Will We Be Good Samaritans?

These individuals are refugees fleeing violence and should have access to legal counsel so that they can apply for asylum and protection in the United States. 

It's been a long time since I posted anything about our immigration mess; and now, in light of the recent wave of refugees in our midst, and my government's response, I have put together this post.  I would hope that churches in Milwaukee would share my sense of urgency to respond to this crisis and violation of our Christian values and beliefs.  

ICE Raids began in January 2016 to deport Central American children and adults who lost their asylum cases because they did not have adequate legal counsel or were given deportation orders in absentia or through “rocket dockets” meant to expedite trials but in reality deny due process. ICE arrested 121 migrants, mostly from Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina.  The Obama administration defended its deportation tactics and confirmed it has begun raids on families, despite Democratic candidates and immigrant advocates saying officials could be sending mothers and children to their deaths. 

Question for People of Faith:  How is this consistent with our values?

"As I have said repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration; if you come here illegally, we will send you back consistent with our laws and values," Jeh Johnson said in a written statement announcing the raids.   He said those arrested were adults and their children apprehended after May 1, 2014, who have exhausted their legal remedies and appeals.  

Advocates say Johnson misstates the case entirely, as they did not cross the border illegally, but turned themselves in and asked for help escaping violence.  "Jeh Johnson, which part of 'refugee' do you not understand?" asked Dominican Sr. Bernadine Karge.  Read more about Global Sisters, a project of the National Catholic Reporter.

Jesus asks “who is the neighbor”?  What is the real central question for us?  “But, they broke the law” is a common response in most discussions about immigrants and refugees.  Using the Parable of the Good Samaritan Ruben Garcia, founder and director of the Annunciation House in El Paso, TX., asks us whether we will choose to be a Levite or a Samaritan.  

REFUGEES - Maryknoll Sr. Jean Fallon urges her fellow Maryknollers to to cease and desist using the word migrant to describe the masses of Latin Americans who have fled their countries, especially those escaping violence in the "northern triangle" of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, in search of a better - and safer - life in the United States.  "The majority are now refugees.”   Source:  National Catholic Reporter, Vol. 52, No 5.

ASYLUM - According to Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of DHS, 88 percent of the mothers and children that are or were held in three family detention centers have been found to have credible fear that meets the threshold for qualifying for asylum.  NBCnews_1_7_16

Pope Francis choses as the theme of the 2016 World Day of Migrants and Refugees: Migrants and Refugees Challenge Us. The Response of the Gospel of Mercy….Biblical revelation urges us to welcome the stranger; it tells us that in so doing, we open our doors to God, and that in the faces of others we see the face of Christ himself….Each of us is responsible for his or her neighbour: we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they live….Dear brothers and sisters, migrants and refugees! At the heart of the Gospel of mercy the encounter and acceptance by others are intertwined with the encounter and acceptance of God himself. Welcoming others means welcoming God in person!   This is the Response of the Gospel of Mercy.

We Disagree.  “We disagree with the underlying rationale behind this action: that sending children and families back to the dangerous environment they fled will serve as a deterrent for other children and families who are considering fleeing Central America,” said the Jan. 8 letter, signed by Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio L. Elizondo of Seattle, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee on Migration, and Bishop Kevin W. Vann of Orange, California, chairman of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.   Read more about the Bishops’ statement on calling for an end to deportations on the Catholic News Service.

Welcoming the refugee:  a Corporal Work of Mercy?  In  our Catholic tradition there are two types of works of mercy: spiritual and corporal.  The traditional corporal works of mercy include: Feed the hungry, Give drink to the thirsty, Clothe the naked, Visit the imprisoned, Shelter the homeless, Visit the sick, and Bury the dead.  Given the current world crisis of migrants and refugees, might welcoming the refugee be one of the most urgent works of mercy that Christians are being called to?  How are our congregations responding? 

