperate men and women who see their work as a way out of poverty for their families. What often happens is they end up with more debt than earned wages and their dream turns into a nightmare.
The experience of these Indian workers is certainly not an isolated incident. Abuses associated with the guest worker program are well-known and are documented by lawyers and law firms like the Southern Poverty Law Center. You can access their website for more specific information about the abuses in the system.
What can the ordinary person do? Let me repeat what the law center recommends: the H2 guest worker program is fundamentally flawed. Because guestworkers are tied to a single employer and have little or no ability to enforce their rights, they are routinely exploited.
The guest worker program should not be expanded or used as a model for immigration reform. If the program is permitted to continue it should be radically altered to address the vast disparity in power between guest workers and employers.
I feel certain we Catholics would not want to support a program that treats people like slaves. We often feel powerless to remedy a bad situation but in this case we can voice our support for immigration reform including the radical improvement of a guestworker segment of the immigration system. We must let our legislators know how we feel about eradicating “slavery” from the immigration system.
Our efforts to support just, humane reform of this program as well as the entire immigration system will go a long way in ensuring that the worth and dignity of all workers will be assured.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Do immigrants take jobs from native workers?
April 11 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
I did a double-take last week when that advertisement appeared on TV declaring illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans. I wondered who was responsible for airing this message which is a popular myth perpetuated by individuals and organizations espousing anti-immigrant propaganda.
I learned from a reliable source the sponsoring organization is the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which was designated a hate group last year by the Southern Poverty Law Center located in Montgomery, Ala.
FAIR along with many misinformed people has bought into the popular myth that undocumented immigrants take jobs away from Americans which leads to the suppression of wages for all workers. Is this true?
The answer is a strong NO and a weak YES!
In researching this topic I found the most authoritative source to be the Council of Economic Advisers which gave an annual report to the president entitled, “Immigration’s Economic Impact of June 20, 2007.”
First, the council makes a strong point that “immigrants are a critical part of the U.S. workforce and contribute to productivity growth and technological advancement. They make up 15 percent of all workers and an even larger share of certain occupations like construction, food services and health care.”
More importantly, they state U.S. natives benefit from immigration. Immigrants tend to complement (not substitute for) natives, raising natives’ productivity and income.
Two other experts, Gianmarco Ottaviano and Giovanni Peri concluded in their study that “immigration since 1990 has boosted the average wage of natives by between 0.7 percent and 1.8 percent.” Fully 90 percent of the U.S. native-born workers are estimated to have gained from immigration.
But, wait a minute, restrictionists might say. “We have plenty of young Mississippi men and women who can’t compete with undocumented immigrants in getting jobs.”
And the council and other experts would agree there are “small negative effects of immigrants on the wages of low-skilled natives.” That effect can range anywhere from 1 percent to 2 percent. The council further states, “The difficulties faced by high school dropouts are a serious policy concern, but it is safe to conclude that immigration is not a central cause of those difficulties, nor is reducing immigration a well-targeted way to help these low-wage natives.”
Can we assume many of the low-skilled Mississippi workers are people who did not finish high school? Why are undocumented immigrants able to get jobs that our native workers cannot get? I’d like to look a little more deeply into this topic by considering the Triple M Factors: Motivation, Money and Mobility.
Motivation. My experience is that most undocumented immigrants are highly motivated and will take the most distasteful jobs to earn whatever wages are offered. They traditionally work hard and are very reliable, a trait valued by their employer who may exploit them at will.
I am not sure the average person who has not finished high school for whatever reason will readily take a job that is considered the “pits” without the promise of a decent paycheck. These low-skilled jobs could include back-breaking work picking fruits and vegetables, cutting up chicken parts, tacking-on shingles in hot or frigid weather; all jobs requiring a work-ethic that younger workers may not yet have acquired.
Money. It is well-known immigrants are often exploited by the unscrupulous employer who will pay less than minimum wage and get by with it. He knows the undocumented worker seldom has any legal recourse to complain. Still, the immigrant will work for a paltry wage because it is still a lot more than he could get in his native country.
For low-skilled workers, money is the key to their success. As Americans they will only work for a decent living wage whereas the immigrant will work for less. They are correct in making their complaints and rights known to their bosses who prefer to deal with the docile, politically impotent immigrant. Thus, because they can’t compete with the immigrant they will end up with no job at all.
It is germane to mention here that our Mississippi legislators rejected a bill calling for a task force to study the economic contribution of immigrants in reducing poverty in Mississippi. Such valuable information could shed light on our current topic.
Mobility. This is one area where the immigrant has the advantage over the native worker. Most immigrants are very mobile. Most have not set deep roots in one place so they can pick up and leave to seek greener pastures.
Native workers are just the opposite. They usually have family and friends that will keep them tied down to one area. Moving can be a traumatic event for them. And so they find themselves without a job and without many options.
For now we can conclude from the previously cited experts that immigration labor provides many positive benefits to our society along with some negative consequences on low-skilled native workers.
We should be able to resolve these inequalities without oppressing either group. Our new Mississippi law which is designed to prevent new undocumented immigrants from seeking employment in the state will only serve to pit the immigrant against the low-skilled worker.
Only comprehensive immigration reform which is just and humane can begin to resolve this contentious situation which is really the domain of our legislators in Congress. Reform is also the major focus of the Catholic bishops’ “Justice for Immigrants Campaign.” They urge all Catholics to join them in this important endeavor.
(For more information check out www.justiceforimmigrants.org)
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Fewer Americans available for unskilled jobs
March 28 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
We Americans form lines rather easily in the grocery store, department stores, the theater and, above all these days, at the airport. Some of us will even camp out for days at certain sites to get tickets to the Super Bowl or to get a good seat for the Rose Parade or for that matter, we had Mississippians who spent hours waiting for good seating to hear Presidential Candidate Barack Obama speak.
Because “getting in line” is so second-nature for us, there are those who chide undocumented immigrants for not “getting in line” to get that precious visa. “Why can’t they get in line and wait like everybody else does? Even if it takes a lot of time?”
The easy answer is: There is no line!
In fact, Jane Guskin and David Wilson, authors of “The Politics of Immigration” state rather succinctly “the rules are made to keep immigrants out.” Now, that doesn’t seem to reflect what most of us believe about our country which welcomes the “tired and poor and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” These words from the base of the Statue of Liberty most of our immigrant relatives couldn’t even read.
So, let’s look at this immigration system that is so hard to negotiate. Let’s try to understand why most of these undocumented people can’t get a visa.
Most of the undocumented come here to work. There are many categories of immigration law but for now we will only look at the employment-based visa system and the visas available for each year.
