EDITORIAL

Human dignity at stake in heated immigration debate

The Catholic Sun | July 15, 2010

The sizzling summer heat Arizonans have come to know and love is back. After an unusually mild May, last week's highs soared to 115 degrees, sending even the most seasoned and well-tanned Zonie indoors.

As July 29 approaches — that's when Arizona's controversial new immigration law is scheduled to take effect — expect things to go from hot to inferno with additional protests and marches, led by both proponents and critics.

In the three months since Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed SB 1070, a law that makes it a punishable crime to be in the state without documentation, Arizona has garnered a remarkable amount of national attention on the matter, not to mention protests and lawsuits. The topic of immigration has sparked heated debate in the media and in communities across the country. It has also, regrettably, prompted other states, municipalities and organizations to protest the law by way of boycotting or refusing to do business with Arizona.

While opinions may be split on the new law, everyone, it seems, agrees that something must be done to fix America's immigration system.

A possible silver lining has come out of the fracas: The debate has reignited a sense of urgency at the federal level to address this very important issue, which many had speculated would not receive any attention in a year dominated by health care reform and an ongoing economic crisis.

In a July 1 speech, President Obama made his case to fix the immigration system by calling on lawmakers in a bipartisan effort to reform America's immigration system.

Comprehensive immigration reform as bullet-pointed by the U.S. bishops includes the following key elements:

• Bring the undocumented population in this country out of the shadows and give them a chance, over time, to achieve permanent residency and citizenship.
• Preserve family unity by strengthening family-based immigration.
• Create legal avenues for migration, so that migrant workers, who labor in many important industries in our nation, are able to enter the country legally.
• Give immigrants their day in court by restoring due process protections removed in 1996 legislation.
• Work with neighboring countries and the international community to address the root causes of migration.

We're pleased that the president has chosen to provide exposure to this matter that we as Christians consider to be an issue of human dignity. However, we're troubled that President Obama — in the very same speech calling for a collaborative, bipartisan approach to the matter — seemed to be looking to mix it up with Republican lawmakers by playing the blame game, calling the inaction on the immigration front "election-year politics."

While we recognize that it is an election year — a particularly challenging one at that — we hope and pray that some good comes out of this heated debate.

In the figurative sense, this issue is as hot as they come, with potential political ramifications for lawmakers. In the literal sense, though, this is very much a life-or-death situation for hundreds, if not thousands, who choose to enter the United States each year through the unforgiving desert, where summer temperatures can exceed 120 degrees.

We urge our elected officials on both sides of the aisle to stop with the political posturing and focus on what's most important here. As Americans and as Catholics we're expected to care for, respect and defend the dignity of all, especially those most vulnerable. These are our shared values and our shared mission. We should expect nothing less from those who represent us.

Like other hot-button issues, the immigration debate tests our patience and our charity. But let us not let our ire get the best of us. And most of all, let us not let this opportunity pass us by.

Recognizing human dignity — in the immigrant, in the borderland farmer and in those with differing ideas — can lead us through a cool, respectful debate that can bear much fruit — even in the blistering sun.