What Does Immigration Have To Do With Me?  Ruben Garcia is the founder and director of the Annunciation House in El Paso, TX.  Ruben speaks about his experiences with immigration and debunks some of the more common myths surrounding immigration from a historical perspective.

El Salvador Deemed Too Dangerous For Peace Corps, But Not For Deportees!  One of the most violent places in the World, El Salvador has been declared too dangerous for our Peace Corps.  Yet our government continues to deport Salvadorans back.  It's not just the Peace Corps that considers El Salvador to be dangerous. The State Department reissued a warning in June for Americans considering traveling there, citing the rate of violent crimes in the country. According to the State Department, 34 Americans have been murdered in the country since January 2010, including a 9-year-old, and only six of their cases resulted in convictions. Although "there is no information to suggest that U.S. citizens are specifically targeted by criminals," the department warns, "crime and violence are serious problems throughout the country."

Salvadorans are in the greatest danger, which many experts say is the primary reason people, especially mothers and children, are fleeing for other countries.  Since October, border agents have apprehended more than 5,000 Salvadoran children traveling without their parents and more than 7,200 Salvadoran families.  Read more here.

The New Sanctuary Movement (NSM) is a national movement, rooted in the values and vision of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980’s, when communities of faith rose up to provide refuge, support, and advocacy for refugees from Central America who were not being granted legal immigration status in the U.S.  In recent years, communities of faith have risen again to support families who are facing separation due to unjust immigration laws, and together with immigrants, we work for justice and dignity for all.  Read more about the NSM in Milwaukee.

The Rebirth of the Sanctuary Movement.  We are a growing movement of immigrant and over 300 faith communities doing what Congress and the Administration refuse to do: protect and stand with immigrants facing deportation.  Visit http://sanctuary2014.org.  then, pray over what action we should take.

Faith Community Rapid Response to Immigration Raids Targeting Central American Asylum Seekers.  

Current Context: Faith communities are developing a rapid response to the Obama administration’s targeting of asylum seekers from Central America if they have been issued a final deportation order since January 1, 2014.  These families are fleeing intense violence and persecution and if they’re deported they could very likely meet death upon their return. Many have had to present their case in immigration court  without legal representation or in mass trials termed “rocket-dockets” which have made a mockery of our justice system and are violating due process rights. Throughout the country there is a network of congregations that advocate for immigrants rights and many have also declared themselves Immigrant Welcoming and/or are part of the Sanctuary Movement. Now is a time for rapid response.  Access the Raids Rapid Response Toolkit at StopSeparatingFamilies.org 

Faith Communities as Safe Refuge:  We are calling on congregations to open their doors to individuals and families who have a deportation order and may be a target of these ICE raids. Congregations can act as temporary safe havens, spaces of refuge and shelter until there is word that the raids have passed.  This could be a night, a week or several weeks. (Note: This is temporary refuge, which is different than taking a Sanctuary Case that generally lasts until they can win their case).

These immigrant families from Central America are seeking asylum and fleeing persecution and extreme violence.  ICE has strict guidelines not to enter sensitive locations such as schools or churches unless it is a matter of national security or in pursuit of “dangerous felons”.

UCC Churches offer Sanctuary.  The moral statement from the faith community remains unchanged. "You cannot say, 'Love your neighbor as yourself' and turn your back on people threatened with deportation.”  United Church of Christ pastors from Arizona and California to Minnesota are encouraging others in the faith community to shield families that are at-risk for deportation.

Faith community’s response to the current anti-immigrant wave.  The Hill (Op-Ed)  By Rev. John Dorhauer.  All are welcome in the realm of God, and it is our call to live that out that welcome.  When local police are more focused on immigration status than community safety, families are separated and dreams destroyed.  Jorge’s story demonstrates this reality.