Persons of extraordinary ability in the arts and sciences, education, business or athletics; outstanding professors and researchers; multinational executives and managers. 40,000 visas
Persons holding advanced degrees or persons with exceptional abilities in the arts, sciences, or business. 40,000 visas
Certain ministers, religious workers, former U.S. government employees. 10,000 visas
Persons who invest $500,000 to $3 million in a job-creating enterprise and employ at least 10 U.S. workers. 10,000 visas
Skilled workers with at least 2 years of training or experience, professionals with college degrees.
40,000 visas
Other workers who are capable of performing unskilled labor. 5,000 visas
Most of the undocumented fall into this last category. Five thousand visas don’t begin to satisfy the demand for unskilled laborers in the U.S. It is estimated 500,000 undocumented come into the U.S. each year and most of them find work within a few months or less. The demand for their labor exists but the visas do not.
For those few people who are able to make application for this visa, the waiting time can be seven to 10 years. For young workers desperate to support a family, the waiting time is beyond reason. They will risk their lives to enter the U.S. illegally.
You might say Americans can fill this demand for workers. What kind of work are we talking about? We’re talking about construction, food manufacturing, food services and textiles. The majority of these jobs are filled by native-born workers but their numbers are diminishing.
Consider that in 1960 approximately 50 percent of the workforce did not have high school diplomas. Today that number is 12 percent. This means fewer Americans will be available for these unskilled jobs.
It is estimated by the Labor Department that 48 percent of all job openings between 2002 and 2012 are expected to be held by workers who have a high school diploma or less education. With our diminishing labor force unavailable for these unskilled jobs, who will fill the gap? Common sense tells us the unskilled immigrants coming into the country will provide the labor force we will need.
So, let me repeat the two main points of this column: 1) The U.S. Immigration system is set up to prevent low-skilled immigrants from entering the U.S. legally with a visa which is contrary to our own best interests. 2) We need the labor of these immigrants as the supply of our native-born workers in low-skilled jobs is diminishing.
Should our main concern as Christians be that these people have broken the immigration law, therefore, they deserve to be punished? Or should our response be that
our laws are designed to encourage the immigrant to break the rules which are unjust to begin with. Therefore, they need to be changed!
This Easter season reminds us of how laws can be manipulated to punish the innocent. The Pharisees often accused Jesus of breaking their laws about observing the Sabbath. His crucifixion demonstrated that even good, well-intentioned people can be duped by vindictive leaders and a gullible crowd for assenting to evil actions without considering the truth.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Hospitality state turns hostile
March 14 , 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
The Mississippi Legislature just missed a golden opportunity to set an example of statesmanship and leadership to this nation. Instead of exemplifying the hospitality of the South (and of our own Mississippi, the Hospitality State) they are joining the “mobs” of restrictionists and righteous enforcers who are calling for the punishment and ultimate ejection of all undocumented immigrants from the state of Mississippi.
In other words, they are going after those “illegals” who have entered our country without proper papers by passing the horrendous Senate Bill 2988. (As of this writing the bill is awaiting the signature of the governor.)
If our Legislature had exercised true leadership in this matter, they could have done a number of things:
1) They could have placed their energy in targeting the real culprit in illegal immigration – the immigration system of the United States.
2) They could have realized the real “victims” of the system are the immigrants themselves who are unable to access visas allowing them to enter the U.S. legally.
3) They could have called on Congress to take seriously the mandate to reform this immigration system as soon as a new administration is in place.
4) They could have urged ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to place a moratorium on all raids and subsequent arrests until the federal government reforms the immigration system.
In their haste to satisfy certain constituents and party bosses, the legislators did not think through all the consequences resulting from this bill. For instance, SB 2988 requires employers to verify the immigration status of their employees by using the E-verify system of the federal government.
But did the legislators do any investigation about this system? If they had, they would have discovered that the E-verify system “has been repeatedly demonstrated to fail American workers and employers alike . . . it will lead to erroneous firings, discrimination, and exploitation of millions of workers, including U.S. citizens and legal immigrants.”
This, of course, means lawsuits will pile up waiting for court dates. And that means money will be involved. Can the state afford to pay off lawsuits that will inevitably arise? Where will the money come from?
Often, in all the talk about illegal immigration one hears the contention if there were no jobs waiting for the immigrants, there would not be any immigrants here. It is a well-known fact the vast majority of immigrants come to the U.S. to work, not to terrorize the populace or get involved with gangs. So, the rationale is the employers would be penalized for providing employment for the unqualified immigrant.
Apparently, the legislators did not spend a lot of time figuring out how to punish the employers. According to the bill, any employer violating its provisions would be subject to the cancellation of any state or public contract which would result in their ineligibility for any state contracts for three years. Does that sound like a tough penalty?
They can walk away and come back in a few years. Right?
But the poor immigrant does not get off so easily. He or she will be found guilty of a felony. Upon conviction they are subject to incarceration of not less than a year and not more than five years and with a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $10,000.
But, did our legislators think that through? Is Mississippi prepared to imprison 100 or 1,000 or more immigrants? Our prison system is already over-burdened and under-funded. Can it accommodate hundreds more? And even if deportation is employed, that takes money, too. Do we assume that the Department of Homeland Security foots the bill? We are heading into a financial quagmire.
There is another consideration that bothers me. I remember hearing Gov. Haley Barbour recognize and praise the dedicated labor of hundreds of immigrants on the coast during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I’m sure there are lots of people on the coast who would acknowledge the positive influence of immigrants in the clean-up and restoration of the coast. Gratitude is expressed in many ways but this bill is a slap in the face.
Now, consider another scenario. Suppose our legislators had decided to grant temporary work permits to all immigrants who wished to remain in Mississippi to work. Suppose they offered these permits for a fee of $500 along with the stipulation that the immigrants divulge their real identities and submit any fraudulent documents they might be using.
These permits would be valid for as long as it takes Congress to reform our immigration system including granting legal permanent residence to all undocumented residents. What would your reaction be?
Would you be incensed at the audacity of the legislators for not punishing the undocumented immigrants as they deserve? Today’s gospel reading at Mass recounts the story of the woman caught in adultery. Is there a message Jesus is trying to convey to us who hold stones in our hands ready to inflict punishment? Let’s really pray about this one.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Take `hate’ language out of immigration debate
February 29, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never harm me.” Remember that old saying which my brothers and I used as kids to taunt our opposition in a spat? But I didn’t believe what I said because words did harm us.
When our playmates called us Italians “whops” or “dagos” we knew those were fighting words and we inevitably ended up in a fight. We didn’t really know what the words meant but we knew they were saying something really bad about us. And it hurt!
And words are still hurting people. Our society has become a little more sensitized to word usage so that certain offensive words of the past are seldom heard in educated company. We don’t often hear “kike,” “spic,” and “kraut” in polite company.
