In what is becoming a springtime ritual, Congress is again turning its attention to immigration reform.

The U.S. bishops praised H.R. 1645 — the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act, or STRIVE Act.

That legislation, introduced by Illinois Democrat Luis Gutierrez and Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, “best comports with the principles needed for a just and humane immigration bill,” said San Bernardino Bishop Gerald R. Barnes, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ migration committee in a letter to Congress April 23. 

The bill promotes family reunification and has “a realistic plan for bringing undocumented immigrants out of the shadows,” Bishop Barnes said.

The bishop took issue with President Bush’s proposal last month, which he said could be harmful to immigrants.

“As we understand it, the administration’s proposal would effectively leave many immigrants seeking to legalize their status in a permanent underclass and would encourage family breakdown in immigrant communities,” he said.

While hopes are high that meaningful legislation will be passed, immigrants continue to die crossing the border. The U.S. Border Patrol reported finding nearly 50 dead bodies since October. They’ve also apprehended more than 200,000 illegal immigrants crossing the Arizona border in that same time period.

April is one of the highest months for illegal border crossing, according to the Border Patrol.

Members of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, who watch and report groups of illegal immigrants on the border, responded to the influx with 30 days of heightened surveillance.

Road to Reform
How do Minutemen figure into immigration debate?

By J.D. Long-García, The Catholic Sun
May 3, 2007

THREE POINTS, Ariz. — Ray Ross sits in the bed of his pickup truck, waiting for “aliens,” but not of the outer space variety.

He and his patrol partner, Terry Hartley, watch for illegal immigrants crossing the Sonoran Desert.

Ross and Hartley are members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. Before becoming a Minuteman, Ross used to feed migrants with his Catholic parish in Palm Springs, Calif.

“I don’t blame them for what they’re doing. I’d probably do the same thing,” he says of the immigrants crossing the border illegally. “But this is getting out of hand.”

Ross, who is now a parishioner at Sacred Heart in Prescott, notes drug and human smuggling, prostitution and migrant deaths among the tragedies resulting from illegal immigration.

He joins forces with 150 of his fellow Minutemen from around the country for an “April Muster,” a month-long surge of civilian patrols along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Teams of volunteers watch for illegal immigrants in eight-hour shifts. When they spot people crossing the desert, they call the U.S. Border Patrol to let them know about it.

Since the Minutemen were founded more than two years ago, they’ve often been portrayed as a radical militia. But in Ross’ estimation, the Minutemen are conservative, not radical.

“Someone conservative is someone who uses common sense,” he says. “I don’t mind people having opposing views, as long as they can discuss it.”

In a way, the Minutemen aren’t unlike humanitarian groups who also work in the Arizona desert. When Minutemen come across migrants, they too offer water and food.

The Minutemen also join humanitarian and immigrant rights groups in their dissatisfaction with the lack of federal immigration reform.

The Minutemen want the border secured and they want the government to uphold the sovereignty of United States. In some ways, their presence in the desert is no more than a protest.

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