Church leaders in El Salvador denounced the deportations.  The Roman Catholic archbishop of San Salvador, José Luis Escobar, used the occasion of his Sunday press conference to call on president Obama to stop the deportations.   Salvadoran Lutheran bishop Medardo Gomez called for migrants who had fled for their lives to be granted asylum in the US, and warned of what could befall them if they were sent back to El Salvador.   More at Tim’s El Salvador Blog.

Republicans get the red card. Mr. President, time to act is now!

This morning, Rep. Luis Gutierrez made headlines from the House floor when he announced the conclusion of the three-month window Republicans had to pass immigration reform.  In April, Gutierrez told House Republicans that the next few weeks represented a must-take opportunity for Republicans if they were serious about immigration legislation.  That time has passed, and House GOPers have dithered away the time, making excuses rather than act.  The three month period is now over, and time is up for Republicans.  The reform process will move on without them now, focusing on President Obama, who has indicated that he will take action on deportations.  Republicans, meanwhile, will now head toward the 2016 elections without anything to show Latino voters on immigration reform — even though losing that demographic is the reason why they lost the Presidential election.

Read Rep. Gutierrez’s full speech from today, below, or view the video:

Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor on April 2 to tell my Republican colleagues that they had three months to craft an immigration policy before the July 4 recess.

At the time, there was still hope that sensible Republicans would see that their existence as a national party depended on getting the immigration issue resolved.

I came back to this well almost every week to remind my Republican colleagues that time was running out.

With the nation gripped by World Cup fever, let me give you a visual representation of my message for the last three months:

[YELLOW CARD] I gave Republicans a yellow card to put them on warning that they must act on immigration — and if they failed to act – they would be out of the game.

Having met with the President in March, I knew he was prepared to give Republicans time to craft an immigration reform bill– but if they failed to take action, I knew the President intended to use his pen and pad to save families at risk of being split up by deportation.

But let’s review where we stand three months after I gave you that first warning.

A year ago this Friday marks the one-year anniversary of passage of the bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill that passed with 68 votes.  We had our own group of eight in the House crafting a tough but fair immigration compromise but politics slowed us down and the effort collapsed.

But some leaders in the Republican Party – knowing that immigration reform is the only way to achieve border security, workplace verification like E-Verify, legal immigration to feed our economy, and compassion and justice for how we treat our immigrant neighbors and friends – some in the Republican Party kept trying.

And on my side of the aisle we kept an open mind.  When the Speaker said no to the Senate bill, I said, OK, let’s find a way to craft a House bill.  When Republicans said no to a conference, I said we will find a way to make it work if that is what you need.  Piecemeal bills, not one comprehensive bill – we will work with you.  No direct path to citizenship for most immigrants, well, we don’t like it, but let’s keep talking.

No one tried harder than I did to keep the two parties talking about how to move forward on immigration.  There are Members of the Republican Conference who need immigration reform politically, others who want it because it restores law and order, and others for reasons deeply grounded in their conservative philosophy.  Still others are fighting for reform out of a sense of compassion and doing the right thing as a nation.

But months passed and Republicans turned their backs on their own Members, turned their backs on the American people, turned their backs on the business community, on Latino and Asian voters, and on those trying to save the Republican Party from itself.

But I kept hoping the better angels in the Republican Party would tamp down the irrational and angry angels blocking reform the American people want and deserve.

And then the last straw.

As violence, poverty and gangs drive families out of Central America, I see Republican Members of Congress and their allies in talk radio and TV taking advantage of a humanitarian crisis to score political points.

In a few hours, the Judiciary Committee – which has done nothing to help move the Republican Party and the Congress forward on immigration – will hold a hearing on what it calls Obama’s “Administration-made disaster on the U.S.-Mexico border.”

I gave you the warning three-months ago and now I have no other choice.

[RED CARD]  You’re done.  Leave the field.  Too many flagrant offenses and unfair attacks and too little action while you run out the clock.  You are out.  Hit the showers. I’m giving you the red card.

