Church backs comprehensive immigration reform

By J.D. Long-García
The Catholic Sun

U.S. Border Patrol agents seized 287 pounds of cocaine valued at more than $9 million from a Ford Expedition in Pharr, Texas, May 11.

The Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector in Texas has already seized more than $47 million in cocaine this fiscal year.

In the Tucson area, Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 12,000 illegal immigrants April 18-24.

Meanwhile in Washington, Congress is still clashing over immigration reform and compromises aren’t coming easily.

While most senators and representatives agree on securing the border, they disagree on guest worker programs and legalization of illegal immigrants.

“The Catholic Church supports the right of a sovereign nation to control its border,” said Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, Calif., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee on migration.

“As we have stated in the past, however, an enforcement-only approach to this crisis will not solve the problem of illegal immigration,” he said.

Bishop Barnes delivered his comments a few hours before President George W. Bush addressed the nation on immigration May 15.

In his address, the president urged Congress to pass comprehensive legislative reform that included legalization of illegal immigrants and heightened border security.

“We are a nation of laws, and we must enforce our laws,” the president said. “We are also a nation of immigrants, and we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened our country in so many ways.”

President Bush called for secure borders, temporary worker visas and employer accountability in hiring illegal immigrants. He also said immigrants should learn English and pay fines before becoming citizens.

“America’s immigration system is broken, and Congress needs to fix it in a way that provides fair and just reforms while protecting our nation’s security,” said Fr. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities.

“We hope the president’s call for a comprehensive solution ends the effort by some in Congress to focus only on punitive enforcement-only solutions,” he said.

More security

To heighten security, the president is sending 6,000 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Securing the border is something the Church supports,” said Jose Robles, director of Hispanic ministry for the Phoenix Diocese.

This fiscal year Border Patrol has apprehended more than 700,000 illegal immigrants and seized more than 800,000 pounds of marijuana.

“From the Church’s perspective, if the National Guard presence will help save lives down there, then perhaps it’s worth it,” he added. “But we’re not in favor of a militarized border.”

Robles and his office are advising immigrants in the community to get their documents in order and wait for Congress to pass legislation. The community will need to be educated after a law is passed, he said.

“Mexico needs to be more involved when it comes to discouraging people from coming over,” Robles said. He and 11 others will serve on the diocesan Justice for Immigrants Campaign Task Force, which met for the first time May 23.

In “Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope,” the Catholic bishops of Mexico and the United States said both countries’ governments need to be involved.

“Mexican authorities must strengthen efforts to identify and to destroy trafficking operations within Mexico,” the bishops wrote. “Together, both governments should more effectively share information on trafficking operations and should engage in joint action to apprehend and prosecute traffickers.”

Mexican economy

Members from No More Deaths, a faith-based movement that helps migrants on the border, underscored a perspective missing from the president’s address.

“The biggest piece of this puzzle that’s still left out is economic support for Mexico,” said Rev. Gene Lefebvre, a founding member of No More Deaths and pastor of Shadow Rock Congregational United Church of Christ.

“The reason people come up from Mexico is because the economy there is very bad,” he said. “There are things the United Sates could do to help. Some of our policies are causing economic problems.”

Lefebvre said U.S.-supported corn, coffee and other crops undercut the farming industry.

“Many of the people we see crossing the border are coming from southern Mexico” farms, he said. “The farming business has gone down the tubes.”

Baby Boom pull

Yet Dawn McLaren, research economist at the Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business, doesn’t believe despair drives immigrants into the United States.

McLaren said that Baby Boomers — now between the ages of 45 and 65 — are demanding services, “like someone to clean their house or do their lawn.”

While young, native-born Americans once provided those services, McLaren said there aren’t enough young people and they’re busy doing something else.

“Kids between the ages of 15-24 are not going and painting houses over the summer. They’re going and working computer help desks,” she said. “We send them to get more education over the summer or they spend their time doing things other than manual labor.”

The lack of manual laborers creates a huge demand for labor that “Mexico happens to have an excess of,” McLaren said.

“One of the myths is that they’re coming over here seeking a better life,” she said. “Well, they’re not seeking a better life here in the U.S. They come here to earn money to have a better life back home.”

Whatever reason immigrants have for coming, Fr. Snyder said Catholic Charities recognizes the delicate balance between security, ensuring human dignity and family unity.

“Our nation needs immigration reforms that are fair and just to immigrants who have come to this nation in search of a better life while protecting the security of our nation’s borders,” he said.

“We will work to make sure that our government policies keep families together, not break them apart.”