Bishop Wenski Says "Let Illegals Stay."

Let `illegals' stay, earn their citizenship

BY THOMAS WENSKI
www.miamiarch.org

To those who accused Jesus of breaking the laws of his day, he replied, in Mark 2:27: ``The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.''

This teaching underscores the point that positive law, even Divine positive law, is meant to benefit, not to enslave, mankind. The patriots who broke the law by tossing tea into Boston Harbor understood this -- as did Rosa Parks, who broke the law by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. When laws fail to advance the common good, they can and should be changed.

Our immigration laws need to be changed: They are antiquated and inadequate for the promotion and regulation of social and economic relations of 21st-century America. On this point everyone seemingly agrees. However, the solutions proposed should not make the situation worse. Outdated laws, ill adapted to the increasing interdependence of our world and the globalization of labor, are bad laws. Proposed changes, however, must take into account both human dignity and the national interest.

For this reason, the U.S. bishops and a broad bipartisan coalition ranging from unions to chambers of commerce have supported broad comprehensive immigration reform that, while addressing future needs for labor by providing for a legal guest-worker program, also offers an ``earned'' path to legalization for those 10 million or so workers already in the country as well as fixing the unacceptable backlogs for family reunification visas that keep families separated for intolerable lengths of time.

A narrow, restrictive legislation focusing on solely ``enforcement'' will only make matters worse. Indeed, a billion dollars has been spent on border enforcement over the past 10 years -- and yet, until this current recession, illegal immigration had increased because the labor market demanded willing and able workers. Illegal immigration should not be tolerated. It leads to abuse and exploitation of the migrants themselves; and, ultimately, businesses that rely on their labor -- and, in doing so, help fuel the growth of the American economy -- would prefer and benefit from a reliable, legal work force.

But, fixing illegal immigration does not require the ``demonization'' of so-called ``illegals.'' America has always been a land of promise and opportunity for those willing to work hard. We can provide for our national security and secure borders without making America, a nation of immigrants, less a land of promise or opportunity for immigrants.

Victor Hugo's 19th-century novel Les Miserables tells how pride and neglect of mercy represented in the bitterly zealous legalism of Inspector Javert ultimately destroys him. Today, modern-day Javerts, on radio and TV talk shows, fan flames of resentment against supposed law breakers, equating them with terrorists intent on hurting us. However, these immigrants ask only for the opportunity to become legal -- to come out of the shadows where they live in fear of a knock on their door in the dead of night or an immigration raid to their work place. Like Jean Valjean, today's migrants only look for the opportunity to redeem themselves through honest work. Today, many take umbrage at the Catholic bishops' advocacy on behalf of these ``illegals'' -- but, in doing so, we stand in a proud moral tradition, like the novel's benevolent Bishop Myriel, who gave his candlesticks to the desperate Jean Valjean and protected him from arrest by Javert.

For this reason, we call upon Congress to seize the opportunity for a comprehensive fix to our broken immigration system. To date, its failure to act has contributed to neo-nativist anti-immigrant sentiment and to ill-advised initiatives like Arizona's recent immigration law that usurps what is the purview of the federal government.

A nation that honors lawbreakers like the patriots of the ``Boston Tea Party,'' a nation that can allow the dignified defiance of Rosa Parks in her act of lawbreaking to touch its conscience, is a nation that also can make room for modern-day Jean Valjeans. We can be a nation of laws, without becoming a nation of Javerts. As Jesus reminded the embittered zealots of his day, laws are designed for the benefit -- not the harm -- of humankind.

Thomas Wenski is the archbishop of the Archidiocese of Miami.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/06/v-print/1667159/let-illegals-stay-earn-their-citizenship.html#ixzz0qHfzjzz0

Comments

[jar]

false analogy - rosa parks and nation defending its borders

usa already allows LEGAL immigration

jumping/cutting in line isn't right, isn't fair to those who follow the rules

[Atlanta Catholic]

Please You Tube "Father Bascio The Immorality of Illegal Immigration" Father Patrick Bascio died recently. May his soul rest in peace and may the Perpetual Light shine upon him. Father Bascio gives very compelling reasons why he changed his mind and started to re-think his previous thoughts regarding illegal immigration.

[Latin Mass]

This is a very well written article and the comments also bring up some valid points. I believe to put my two cents in, from the point of view of God, when looking at the Earth from Heaven, does the Father see borders to our countries? The idea of keeping those out of "our" country is a man made idea. I believe this is some of what the early church would have faced when the decision to allow gentiles to receive the Gospel of our Lord was decided. Again just my opinion.

[m]

He is wrong, many of these people are pro La raza which is a purely race based group, and this attitude is carried into hiring practices and voting which is wrong...

this will lower all of our wages and and make us like mexico extremely poor....

[hark]

LM - so i suppose the idea of keeping your home secure is just another man made idea...

let me know when my room is ready, oh...and what's for dinner?

[James]

The U.S., as a sovereign nation, has every right to decide who it allows and does not allow into its country.

If you disagree, I demand you tear down your fences and dismantle your security systems right now.

I happen to favor more immigration...of the legal kind. I think resistance would lessen if English were required, Christians/Westerners were given preference, and welfare/medical care/education were not paid for by tax dollars; after all, these are the reasons most people have a problem with it.

The immigrant booms of previous centuries were not met with such governmental challenges to pay for services for these people, and everyone profitted from their hard work, industriousness, and creativity.