First of all, your chance to play a role in how immigration and deportation policies are carried out this year is over.  Having been given ample time and space to craft legislation, you failed, the President now has no other choice but to act within existing law to ensure that our deportation policies are humane, that due-process rights are protected, that detention conditions are as they should be, and most importantly – that the people we are deporting are detriments to our communities, not assets to our families, economy, and society.

And I think we all know that you are out when it comes to the White House.  By taking no action – even after repeated warnings – you have decided it is up to the Democrats to pick Supreme Court Justices, conduct foreign policy, and carry out all of the functions of the Executive Branch for a generation or more to come.

The Republican presidential nominee, whoever he may be, will enter the race with an Electoral College deficit he cannot make up.

Republicans in the House simply have no answer when it comes to immigration reform and Republicans have failed America and failed themselves.

Mr. Speaker, it is now up to the President to act.

Tagged as: rep. luis gutierrez

The U.S. Created Child Migrant Crisis

"But what’s clear for anyone following the situation in Central America is that these children need no other motivation to travel thousands of miles, walk through a searing desert and face all kinds of human dangers than the already hellish conditions in their home countries, conditions supported and oftentimes designed by the very same government now trying to remedy an “urgent humanitarian situation.”"

This article was written by By Hector Luis Alamo, Jr. for Latino Rebels on June 18, 2014.

When a coup removed the democratically-elected leftist president of Honduras in June 2009, receiving tacit support from the U.S. State Department, the American people barely took notice. Then when the United States increased military funding in its little protectorate to reinforce the new right-wing regime installed there, the American public still remained largely unaware and unconcerned. Even after it was reported that Honduras had become “the most dangerous country in the world” a year after the coup (it still is), and that a campaign against drug cartels in Mexico had made Honduras a major distribution point for drugs making their way from South American producers to American consumers, Americans couldn’t be bothered.

They focused all of their attention on Mexico, and their tunnel vision is somewhat understandable. The United States and Mexico share a long, porous border, and Americans have been worried about the violence in Mexico being exported to the United States—though looking at cities like Chicago, it’s hard to argue that it hasn’t already. In addition, considering Mexico is the second largest country in Latin America, with Mexicans making up the largest slice of immigrants in the United States, it seems only natural that the average American would view the topic of immigration as “a Mexico thing.”

But now that child migrants from Honduras and other Central American countries have begun appearing on America’s doorstep, the formerly negligible crises in the region has suddenly been upgraded to an “urgent humanitarian situation” by President Barack Obama.

I guess it’s true what they say, “All politics is local.”

For the past few weeks, the immigration debate in the United States has almost completely shifted to talk of child migrants making the dangerous journey from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to the U.S.-Mexico border, ever since President Obama released a presidential memo on June 2 asking Congress for an additional $1.4 billion in federal funds to address the issue. He even tasked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deal with the problem.

Cecilia Muñoz, Obama’s director of domestic policy, revealed that the number of child migrants traveling alone has been on the rise since 2009, and Border Patrol reports that “the apprehension of Unaccompanied Alien Children from Central America” has increased by 92 percent from last year, with the largest number of children coming from Honduras. Already over 13,000 Honduran children have been caught at the border this year, a far cry from the 968 apprehended in 2009. And this year’s figure is already twice as high as the number of Honduran children caught at the U.S. border in all of 2013.

Controversy surrounds possible reasons for the recent “surge,” as the government refers to it. Some believe Central Americans are under the false impression that child migrants who make it to U.S. soil are granted some sort of amnesty. More than a few of Obama’s criticsaccuse the president of fueling this belief through lax enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

To undo America’s image as a “golden door,” personalities as seemingly diverse as the Congressional Republicans and soon-to-be presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton demand the Obama administration send a clear message to the people of Central America that migrants of any age caught at the U.S. border will be sent back to their home countries. Vice President Joe Biden has been sent to Guatemala to meet with Central American leaders and relay the message. In this way the U.S. government hopes its unwelcoming stance will deter would-be migrants.