Even words like cripple, retarded and dumb are not heard as frequently as they used to be. But we have a way of using perfectly good words, which in themselves are not offensive, and using them in such a way that they become offensive.
Lately “illegal” has become one of those code words which is offensive to a growing number of people. And when it is joined with “alien,” then it really hits the heights of offensive language. Former Mississippi Rep. Erik Fleming comments it is “the new buzzword used … to strike fear in the hearts of many Americans … it is a term used to dehumanize the millions of immigrants who have not properly received documentation to reside or work in the United States.”
And by using these words that objectify human beings we may find it easier to treat them as things and less human.
Some weeks ago a rally was held at the Capitol to support the anti-immigrant movement in our Legislature. The newspaper picture clearly showed the participants wearing “STOP ILLEGALS” stickers. We all know what they mean by “illegals.” The buzzword has caught on and will be the code word people use to demonize the unauthorized immigrants.
But of even greater importance is the statement made by Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant who addressed the group. And I quote from the newspaper article written by Leah Rupp, “We have to get a handle on this, or eventually it is going to collapse the nation.”
In one letter to the editor in The Clarion Ledger (2-22-08) a person called immigrants “a cancer on the state and the nation.” Another (2-24-08) declared “the vast majority of Mississippians detest the unwelcome illegal immigrants.”
That is the type of language that Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), would classify as “hate” language. She decries the use of code words that label immigrants and Latinos as a threat to the American way of life. She lists four categories of code words and rhetoric that:
– refer to immigrants as “an army of invaders” or an “invading force,”
– associate immigrants with animals and refer to them as “massive horde” or “swarm,”
– accuse immigrants of bringing crime and disease to America including leprosy, tuberculosis, malaria and gang warfare,
– revive the conspiracy theory that Mexico wants to take back lands in the southwestern part of the United States.
This is the leader of the largest national Hispanic civil rights group who has publicly chastised the personalities of cable news for spreading this type of hate language. She mentions people I’m sure most of us have heard from time to time spouting their messages of hate on their newscasts: Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck and Pat Buchanan.
“The immigration issue deserves serious debate and serious solutions,” she has declared. “We cannot have this debate as long as hate has the floor.”
Murguia and NCLR are waging a “Wave of Hope Campaign” to educate Americans about the wave of hate speech and the growing rise of violence against Latinos.
Certainly, this is not the first time “hate language” has been used to malign a people or group. Such language has been used (and is still being used) to describe African Americans, Jews, Italians, Germans and Muslims to mention a few.
At this moment in our history it is the unauthorized immigrants and Latinos who are the objects of venomous language in print and on the airwaves of radio and TV.
As long as hate permeates the discussion of immigration, it’s not likely we can debate the issue in rational terms. As Catholics we have an obligation to seek and speak the truth using peaceful words and ideas. We should examine our own speech about immigrants and make the changes necessary.
Do we use offensive terms for immigrants? Do we listen to and subscribe to the hate language used by news personalities on radio or TV, the ones listed above by Murguia and our local newscasters? Do we let our friends and family know that we do not approve of such hateful rhetoric?
Can we be opposed to illegal immigration without using offensive, hateful language? Do we have the fortitude to call the TV network to voice our opposition to such programming?
Perhaps, during this Lent, we need to ponder deeply the words of St. Paul when he says to the Romans (12:21) “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Are some human lives more sacred than others?
February 15, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
A friend who came to visit remarked that a billboard on I-55 carried a powerful message that must impress motorists zipping by. I agreed. Every time I see it I’m inclined to reflect on the message. The billboard features Sister Dorothea Sondgeroth from St. Dominic’s hospital reminding us “Every human life is sacred.”
Lately the message has been giving me much food for thought as I am perusing the pamphlet put out by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) entitled, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” All parishes in Mississippi will be exposed to a synopsis of its message in the course of this election year.
The bishops remind us it is their obligation “to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with the truth, so they can make sound moral choices in addressing political challenges.”
At the heart of the church’s teaching is the respect it has for the dignity of every human person. Whatever poses a direct threat to human life, such as abortion, euthanasia, human cloning are intrinsically evil and must always be opposed. But these evils are not the only threat to the life and dignity of the human person.
“Racism, unjust war, the use of torture, the death penalty, the failure to respond to those who are suffering from a lack of food, of health care, of education, of an unjust immigration policy are also evils that we Catholics cannot ignore.
These are not optional concerns that can be dismissed. As the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explains: “A political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the church’s social doctrine does not exhaust one’s responsibility towards the common good.”
Many Catholics consider their involvement against abortion as their good work. And they should be proud of what they have accomplished. But they do not see their need to get involved with other issues which are not compelling.
But I find certain passages from the bishops’ pamphlet compelling: “We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be.”
Yet, those called “illegal aliens” don’t seem to fall under this category. They are treated as pariahs because in fleeing from abject poverty, they were desperate enough to cross U.S. borders without a visa which was impossible to secure within reasonable time limits.
Any parent willing to sacrifice life and limb for his children can understand the dilemma facing the poor and powerless. (Though not all who crossed over illegally fit into this category. More than 40 percent of the undocumented overstayed their visas.)
Instead, so many of our Christian voices are raised in righteous indignation because they broke “our law.” They must be punished. Instead of seeking to understand why our immigration system cannot accommodate these people seeking to do jobs that are certainly available to them once they reach this country, some of our leaders in Washington turned a deaf ear, a blind eye, and a hard heart to the situation and capitulated to the “patriots” whose slogan is “no amnesty!”
Every human life is sacred. And our faith calls on us to treat the poor and vulnerable among us with a preferential love. That is no easy task.
But apparently that does not apply to our undocumented immigrant brothers and sisters to judge by the type of bills that are being submitted in the Legislature.
Just this past week a good number of bills were submitted targeting the “illegals.”
They communicate the message that we don’t like you. We don’t want you here. We want you to leave Mississippi.
Here’s a summary of some of these bills: (If you wish to check on the number and/or authors of these bills go to the Mississippi Legislature website.)
Both SB 2037 and HB 420 would prohibit “illegals” from working on any public works project.
HB 486 even goes further and would make it a felony for anyone or a business to hire an “illegal.”
Both HB 298 & 350 and SB 2279 would deny public benefits to “illegals.” (In reality undocumented immigrants are not eligible for public benefits but their citizen children may be.)
Senate bills 2823 & 2824 would make it a crime to harbor, assist or transport “illegals.” Just think of all the church workers who could become “criminals” under these bills. However, another SB 3034 would exempt religious organizations from crime.
SB 2827 would limit worker’s comp benefits for “illegals” to medical expenses. It would deny families death benefits.
HB 399 & 400 deal with the English language. Anyone seeking a license from a public agency or seeking public benefits must speak and understand English and be a citizen. HB 538 calls for all public and private documents to be in English.
