Thanks to Sister Joann Marie for alerting us to this:
Speaking on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Migration, urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and President Bush to reexamine the use of worksite enforcement raids as an immigration enforcement tool.
“The humanitarian costs of these raids are immeasurable and unacceptable in a civilized society,” Bishop Wester said. “While we do not question the right and duty of our government to enforce the law, we do question whether worksite enforcement raids are the most effective and humane method for performing this duty, particularly as they are presently being implemented.”
The statement, released September 10, addresses the increase in worksite enforcement raids across the nation over the last year, in which DHS has targeted employers who hire unauthorized workers by using force to enter worksites and arrest immigrant workers. During the process of these raids, U.S. citizen children have been separated from their parents, immigrants arrested have not been afforded the rights of due process, and local communities, especially relatives including legal permanent residents and U.S. citizens, have been left to cope with the aftermath.
For more information, go to USCCB's Office of Migration and Refugee Services website.
It's so important for us as people, especially as people of faith and conscience, to grow our knowledge on issues such as immigration.
ReplyDeleteThe impact of workplace raids is real and the bishops' statement that you have posted (Thanks, S. Joann Marie, too) requires us to think about the material consequences of raiding workplaces.
While it is true that the government has the right and even arguably the responsibility to enforce its laws, "we the people" also have the right and responsibility to speak out when laws are unjust or selectively enforced. In this electoral season in particular, we need to take advantage of public attention to national issues to renew the call for immigration law reform in U.S., reform that is just, equitable, and necessary from a Gospel perspective.
While we work towards and await comprehensive immigration reform that is based in and expressed in recognition of the dignity of the human person, there are many things we as individuals can do in every day life to support a culture that celebrates the lives and dignity of all people, regardless from where they come, regardless of whether they carry documentation.
Language is such a powerful tool. As I read this post, I was struck by the language of immigration law enforcement: "Conducting raids" is structurally violent act. Of course, sometimes as a law enforcement tool it is necessary, but when we think about the structural violence of this enforcement mechanism ESPECIALLY in the non-violent space of the workplace in contrast to the violation of law (individuals being "without papers") to which it responds, it often seems in my view like an 800 lb. gorilla pouncing on a baby mouse.
In any case, here's one small way we can all use language as a positive tool for social change: In every day talk on this issue, many well-meaning people, even people who consider themselves allies of immigrants, use the expression "illegal immigrants" in conversational references. The notion of "illegal" often, however, in our society suggests something criminal; however, technically lack of "papers" alone is not a criminal violation but rather a civil or administrative violation. [To illustrate the difference between the two types of law, some compare being without documents to driving without one's license or not filing taxes on time, violations of the law but not criminal acts.]
So, each of us has an opportunity through our own word choices, for example, replacing "illegal immigrants" with "unlawful immigrants" or even better "undocumented immigrants" or "immigrants without documents," to help re-shape the national dialogue about people who regardless of immigration status, as we know, are all our brothers and sisters.
Thanks again for the thoughtprovoking posting!
I'm glad you brought up the language issue, Lisa! I do not correct people's use of "illegal immigrants," or (to me, worse) "illegal aliens." However, I simply refuse to use those expressions myself. When we allow the objectification of people, it is much easier to dismiss (or worse) abuse them. I realize that the term "alien" might have legal ramifications, but to me it smacks of "not human," as in "from another planet.
ReplyDeleteYou are totally correct in your reading of the term "alien." In a legal context and in our social context, it basically means "not of this place." But in any case, "alien" may be a status, but it not an identity (or lack of identity) as media and anti-immigrations advocates argue. To be undocumented is to be without lawful status, but that is much different than being "illegal" as in having committed a crime. The misuse of language by the media and government officials is definitely on purpose in an attempt to dehumanize and if necessary "criminalize" immigrants without documents in the minds of as many people as they can in order to get support for their aggressive tactics.
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