Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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Washington’s Gordian Knot

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Immigration Reform has apparently become another victim of the Congressional chaos that has replaced common sense at the southeast end of Pennsylvania Avenue. The bipartisan “gang of seven” sponsoring an immigration reform bill in the House has fallen apart, the apparent death knoll for action by the house.

Political polarization appears to have put the kiss of death on any legislation that the president supports without regard to its merits or the public good. Ideological absolutism is a poison pill for the democratic process. It breeds political tunnel vision that is blind to everything save the viewer’s magnificent obsession.

Somehow there must be the restoration of trust, mutual respect and willingness to compromise in both the House and the Senate. Strident voices of petty politicians need to give way to the considerate dialogue of statesmen. Untying the Gordian Knot that is our gridlocked government will require wisdom and leadership, qualities that are sorely wanting in Washington.

We must pray for Congress and for our nation’s leaders and always keep in mind the words of the  Holy Father today.

“Don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope”

Compassion, not political expediency

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Because we believe that it is a moral issue the Catholic bishops in the United States have launched a wide-ranging program calling on Congress to enact a comprehensive program of immigration reform.

It is time to repair a broken system, not simply to apply temporary patches. The root causes of the immigration problem must be addressed, economic injustice, lack of due process, discrimination and selective exclusion.

Immigration reform must include a path to citizenship for the undocumented in this country to bring them out of the shadows and enable them to become full, contributing members of our society.

Reform must also respect the integrity of the family by supporting reunification of families – husbands, wives and children – separated by an obsolete immigration system. Finally, we need to secure the nation’s borders, but in a manner that respects basic human dignity and rights.

I am asking each of you to encourage your representative to support a bill that includes these essential elements: a path to citizenship, respect for family unity and securing the border in a humane manner.

Pope Francis spoke of “the globalization of indifference,” our inability to experience compassion and feel the suffering of others and the “culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people.”

Immigration reform is not just a political issue; it is a people issue that calls for the compassion of Christ not political expediency.

Immigration is a natural right

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This week is National Migration Week, a campaign of the American bishops aimed at comprehensive immigration reform in order to legalize 11 million undocumented immigrants. The campaign has five goals: Provide a path to citizenship for undocumented persons;
preserve family unity as a cornerstone of our national immigration system; provide legal paths for low-skilled immigrant workers to come and work in the United States; restore due process protections to immigration enforcement policies; address the root causes of migration caused by persecution and economic disparity.

Since 1975 the Immigration and Legal Services (ILS) department of Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc. has provided a broad range of immigration counseling and representation to immigrants and their families. Thousands of immigrants from Mesoamerica, Europe, Africa and Asia have been assisted by Catholic Charities ILS.

Migration is a major biblical theme. Abraham’s family moved to Canaan and then to Egypt. Jacob and his sons made their way to Egypt, and the Israelites made their exodus to the Promised Land. The people of Israel returned to Judah from exile, and, of course, there was Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and their flight into Egypt. All were journeys of hope, either for refuge or a better life.

Which of us does not have ancestors who migrated to Texas, by ship or plane from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Central America or by foot across the Bering land bridge? But our memories are short and we need to be reminded from whence we came as God reminded the Israelites: “You shall not oppress or afflict a resident alien, for you were once aliens residing in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 22:20.

Recently an Hispanic friend was astonished to learn of the manner in which the German and Irish immigrants were treated in the mid 19th century, commenting, “I thought we were the only ones treated that way.” Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that: we all “belong to one family, migrants and the local populations that welcome them, and all have the same right to enjoy the goods of the earth whose destination is universal, as the social doctrine of the Church teaches.”

Immigration is a natural right, as Archbishop José Gómez of Los Angeles noted recently: “The right to life implies the right to emigrate — to leave our country if we must, to seek a better life for our families and ourselves. In a world divided by war, famine, persecution, and economic dislocations, immigration becomes a crucial guarantee of our right to life.” That right, the archbishop said; “does not depend on the whims of politicians or powerful people. That right does not depend on economic or political forces. Our rights come from God. And no man, no institution, and no set of circumstances can justify denying those rights.”

We all have a dream

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We all have a dream. Some are impossible. Some are achievable and some are just beyond our grasp.

Let’s talk about the latter…those just beyond our grasp. The United States is a great place to live. America is a wonderful place to grow up.

There is a group of young people who have grown up in America, lived in the United States most of their lives but for whom the dream of American citizenship is just beyond their grasp. [Read more…]

Immigration Reform is a Moral Issue

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Immigration Reform is a moral issue, a justice issue and a people issue. Sadly, it has become in the eyes of many a political issue eclipsing the moral, justice and people dimensions.

The Catholic Church is not a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to immigration reform. For more than eighty years Catholic bishops in the United States have come out in support of immigrants and called for more just immigration laws.

Recent draconian laws enacted in Arizona have further politicized the issue and are strongly opposed by Catholic Bishops in America. The action by the Arizona legislature and governor occurred because of the lack of federal leadership on the immigration issue.

For the Bishops this is not a political issue, it is a moral, justice and people issue. Our position as Catholic Bishops is clear. Immigration reform must include a viable path to permanent residency for the undocumented population; a new worker program that includes appropriate worker protections, wage levels and an opportunity to earn permanent residency; reductions in family reunification backlogs, the restoration of due process protections lost in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, and very importantly, policies that address the root causes of migration, such as economic development in sending countries.

Time and again the Bishops have brought these issues before Congress and in 2005 I personally called on President Bush and Congress to act swiftly on legislation that was comprehensive and humane.

John’s gospel reminds us of Jesus’ command to “love one another as I have loved you.” (15:12) Jesus echoes in the Last Judgment in Matthew (25:31-40) Moses’ command to the Isrealites to “love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,” particularly appropriate since we, or our ancestors, were once the aliens in a strange land.

I call upon and urge all Catholics to support the bishops of the United States in our efforts to have lawmakers work together to change our flawed immigration system.