Of course, these bills must go through the legislative process. Join me in praying that our legislators will be enlightened by the Holy Spirit so they can realize that punitive legislative action will not solve the immigration problem.
Only an authentic reform of our immigration system can begin to resolve the situation. And emblazoned on the walls of the legislative chambers should be these words: Every human life is sacred . . . including undocumented immigrants.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Cowboys & Indians: Did you
hear about big round-up?
February 1, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
I remember as a child growing up in the West how we kids played cowboys and Indians a lot. Of course, we learned from the movies that Indians were always the enemy. They were the ones who raided the settlers and ravaged their lands and people.
We had no idea of the truth of our American history. We didn’t learn until many years later that those Indians were more often the victims of the palefaces than they were the “bad guys.” Some of those old memories surfaced on Saturday, Jan. 19, when I read how the “special task force apprehended 160 ‘illegal’ immigrants along a stretch of I-20.”
The article stated the agents were stopping vehicles involved in smuggling.
One has to presume they were referring to the smuggling of drugs and/or immigrants. According to the report no drugs were found but agents seized $7,052 from one driver. The apprehended immigrants were sent to a federal detention center in Oakdale, La.
Not much was said about the immigrants aboard. Were there men and women? Were children present? Were they afraid? Did someone communicate what was happening and why? Were their apprehenders respectful or did they feel like cattle being hauled to slaughter?
So, chalk one up for the cowboys! But is this reason to rejoice that at last we are beginning to solve the problem of illegal immigration? Hardly.
Since May 2005 this column has been communicating a basic message from the U.S. Catholic bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign: the current immigration system is badly in need of reform and a comprehensive approach to fixing it is required. A piecemeal approach of raids and deportations, of punitive state and local laws, of verbal assaults and hateful rhetoric will not help to alleviate the situation.
It seems a very powerful, influential minority in our country managed to scuttle the Senate’s attempt to pass the comprehensive reform bill in June 2006.
Though the bill was far from ideal in solving the problems it did offer a good beginning. But the righteous enforcers took up their “No Amnesty” battle cry (which in reality is a misuse of the word “amnesty” as defined in reputable circles) and stoked the fears and apprehensions of enough senators that the bill went down in defeat. Reform of the system was place on the shelf indefinitely.
Notice I said “minority.” If you listen to the talk shows and people like Lou Dobbs, you’d get the impression the American people are strongly anti-immigrant. But that does not seem to be the case.
For the past two years the mainstream press has been testing public opinion about the immigration situation. Over and over, the public has expressed support for solutions that go beyond deportation and enforcement-only and include a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants under certain conditions like paying fines and back taxes, learning English and no criminal record.
Here is a sampling of those favoring such a plan for undocumented immigrants:
– 59 percent in a Gallup/ USA Today poll in March 2007;
– 67 percent in a Fox News poll in June 2007;
– 58 percent in an ABC News poll in September 2007;
– 51 percent in a Washington Post/ABC News poll in October/November 2007.
It would seem the “silent majority” is not heard above the clamor of the vocal minority because they do not express themselves in a way that they can be heard.
Then there is the spectacle of the presidential candidates trying to dodge a bullet in addressing the immigration issue. It would seem to me the vocal enforcers have made their presence known in the audiences of the debates and forums. It’s no wonder that those currying their favor will speak out strongly for enforcement while manifesting no sympathy for the undocumented.
While some Democrats may favor a more humane approach to immigration they are loathe to state it publicly for fear of losing ground with their supporters. They are in a precarious position.
As a spokesperson for the bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign, Cardinal John Mahony has written to the candidates to express his disappointment at the tone of the presidential campaign as it relates to immigration.
“I am deeply disturbed that, to date, the discussion on immigration has failed to significantly focus upon policy solutions to illegal immigration…. As a public leader and presidential candidate, you have the responsibility not only to respond to the views and needs of Americans, but also to outline a vision for the future of our country.
“The vision emerging from the presidential campaign paints an America that is no longer open to the vitality of newcomers and to the contributions they make to our communities . . . I ask that as the presidential campaign moves forward, you show leadership on the issue of immigration.”
We Catholics need to look honestly at our own attitudes and ideas about immigration. Are we standing on the roadside cheering on the border patrol as they arrest the “illegal” immigrants?
Are we applauding politicians who vow to rid our cities and state of these “illegals”? Are we among those who would prevent immigrant children from enrolling in our schools? Are we lukewarm supporters of the bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign?
If we are, then may God enlighten and strengthen us to become staunch advocates of justice and peace.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Anti-immigration legislation backfires on states
January 18, 2008
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Congress’s failure to pass some semblance of immigration reform legislation in May 2006 has fueled states and local governments to pass a bevy of anti-immigration legislation fueled by fear, anger, confusion and plain ignorance.
Making and passing legislation to ban businesses from hiring undocumented immigrants is one thing but enforcing the law and accepting the “benefits” is another thing altogether.
Last summer Colorado passed laws which require state identification for government services and which allow police to check suspects’ immigration status. Since then immigrants are fleeing Colorado. This would seem to mean that the laws are accomplishing their goals of ridding the state of the undocumented.
But, crops are rotting in the fields with no one to pick them. The construction industry and other businesses that rely on low-skilled labor are experiencing a labor shortage.
And to top it off, Colorado has discovered there really are jobs Americans won’t do. In Pueblo desperate farmers are offering up to $9.60 an hour for pickers, well in excess of the federal minimum wage and more than they paid migrants in the past. But there are few takers!
To add to Colorado’s woes, 12 large agribusinesses have acknowledged they have moved operations to Mexico where they employ more than 11,000 workers. American farm economists say thousands of middle-class jobs supporting agriculture are being lost in the United States.
Tar Heel, N.C., is another example of a crackdown on immigrant labor gone wrong. In November 2006, Smithfield Foods, a giant slaughterhouse, lost 1,100 Latino workers. Smithfield replaced them with American workers but the turnover rate is high. At least 60 percent of the new workers quit within 90 days of being hired. Even with decent wages the new workers lacked the skills and found the work oppressive.
Riverside, N.J., had passed legislation to prevent anyone from renting to an illegal immigrant. But with the departure of so many people, the local economy suffered. Legal bills began to pile up straining the already tight budget.
The town had spent $82,000 defending their ordinance but suddenly many people who favored the original legislation began to have second thoughts. The mayor said, “A lot of people did not look three years out.” So, the town rescinded the ordinance.
In the past two years, more than 30 towns nationwide have enacted laws intended to address problems attributed to illegal immigration from overcrowded housing and schools to overextended police forces. But these towns did not anticipate the emergence of lawsuits and the participation of federal judges.