But what’s clear for anyone following the situation in Central America is that these children need no other motivation to travel thousands of miles, walk through a searing desert and face all kinds of human dangers than the already hellish conditions in their home countries, conditions supported and oftentimes designed by the very same government now trying to remedy an “urgent humanitarian situation.”

Since its early years the United States has sought to dominate Central America rather than empower it, as evidenced by policies such as the Monroe Doctrine and its Roosevelt Corollary, the deceptive “Good Neighbor” policy that left harsh dictatorships virtually unmolested, the Kennedy Doctrine that sought to combat socialism in Latin America at any cost, the Reagan Doctrine took things up a notch and the concurrent wars on terrorism and drugs in Latin America. In fact, the history of U.S. imperialistic policy in Latin America is so shameful, you’d be hard-pressed to point to one position or action taken in the region that benefited the people of Latin America. In any case, the net result of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, especially in Central America, is overwhelmingly negative.

The U.S. government’s primary objective in Honduras, as with the rest of Latin America, has never been to establish a safe and prosperous society for its citizens. The Honduran government has simply been a proxy for U.S. business interests, first the United Fruit Company, and now the U.S. military-industrial complex. And because Washington’s game plan has been so successful in Honduras, we have our glimpse at what could be in store for Central America and beyond. Order and peace is desired by policymakers insofar as it creates an environment for the U.S. government and the governments it controls can impose neoliberal policies on the region and extract wealth.

It’s no surprise then that Honduras, the original banana republic, and the poster child for U.S. meddling run amok, should today be the country of origin for the greatest number of child migrants. The United States’ vampirish policy toward Honduras has drained that country.

As well as implementing a foreign policy that has forged the kind of Central America we see today —impoverished and unstable, with weak systems ill-equipped to resurrect themselves. U.S. drug consumption and the U.S. war on drugs have created both high demand and a black market for illegal narcotics, making the production, distribution and sale of drugs a lucrative enterprise. So lucrative, in fact, that in a region offering its citizens no other route out of extreme poverty, many have deemed it worth killing for.

Enforcement is not the solution to the latest version of the United States’ immigration issue. To stem immigration, if that’s indeed what is desired, the United States needs to make Central America habitable again, especially since the U.S. government has been the major instigator in the region for at least the past century. The Obama administration and future presidential administrations must recognize the socioeconomics behind the child migrant crisis. Washington has to realize that it can no longer fund right-wing regimes to combat criminal groups like Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18, when doing so only endorses the kind of neoliberal policies in those countries that foster further poverty and despair, thus leading many to join gangs in the first place.

What Honduran parents want for their children is what any parent wants for their child, which is merely the opportunity to build a decent life that is healthy and secure. The child migrants traveling to the U.S. border aren’t making the journey with dreams of buying mansions and sports cars once they get here. They come just as millions of other immigrants have come since the nation’s founding: “tired” and “poor.” They are “the homeless,” the “tempest-tost,” the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

There was a time when America extended her hand to people like that, no matter where they were. Now we’re withdrawing that hand just when child migrants are so desperate to come here, and even though we’ve made them that way.

***

Hector Luis Alamo, Jr. is a Chicago-based writer. You can connect with him @HectorLuisAlamo.

Posted by Portside on June 22, 2014

Let's just build more WALLS?

The letter below appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday October 14, 2011 in the Letters to the Editors "Your Opinions" section.  Under the heading of IMMIGRATION the letter was titled Border Wall Would Solve Some Problems.  My response follows.

