Archdiocese launches campaign on immigration
by Joseph Kenny, St. Louis Review Staff Writer
As the "Justice for Immigrants" campaign begins in the archdiocese, Catholics are asked to learn about the need for a reform of the U.S. immigration system.
Leo Anchondo, national director of the campaign sponsored by a coalition of 20 Catholic organizations, noted that misinformation and myths have been spread about the issue. He has worked for Catholic Charities in New Mexico and Texas and has more than seven years’ experience in immigration legal representation. He spoke to about 80 people at the Cardinal Rigali Center in Shrewsbury April 24.
Those who oppose reforms backed by the U.S. bishops have mischaracterized the Church’s position, Anchondo said.
Polling shows that once people understand the reform proposals they change their opposition, he said.
"We are not advocating an open border system," Anchondo said. "Nations have a right and responsibility to control their territory, just as long as this control is not exerted solely for acquiring more wealth."
At the same time, he said, there is a duty to welcome the stranger and to respect human dignity. In the last 15 years there has been a significant increase in immigration, much of it through illegal channels. The number of immigrants went from nearly 20 million to 30 million between 1990-2000, from 8 percent of the population to 11 percent. That still is far fewer than in 1910 when the foreign-born population stood at 15 percent of the U.S. population, he noted. Anchondo asked people to study the proposals supported by the Church.
He said the Church would agree with its critics that the immigration system is broken. "Illegal entry, unauthorized entry, is not good for anyone. It’s not good for the migrant, not good for national security, not good for family unity, not good for our country."
He said there is a need for more immigrants than what the laws permit.
Economic experts note that immigrants play a vital role in the U.S. economy by working in industries in need of labor, he said. They point out that immigrants contribute more resources to the nation, in terms of taxes and their labor, than they use.
A study by the National Research Council found that the average immigrant pays nearly $1,800 per year more than he or she consumes in benefits such as education and health care. When the contributions of U.S.-citizen children of immigrants are considered, the economic benefit is even higher. The Social Security system is particularly helped by immigrants, the study showed.
Material distributed by Anchondo noted that studies show that immigrant workers supplement rather than displace native workers, and for the most part do not compete for the same jobs.
Immigrant workers fill jobs in areas where there is a dearth of native workers, such as meat-packing plants in Nebraska and chicken-processing plants in Delaware and Maryland, according to a study by the university of California-Davis. The U.S. Department of Labor forecasts a shortage of 2 million workers in a range of low-skilled occupations by 2010.
Legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants are not eligible for most federal benefit programs such as welfare assistance. Legal immigrants are barred from these benefits the first five years in the country and thereafter subject to a separate qualification process.
Illegal immigrants are eligible only for programs such as school lunch, emergency medical and public health programs.
Laws that restrict the number of immigrants to a few and seek to make entry harder "are not humane, not just and don’t serve the common good," Anchondo said.
He noted that the U.S. Border Patrol budget has increased 10 times in the last six years.
"The bishops are requesting legislation that expands opportunities for family reunification and allows workers protection," he said.
The bishops oppose an amnesty program but instead support an earned legalization program for those in the United States who did not enter through legal channels. Anchondo said the root causes of immigration need to be addressed. He said trade laws have ignored the human element.
He said reform also should address human trafficking crimes that accompany illegal immigration.
The main point, he said, is to have a Christian attitude and see the face of Jesus in the immigrant. More information is available on the campaign’s Web site www.justiceforimmigrants.org.
A candlelight prayer vigil for immigration reform will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, 4431 Lindell Blvd.
Originally published in the St. Louis Review on April 28, 2006. Reprinted with permission
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