In June a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against a housing ordinance in Farmers Branch, Texas. Other townships such as Valley Park, Mo., and Hazelton, Pa., had enacted anti-immigrant legislation which was struck down by judges.
The Texas legislature responded to Washington’s inability to pass immigration legislation by passing bills that would restrict birthright citizenship; bar migrants from getting state benefits such as health care and education; make it illegal for them to get business permits; and even taxing them for sending money south of the border.
A major issue of contention in Texas, and other states as well, is that the federal government allows immigrants to receive emergency medical care and education. Many Texans felt the financial burden falls unfairly upon the Texas taxpayer. Thus the legislature passed laws to penalize the immigrant as a financial burden to the state.
Few Texans were prepared to receive a startling report released by the Texas Comptroller’s office which found undocumented immigrants generated more taxes and other revenue than the state spends on them. The report went on to state that in 2005 undocumented immigrants contributed $1.58 billion to the state’s economy while the state spent $1.16 billion in services to them. Thus, undocumented immigrants exceeded what was spent on services to them by $424.7 million.
As we all know, in 2006 our then-State Auditor Phil Bryant revealed his study that immigrants cost the state of Mississippi $25 million each year but as far as I know he did not bother to find out what contributions immigrants make to the economy of the state.
Before large companies or government agencies plan to make significant changes they first make an assessment of the possible consequences of such changes.
Before our Legislature begins its annual assault on immigrants in our state by submitting anti-immigrant bills, I strongly suggest they, along with the governor, appoint a commission to do a study on Mississippi’s immigrants to determine who they are, where they live and work and what their social and economic impact is on our state.
Mississippi may discover as Texas did that the immigrant population contributes more to the economy of the state than it takes back in services.
Let’s not seek to pass new laws of an anti-immigrant nature which may blow-up in our faces.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Catholic immigration principles
call for justice, compassion
December 14, 2007
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Respect for the human person has always been a basic teaching of the church. For that reason the church has protected human life from its inception to its natural death. In defending this dignity the church has condemned abortion, euthanasia and the destruction of human embryos.
Thus the church recognizes and respects the basic dignity of the immigrant regardless of his legal status in society. This is the basis of the Justice for Immigrants Campaign. Naturally, it would seem those immigrants who come here legally (that is, they come with visas and are looked upon favorably) should enjoy the benefits of the American dream. However, that is not always the case. Let’s look at the current guest worker program.
The bishops call for a temporary worker program that is just and humane.
Under the current system, called the H-2 program, employers brought about 121,000 guest workers into the United States in 2005, about 12,000 for agricultural work and another 89,000 for jobs in forestry, seafood processing, landscaping, construction and other non-agricultural industries.
According to a report released by the Southern Poverty Law Center, “These workers …are systematically exploited and abused. Unlike U.S. citizens, guest workers do not enjoy the most fundamental protection of a competitive labor market – the ability to change jobs if they are mistreated. Instead, they are bound to the employers who “import them.” If guest workers complain about abuse, they face deportation, blacklisting or other retaliation . . . Government enforcement of their rights is almost non-existent.” In fact, the law center entitles this report, “Close To Slavery.”
I was appalled to read of the inhumane, unjust treatment many of these “guest workers” endured at the hands of some of their American employers. These are people who “played by the rules” as we so often hear, but their treatment did not abide by the rules.
Certainly the current guest-worker program needs radical change.
The bishops also call for a broad-based legalization program for those in the country without proper immigration documentation.
I can hear the voices of the righteous enforcers already. No amnesty under any conditions! We can certainly go on forever, it seems, arguing among ourselves about this issue. But we do have to face the reality that millions of people are not going to be deported. I think we can agree on that.
And, even though thousands have been deported or are leaving the U.S. by choice, it would take many, many years before the majority would be gone. And in the meantime, we have thousands still coming in, in spite of border fences and our increased number of border agents.
Yes, let’s arrest and deport the gangs, the criminals, the smugglers and the drug undesirables! But it seems to me common sense would dictate we establish an “earned legalization program” that is achievable and verifiable for those who have lived and worked here for years; for those who have contributed to our society.
Not only does common sense dictate such a move but our Catholic tradition of compassion and justice should move us to seek such a basic humanitarian solution.
The idea is to bring the 12 million or more (or even less for that matter) out of the shadows of society and offer them legal status. In return, these immigrants must learn English, pay fines and past taxes, work for several years before earning the right to permanent legal status.
In the reform legislation that failed this past summer, immigrants would have had to work and comply with regulations about eight to13 years before they were eligible for citizenship. This is not amnesty.
The church also teaches the right to asylum must never be denied when peoples’ lives are truly threatened in their homeland.
We are now experiencing that certain Iraqi people who have collaborated with the U.S. in many different ways especially in providing translation services are asking us for asylum. Our country is providing such asylum.
Pope John Paul II advocated for asylum seekers when he supported their right to be reunited with their families and the right to a dignified occupation and a just wage.
We Catholics should be proud of our church’s leadership in social justice issues throughout the world. But we should especially be proud of our American bishops who have taken leadership in the immigration issues of our day that affect our nation.
Based on the life and teachings of Jesus, the church’s teaching has provided the basis for the development of these basic principles regarding the right to migrate for those exercising their God-given human rights.
We Catholics should be proud to live and abide by these principles.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Let’s review Catholic principles of immigration
November 30, 2007
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
When the issue of “illegal immigration” moves onto the agenda for the presidential candidates to discuss, then it's time for us to review some of the major principles of immigration reform from the Catholic viewpoint as demonstrated through the bishops’ Justice for Immigrants campaign.
1) Persons have a right to migrate to support themselves and their families.
The church recognizes all the goods of the earth belong to all people. When persons cannot find employment in their country of origin to support themselves and their families, they have a right to find work elsewhere in order to survive. Sovereign nations should provide ways to accommodate their rights.
-- The North American Free Trade Agreement has harmed small businesses in Mexico, especially in the rural sector where nearly 1.3 million jobs in corn farming have been lost. Manufacturing jobs did increase for Mexico but unfortunately some of those jobs have since been outsourced to other countries. The U.S. has experienced similar problems.
2) Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders.
More powerful nations should provide ways to accommodate the right of persons to migrate. They have a stronger obligation to accommodate migration flows.
-- Cardinal Roger Mahony declares that, “Current policy fails to account for the fact that in many ways our economy encourages the flow of illegal immigration into the country and is dependent on their labor.”
Though most bishops support securing the U.S. borders, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., opposed building a fence. “It would send the wrong signal to our peaceful neighbor to the south, Mexico, as well as the international community. Securing our borders must “protect human dignity and protect human life.”
-- The bishops do not advocate for open borders.
3) The human dignity and human rights of undocumented immigrants should be respected.