       I am afraid Sara Spry, who wants the United States to give more aid to Mexico lives in Fantasyland ("U.S. should give neighbor more aid," Oct. 9).  Even she admits that Mexico has not been holding up a good reputation and that we are over our heads in debt.
       Those are excellent reasons for not helping a country that has encouraged its peoples to go north to transfer their problems to us.
       The answer lies in another direction.  We can help solve several of our problems by building a wall on our border with Mexico.  Several good things would happen immediately.  First, we create a huge number of jobs building and staffing the wall.  By stopping the flow of illegal immigrants, we reduce the huge burden that they inflict upon our schools and social aid agencies.
       If the wall is good enough, it also would greatly slow the flow of drugs into the U.S., thus reducing our problems in the war against drugs.  It would help Mexico, too, as eliminating the U.S. as a market would help stop the drug gangs from fighting to dominate the drug trade.
       Any aid we send to other countries should be sent where it is appreciated, not where greed and corruption make our help useless.  Mexico should be told that we want to be friends who treat each other with respect. 
                                            Signed: John L. Albert,  Grafton, Wisconsin


      An open letter to Mr. John L. Albert of Grafton, and to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

I want to thank you, Mr. Albert, for reinforcing the simplistic notion that building a "Border wall would solve some problems" (MJS, October 14, 2011, Letters to the Editor).

I'm currently living and teaching English in El Salvador, Central America.  This is my 17th visit to El Salvador spanning 20 years.  May I offer a few alternative perspectives from this side of the WALL?

We've already created a huge number of security jobs on our southern border.  We started building the wall years ago.  Walls and border security are projects of the Federal government and the private companies who contract with the Federal government.  Security measures such as this wall are mostly non-productive in the sense that they result in a constant and ever increasing expenditure of public funds with little or no comparable return on our investment.  None of this, alone, does much to create a more secure world for ourselves or our neighbors.  You acknowledge that we are over our heads in debt.  So, I have to ask you, Mr. Albert, how much more are you willing to pay in taxes for more walls?

In this world of ours we can't build enough walls to keep "trouble" out of our backyards.  While you may think that countries such as Mexico actually encourage their people to go north so as to transfer "their problem" to us, I can tell you that this phenomenon isn't just restricted to Mexico.  People from all of South America, and especially Central America, continue to try to go north.
I have yet to meet a mother who is happy that her 16 year old daughter or son attempts the journey north.  Nor have I ever met any young children who don't cry for their mother who has left them with auntie or grandma because she felt compelled to go north to seek employment in order to feed her children.

Why do you think they risk their lives and their future in an attempt to reach the United States, or Canada, or Italy, or Spain, or Australia?

There isn't hardly a family in this country that hasn't been directly affected by the war that we Americans funded, nor by the reality of poverty and violence and lack of opportunity which has forced their loved ones to go elsewhere for survival.  This migration has caused significant familial and societal problems for the losing countries which continue to experience broken families and communities.  And those who cannot escape must live in a world ever increasingly controlled and threatened by gang violence and organized crime involved in human trafficking and drug and arms smuggling.

This isn't just "their problem."  It's a problem we helped create, and we perpetuate.  I urge you to learn the real history of this part of the world since Columbus arrived here.  And, in particular, to learn of our involvement in El Salvador during the years of intense repression and massacres, financed and supported mostly by you and I through our government and our military industrial complex.  We have a lot of Salvadoran blood on our hands.

I also urge you to do some research on the real impact of our so called Free Trade Agreements with this part of the world.  You will learn alot about the causes of "their problem."

But, let's move the focus of our discussion a little closer to home.  Seventeen percent of Milwaukeeans are Latinos (MJS October 13, 2011).  Yet, many of those are without legal status.  We're keeping them walled in by refusing to give them legal status.  The same goes for dairy farm workers in Wisconsin, over 40% of whom are undocumented, yet they continue to provide us with our milk, butter and cheeses.

Why do we refuse to regularize their presence in our communities, in our places of work?  Why don't we want to help their children to receive a university education?  Why don't we want the working adults to have drivers' licenses so they can legally drive to their jobs and buy car insurance?

Several years ago the State of Wisconsin acknowledged that the State could generate over one million dollars throught the issuance of drivers certificates.  Our police and Highway Patrol supported the Safe Roads Campaign because it would make our roads safer.  Yet our lawmakers refused to pass new laws to enhance our security while at the same time generating much needed State revenue.  Why do we prefer to keep these undocumented people walled in by our obstinance?

Better that we recognize the millions of Latinos who are members of our cities and towns and farming communities, the vast majority of whom aren't involved in drugs or other illegal activities.  Yet, we continue to go after them with a vengence.  During FY 2010 the Obama administration kicked a million people out of the US as part of an on-going program to purge our country of these undesireable "illegals."

Yes, of course, some of them had criminal records or were facing serious legal charges.  Yet, the Coalition for Immigrant Human Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), as well the Center for American Progress and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have indicated that the majority of those deported since the inception of the program in 2006 did not have prior criminal records nor did they pose a threat to national security.

Mr. Albert, in a country of over 311,000,000 people why do you feel threatened by less than four percent of the population, refusing to legalize their status, while at the same denying their long-term contributions to our society?

All you seem to be able to see is the "huge burden that they inflict on our schools and social aid agencies".  Who are the "they" that you are referring to?  Only three and one-half percent of our entire national population is undocumented.  And, the vast majority of those are working, paying taxes, and contributing to our economic life.  Golly, for all we know, Mr. Albert, they might even be cutting your lawn and maintaining your pool up there in Grafton.

I refer you to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of September 21, 2011 "Poverty numbers spike in Milwaukee."  29.5% of Milwaukee city residents are poor.  171,521 people, including 50% of the city's children.  We are among America's 10 most impoverished cities.  And, our poverty is not just confined to our city.  No social burden there, huh?  And the huge burden that these kids inflict on us when their parents want them to be educated using my tax dollars!

Let's talk about drugs for a minute.  The U.S. is the world's largest market and biggest consumer of the illegal substances that are passing through Central America.  We buy and sell.  We consume.  We use.  Through all this drug buying and using are we not inflicting a huge burden on ourselves?  And to keep the war going we sell weaponry back.  To both sides.  To the narcos and the police.  Guess who's caught in the middle?

Recently, Mauricio Funes, the President of El Salvador, chided the U.S. in his address to the United Nations, noting that the US has a "moral responsibility" in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.  Funes explained that drugs move through the countries of Central America to "cross our land to the United States, accompanied by weapons that corrupt public and private officials, leaving chaos and dead bodies" in their wake (Diario El Mundo, September 24, 2011, El Salvador).

Wouldn't it be nice if one long wall would eliminate the U.S. as a drug market?  But, we can't just build a bigger wall and then sit back and think we've met our moral responsibility.

We need comprehensive immigration reform to address both the internal and external realities of poverty, human smuggling, immigration, drug trafficking, and organized crime.  We've got to get way beyond the simplistic notion of wall building as the way to deal with "their problem."

That's my view from the other side of the WALL.

Will You Pledge?

STEP ONE:  MAKE A PERSONAL PLEDGE TO WORK FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM
Read this.  Copy it.  Modify it according to your beliefs.  Print it.  Sign it.  Live it.
.
MOVED BY MY FAITH and our common unity as members of the one Body of Christ, I hereby confess to the following:
.
I BELIEVE that everyone, regardless of national origin, has basic common rights, including but not limited to livelihood, family unity, and physical and emotional safety. 
.
I BELIEVE that  current U.S. immigration policy and practice violates these rights, particularly in the separation of children from their parents due to unjust deportations, and in the exploitation of immigrant workers.  I am deeply grieved by the violence done to families through immigration raids. I cannot in good conscience ignore such suffering and injustice.  
.
I RECOGNIZE the contributions of all immigrants to our society throughout the history of our country, and especially today. 
.
THEREFORE, I HEREBY AFFIRM: 
my support of all immigrants and their families in our country;
my demand for comprehensive immigration reform as a way to keep families together, to include a path to legal, permanent residence and citizenship;
my support for the U.S. and Mexican Catholic Bishops in their pastoral letter on migration, “Strangers No Longer: Together on a Journey of Hope.” as they call for comprehensive reform of our broken immigration system. (www.justiceforimmigrants.org)
.
THEREFORE, I HEREBY PLEDGE:
to take a public, moral stand for immigrants’ rights;
to educate ourselves about issues facing immigrants in our society, and about the current status of immigrant related legislation;
to be a compassionate and persistent voice for justice for our immigrant sisters and brothers.
.
SIGNED and DATED: _____________________________________________