Regardless of their legal status, migrants, like all persons, possess inherent human dignity that should be respected. Often they are subject to punitive laws and harsh treatment from enforcement officers from both receiving and transit countries. Government policies that respect the basic human rights of the undocumented are necessary.
4) The bishops’ call for comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the root causes of migration, provides opportunities for undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship, and reduces the time families must wait to be reunited.
-- Many people of good faith who oppose citizenship for undocumented immigrants argue that the “rule of law” must be honored and that anyone who breaks the law should not be given its protection. Church leaders would agree that we are a nation built on a system of laws. Even if the most powerful citizen breaks the law, he or she is accountable to it. This is the basis of our democracy.
-- But the bishops also remind us that laws are created and administered in the pursuit of justice. Any law that does not serve justice violates basic human dignity and human rights. “No taxation without representation” was our nation's first battle cry.
-- In the view of church leadership and many others, our current immigration laws are, in a word, unjust. We gladly accept the toil and taxes of the immigrant work force to fill our economic needs, but we look the other way when they are exploited in the workplace, die in the desert or are arrested for providing “nanny” and cleaning services at desirable addresses. When convenient politically, we scapegoat the immigrant without acknowledging our complicity. (Cardinal Mahony from Los Angeles archdiocese.)
l Our immigration laws perpetuate this reality. Of the nearly 500 thousand who enter into the U.S. unauthorized (or overstay visas) nearly 90 percent obtain jobs within six months, but there are only 5,000 immigrant visas available. Obviously, the jobs are there for these thousands of immigrants but the visas are not.
This is a disordered, unjust system which demands reform.
This information is presented to our readers so they will understand the church's stand on this important issue of immigration. It is not intended to cause guilt feelings among those of good faith, though guilt can sometimes prod us to do what is good and desirable like urging our senators and representatives in Washington to get serious about immigration reform. We will continue this review in the next scheduled column.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Anti-immigrant laws abound in states, counties
November 16, 2007
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
“Where do you get off demanding services, rights and mandatory citizenship? Who invited you? You cry for your rights? You have none.”
These harsh words, spoken by a participant to a large crowd of Hispanic residents in an all-night forum in Prince William County, Virginia, illustrated the frustration and anger felt by so many as the board deliberated on measures to restrict county services to undocumented immigrants. The measure would also require police to check immigration status of anyone accused of breaking the law.
After a long and heated discussion, the board unanimously voted to accept the measures. A despondent Hispanic resident exclaimed, “They didn’t hear what people said today. Why did they waste our time?”
This scenario which occurred in October 2007 is typical of many such events occurring in the United States since the Senate failed to pass the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill in June 2006.
In July 2006, Hazelton, Pa., started the ball rolling with anti-immigrant legislation which prohibited the employment and harboring of undocumented immigrants and restricted rental housing to lawful permanent residents.
This ordinance was struck down by James Munley, a federal district court judge who ruled the ordinance violated the Constitution’s supremacy clause which says the federal government regulates immigration.
More importantly, the judge also stated: “We cannot say clearly enough that persons who enter the country without legal authorization are not stripped immediately of all their rights because of a single illegal act . . . . the genius of our Constitution is that it provides rights even to those who evoke the least sympathy from the general public…Since the Constitution protects even the disfavored the ordinances cannot be enforced.”
Obviously, the words of this judge were not heeded by a large number of states and cities who continued their assault on immigrants.
No fewer than 1,404 pieces of immigration-related legislation were introduced in legislatures during the first half of 2007, with 182 bills becoming law in 43 states.
Perhaps it could be said the state of Oklahoma recently passed one of the most egregious laws which bars undocumented immigrants from getting jobs and state benefits. It would make it a felony to harbor or transport them.
Opposition to this law was quick and emphatic. Parishioners from a predominantly Hispanic Sacred Heart Catholic Church signed 1100 pledges of resistance which they presented to Gov. Brad Henry.
The director of advocacy and legal services for Catholic Charities, Richard Klinge, informed the governor that the church will continue to serve the needs of the poor.
Not all Virginia counties have enacted anti-immigration legislation. Montgomery County is providing services to help undocumented immigrants learn English and to find work so they may be self-sufficient and contribute to the community.
Frederick County commissioners voted recently not to pursue punitive measures against their immigrants. No doubt they reacted to what is happening in Prince William where business at the strip mall has slowed dramatically. Many of the Latinos who left Prince William moved to other counties or to other states. Not many returned to their home countries as expected.
In Oklahoma, Mike Means, executive director of the Oklahoma State Home Builders, reported “in major metro areas we are seeing people leave based on the perception this state doesn’t want them here. Now we’re looking at a labor shortage. I’ve got builders who are being forced to slow down jobs because they don’t have the crews . . . . Countering the argument that with immigrants leaving, American workers will get jobs at a higher wage, Means said builders are already paying $15 to $20 an hour for labor in a state of low employment. It would lead to a net loss of jobs as some businesses are forced to close, particularly if other states allow less stringent hiring practices.”
I am concerned with all the negative legislation surfacing throughout the country, immigrants, particularly undocumented immigrants, are being characterized as criminals, as people who have no rights.
Judge Munley made it clear I thought that immigrants without authorization are not stripped of their rights. We as a society or as individuals must not undermine the basic dignity or God-given rights of any human person.
Immigrants are hearing the same drumbeat over and over: Go home, you are not welcome here. As compassionate responders, we Catholics should be among those who can contribute toward a friendly, Christian community where all of God’s children are welcomed and respected.
After all, we are all members of the Body of Christ.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Righteous enforcers helped stop immigration reform
11/09/07
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
I marvel at all the people who are providing assistance to the victims of the California fires. I call these folks compassionate responders. They seem to come from all over the country to help in any way they can.
On Oct. 28 the immigrant cause could have used an army of compassionate responders to influence the Senate to pass a resolution to consider the Dream Act, a bill which would have provided a path to legalization and citizenship for students who were brought here by their parents who are undocumented.
Though, indeed, there were many compassionate responders who supported the cause of these students and who tried to influence their senators to support the resolution, it did not pass and the Dream Act will have to wait until some other future time.
There is a segment of people out there who are very dedicated to opposing any type of amnesty however it is packaged. Advocates stressed the fact these students were not responsible for being undocumented because they were brought over when they were children. The choice was not theirs; therefore, they should not be punished for the “sins” of their parents.
These anti-amnesty people I call “righteous enforcers.” They want the laws enforced regardless of circumstances of the people involved.
These righteous enforcers were significantly involved in stopping the Immigration reform bill in June of this year. They flooded the Senate with phone calls and faxes to senators who waffled in their support for reform. They strongly imparted their anti-amnesty stance to their own senators and any who seemed unsure of their stance.