A Million Postcards

Catholics across the country are signing postcards calling for immigration reform.  Read Jim Wallis' blog about the Catholic Justice For Immigrants Campaign by going to:  Bishops Flex Moral Muscles For Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

CHRISTIANS FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
Here's a great website with loads of links to relevant and up-to-date stories and information.  You can also sign up for immigration updates from CCIR.  Learn about TPS and the Haitians, and much more.  Go to:  Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.

The Question of Immigration in America
The Vatican’s Fides News Service issued a 12-page document that sharply criticizes U.S. immigration policies and praises the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for taking a position against ineffective enforcement policies. The document, titled “The Question of Immigration in America,” was published in November 2008, and is available for download here.

A New Deal for Immigrants in 2010?   By David L. Wilson
"The Gutierrez bill has a number of attractive features.  Its big flaw is that it's not going to pass."  So says David Wilson in the Axis of Logic.
"Can immigrants win a New Deal in 2010?"  According to Wilson, "That will depend on a lot of things.  One will be the impact of mobilizations by immigrants and their allies -- not just the large protests but also small dramatic actions.... But another factor will be how vocal and effective we are in presenting the issues behind the mobilizations.  If we do the job right, we'll at least be able to weaken the influence of the anti-immigrant "tea parties," and we'll start to change the terms of the debate.  Under the right circumstances, we might even build enough pressure on Congress to get a real immigration reform."
.
Read Wilson's informative article with excellent links by going to: Article_57981.shtml.

National Migration Week, January 3-9, to Focus on Migrant and Refugee Children
WASHINGTON—The Catholic Church in the United States will celebrate National Migration Week on January 3-9, 2010. The theme this year will again be “Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice,” although the focus will be migrant and refugee children, following the lead of the Pope Benedict XVI, who has chosen the theme “Minor Migrants and Refugees” for the 2010 World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
.
“Children are an exceptionally vulnerable population that are easily taken advantage of, exploited and abused...” said Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the U.S. Conference of  Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Migration.  
For the complete statement go to:  National Migration Week

Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity

On December 15, 2009 Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced new legislation, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP), to the U.S. House of Representatives.   Gutierrez was joined by members of many different faiths and backgrounds, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus and Progressive Caucus. Go to: http://luisgutierrez.house.gov/.  To read the Press Release go to: PRArticle To read the proposed legislation go to:  H.R.4321:

Gamaliel Foundation Calls For...
--faith communities, people of faith and all people of good will to welcome, assist, and befriend immigrants;
--faith communities, people of faith and all people of good will to speak out for just and fair treatment of immigrants;
--public policy changes which secure civil rights for all immigrants, including:

• a broad legalization of undocumented immigrants who are  contributing to the social and economic security of this nation

• full labor protection and labor rights for immigrants

• humane border enforcement policies that, while protecting the security  of this nation, emphasize the safety and dignity of immigrants and of- fer a legal, safe, and orderly alternative for those seeking to cross our borders in order to work

• an end to the inhumane detention and warehousing of asylum seekers who have committed no crime and who have come to this country seeking freedom

• a reform of U.S. family-based legalization categories to encourage family unity in the immigration process

• an end to deportation for minor offenses

• protection of the civil liberties of all people regardless of citizenship

For the full proclamation go to:  www.gamaliel.org