They put their money where their mouths are by supporting their organizations and the websites they use to propagate their anti-immigration philosophy. Of course, they do not consider themselves as anti-immigration; rather they consider immigration as a threat to their ideal of what America should be.
They have leaders who keep them well-informed about all issues which impact immigration. They know their legislators and where they stand on issues. They are an educated group that can speak on immigration issues. They are a force to be reckoned with.
I am familiar with two of these groups (for there are many): Numbers USA and the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Of course, there are many pro-immigration websites which approach immigration in a similar manner, that is, they spend time to inform and educate about immigration issues and provide direction as to the advocacy necessary to promote legislation favorable to immigrants in general and those who are undocumented in particular.
Where does a Catholic turn to be involved in these important social justice issues of our time? This is a delicate subject because many Catholics are realizing the stance taken by the bishops’ Justice for Immigrants does not always coincide with their political views or even on some moral issues.
For instance, many Catholics believe obeying laws is of prime importance so they have a struggle accepting the fact the Gospels show us a Jesus who often placed the welfare of individuals above the Jewish laws of the day. Jesus was a compassionate responder.
Numerous times Jesus was criticized by Jewish leaders for breaking the Sabbath laws. For example in Luke 13:10-17, Jesus healed a woman crippled for 18 years. He healed her but the synagogue official derided him for doing so because it was the Sabbath. Jesus responded by stating that she, a daughter of Jerusalem, was more important than the donkey they would rescue if it fell into a pit on a Sabbath.
In Mark 2:23-25, Jesus and his disciples were picking ears of corn and eating it.
The Pharisees criticized him again for breaking the Sabbath rules. Jesus responded by saying the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, again reiterating his position people are more important than rules.
But we know that Jesus was not advocating the elimination of laws in general. When he intervened to save the woman caught in adultery, John 8:3-11, Jesus saved her from a terrible death but he did chide her to sin no more or, in other words, to keep the commandment.
Righteous enforcers are more concerned about keeping the laws rather than changing unjust or unreasonable laws to benefit the people. The reform bill of June 2006 would have granted legalization to millions of undocumented people after they paid fines, learned English and civics, worked for a number of years and then went to the back of the line. And it would have provided a means for future immigrants to enter the United States legally.
But still the enforcers would have none of it.
So, taking a stand for reform to benefit undocumented immigrants may place you at risk of being criticized for not following the political philosophy of one of the politicians you support. Deviating from the party line may bring its own repercussions later. It takes courage to face your friends and neighbors and take a different stand from theirs.
You may even be called a “bleeding heart liberal!” Horrors! As a Christian I would prefer that to “righteous enforcer.”
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Immigration issues liven up campaign
10/26/07
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
I did a double-take the other night when I saw John Arthur Eaves’ newest campaign ad. I discovered our governor, Haley Barbour, supports amnesty for illegal aliens and even supports giving the “illegal” population drivers’ licenses!
I must admit that I do remember reading that article in La Noticia when Barbour in his first campaign promised to make drivers licenses available to undocumented immigrants. At first, I was elated but it didn’t take me long to realize it was all part of the game of politics.
If Barbour really meant what he said about licenses he could have exerted his considerable influence on his Republican colleagues in the Legislature to pass the license bills that floundered in the years following his election.
But the governor did take the bait from his opponent’s ad by stating his views on a popular radio station. I did not hear what the governor said but I did get some information on the Internet in which the governor has pledged to control the borders, fight identity theft and to enlist employers to enforce federal and state laws regarding the employment of illegal aliens.
I would expect the governor to toe the party line when it comes to immigration. After all, the Republican Party has opposed immigration reform and has expressed its approval of securing the borders by building fences and posting the National Guard to prevent anyone from crossing over the borders without inspection or a visa.
But right now, my concern is why John Arthur Eaves, a self-proclaimed Bible-toting Christian, is emphasizing illegal immigration as a major issue when it is so inflammatory and divisive. When the ad mentions “amnesty” it’s like throwing a Molotov cocktail into a crowd and then running away to hide. He should know this issue incites the emotions and feelings of voters all over the state and, indeed, the nation.
It is an issue that can bring out the worst sentiments of the human heart and psyche. It is a complex, human issue. It is one on which everyone has an opinion. And, for the most part, it is an issue on which most people are poorly informed.
This is an issue that keeps stoking the fires of racism and xenophobia, which are still very much alive in our city, state and country. Several incidents in the news lately would verify this statement.
So, am I saying that it should not be brought up as a campaign issue? No, that is not what I am saying. This is what I’d like to say.
This is an issue which demands the best leadership we can muster.
It demands that leaders become informed about all aspects of the issue starting with understanding the reasons why people are willing to leave their homelands to risk their lives to work in a non-welcoming country that more often than not exploits them for their cheap labor. Leaders should be well-informed about the pros and cons of NAFTA and its effects on Mexican laborers, especially farmers, and the role the U.S. farmers play in dominating the corn market.
We need leaders who can remind the American public they are beneficiaries of the hard work of immigrants who work in the agriculture industry. Many of the fruits and vegetables that grace our tables year-round are available because some farm worker, often an immigrant, bends his back to pick the crops.
A recent study by the American Farm Bureau Federation indicated cutting off illegal immigrant labor could cost U.S. agriculture up to $9 billion in productive losses, a cost that inevitably would be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.
We need leaders who can speak to the whole truth. Candidate for Lt. Governor Phil Bryant informed us last year he did a study in which he found the state spends $25 million a year on health care, education and prison costs for illegal immigrants. But Mr. Bryant did not do a study on what immigrants contribute to the Mississippi economy. He only gave us a part of the picture.
It was reported recently in the Business Section of the Clarion Ledger that Hispanic businesses brought in $213 million in revenue. Mr. Bryant’s office has access to information from which he could extrapolate some idea of how immigrants are contributing to the economy of our state or our city. Wouldn’t that be more fair than to imply that immigrants are a financial burden on the state and its taxpayers?
We need leaders who not only carry a Bible but who can call attention to scripture passages in which we Christians are admonished to care for the immigrant because we believe every person is created in God’s image. In the Old Testament, God calls upon his people to care for the alien because of their own alien experience.
“So, you, too, must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.” ( Deut. 10:17-19) In the New Testament the image of the migrant is grounded in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. In his own life and work, Jesus identified himself with newcomers and with other marginalized persons in a special way:
“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” ( Mt 25:35)
Of course, I do not expect Mr. Eaves to be spouting Scripture in his ads but I would expect him to avoid making the immigrant the scapegoat of our society’s problems.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
Several times this summer I had the opportunity to spend some time in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport waiting to continue my flight. I am always gratified to see the number of young people with Spanish surnames working in the terminal. Several were flight attendants; some manned the information booths for flustered passengers; others provided quick and efficient service at the fast-food restaurants. Oftentimes I heard these young people respond to passengers’ needs in Spanish and English, a real asset in this era of bilingualism.
I offer these comments as I ponder the fate of a segment of our society who do not have the opportunity to pursue the “American dream” because they were brought here by their parents who were undocumented and passed that dubious political condition on to their children.
For the most part these children are being educated in American schools. Many of them are undistinguishable from their classmates in typical American teenage behavior. Many have achieved excellence in their studies and are hoping to take that next step into the world of unlimited opportunity in the job market.
But they will discover that such a world does not exist for them. They will meet obstacles because they are not citizens; they do not possess a Social Security card and they cannot legally drive an automobile. They are considered “illegals” whose opportunities lead them to dead-end jobs and harassment.
And they are undocumented through no fault of their own.
But there is some hope for these young people. Sen. Robert Durbin from Illinois has submitted a bill called the Dream Act which was a part of the failed Immigration Reform Bill the Senate rejected in June. This bill will allow students who entered the country at age 15 or younger and who have lived in the United States for at least five years with unblemished records to apply for legal status for six years even though their parents entered the country illegally.
During this six-year grace period students must spend at least two years enrolled in a four-year or community college or serve in a branch of the U.S. military.
If they satisfy all these conditions while staying out of trouble, they would qualify to become legal permanent residents.
The New York Times recently featured the case of Carlos, a young man from Venezuela whose parents brought him to the United States when he was two. Even though his father entered with a temporary visa he was unable to gain legal residence. Carlos attempted to enter the military after he graduated from high school but learned being a legal resident is a requirement for the military. He could not apply for scholarships or tuition rates for in-state students because he was not legal.
Even though Carlos has basic skills in engineering he has found it difficult to apply for a decent job without a Social Security card or a driver’s license. Carlos is an ideal candidate for the Dream Act along with thousands just like him in similar circumstances.
The Dream Act has found favor with both parties in the Senate. Sen. Robert Lugar, R-Ind., has joined in sponsoring this bill. They had originally submitted it as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill last week but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced the Dream Act would be tabled until mid-November.
This delay provides ample time for people of good will and common sense to contact their senators and urge them to support this bill with their YES votes.
Since we Americans are always concerned about what we will get from supporting such a bill, we can outline the following benefits:
1. Students who graduate from high school and college will contribute positive impacts on the economy through increased tax revenues and reduced government expenses. For example, the RAND Company has estimated an immigrant who graduates from college will pay about $5,300 more in taxes and cost less than $3,000 in criminal justice and welfare expenses.
2. The increased number of graduates from high school and college will greatly increase their fiscal benefits through spending and investments.
3. Freeing thousands of young immigrants to join the legal workforce would help business fill crucial labor needs. According to the Urban Institute 360,000 undocumented immigrants would be immediately eligible for the six-year conditional status thus adding much-needed teachers, nurses, military recruits and other professionals to the workforce. An educated young population would contribute to our society in many ways.
4. It will help to decrease the dropout rate of immigrant students.
5. It will help to reward character since the students will achieve through their own talent and hard work.
And, perhaps, of more importance, it is the right and moral thing to do. What’s that old query made popular a few years ago . . . what would Jesus do? I think we Catholics know what Jesus would do. The real question is, what would we do? And will we do it?
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
Climate of fear shadows immigrant
August 31, 2007
By Sr. Jean Juliano, DC
The Bush administration has shifted from its pro-immigration reform stance to a strong enforcement mode using Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff as its spokesperson.
On Aug. 10 Chertoff declared that among measures to be taken the most controversial will be regulations regarding “no match” letters sent to employers. “No match” occurs when the Social Security number provided by a worker fails to match a number in the Social Security database.
In the past there were usually no consequences for the employer or the worker but a new regulation gives employers three months to either dismiss the worker or verify his legal status. Employers could be fined up to $10,000 per each worker.
This regulation in particular will strongly enhance a “climate of fear” that has plagued the community of undocumented workers for years. They received a strong message in June that they were not welcome in this country when Congress failed to pass the Immigration Reform Bill.
We will see many workers shifting from one workplace to another to escape the “no match” crusade. More families will be uprooted. More children will be losing valuable classroom education when their families move from place to place seeking a safe haven for work and living.
And, perhaps, some will decide that rather than live a life under constant surveillance, they will return to their original homes, if such places still exist. Of course, that is the prime goal of any of the “new” regulations … to make life so unbearable in the United States that they will move anywhere to escape such harassment.
But this “climate of fear” is a two-edged sword. American businesses will suffer dire consequences as well when their workforces are depleted.
For example:
It is estimated that 70 percent of California’s $32 billion agriculture industry workers are in the country illegally. Farmers in Fresno vented their worst-case scenarios if they lose a large percentage of their workers: Fruits and vegetables will go unpicked; thousands of dairy cows will die; legal workers in packinghouses will be laid off; foreign competitors will take over American grocery shelves. Other businesses will suffer as out-of-work farm workers stop spending money.
Apple growers in New York are looking forward to a vintage crop this year but three billion apples must be picked by hand and there is no local labor supply of workers who will pick these apples for six weeks in the fall.
The state of Colorado, anticipating their own shortfall for labor, may try to implement their own guest worker program working directly with Mexico.
This “climate of fear” recently engulfed Newark, N.J., where some “illegal” immigrants were reportedly involved in some terrible murders of college-aged students. Cynthia Tucker whose column appears in the Clarion Ledger regularly called for those guilty of such heinous crimes to be deported. I agree that anyone, immigrant or not, guilty of such crimes, should be punished according to the law.
It is believed that those who committed these crimes are members of the gang MS-13 originating in El Salvador. It must be emphasized these gangs contribute to a ‘‘climate of fear’’ by intimidating anyone who would dare report their activities. It is no wonder that the ordinary person, immigrant or not, would hesitate to become an informant.
My point is that immigrant communities usually do not support these gangs but neither are they quick to provide the authorities with information. The immigrant is caught in the middle. He cannot trust the gangs or the police.
Recently in Jackson, some undocumented immigrants living in a trailer park were allegedly involved in a kidnapping and murder. Again, if such individuals are found guilty according to law then they should be held accountable for their crime.
As the government implements its enforcement measures which will create more fear among our immigrant communities (legal and undocumented), it is my hope that Catholics will not be players in contributing to this “climate of fear.”
When a friend or neighbor makes derogatory remarks about “those illegals” who live in the trailer parks, what will be our response? When we encounter people in the store who “obviously appear to be foreign,” will we turn our heads or will we offer a friendly smile?
Even the smallest gesture can spread either a climate of fear or a climate of peace.
(Sister Jean Juliano, DC, works with the diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry as a legislative advocate.)
