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Published: August 6, 2008

Hope in a “dark moment”

Cardinal Mahony suggests how the Church can “reframe” the debate on immigration

“We are in a dark moment in our nation's history with regard to immigrants, refugees, and newcomers to our land,” said Cardinal Roger Mahony in an address he delivered July 28 at the National Migration Conference in Washington, D.C. “The failure of comprehensive immigration reform legislation just over a year ago emboldened some of our elected officials to pursue a punitive approach, using enforcement as both an immigration policy and a political tool,” said the cardinal.

In the wake of failed immigration reform, what “we and the immigrants we serve” are facing, said Mahony, are “enforcement raids, state and local enforcement actions, heightened border enforcement and the construction of a border wall, as well as lengthy stays in detention -- all at great human and financial cost.” Such policies “have led, in many cases, to the separation of families, the harassment and profiling of United States citizens and legal residents, the expanded use of detention against those who are not a flight risk or a danger and, tragically, deaths in the United States desert.”

Attempts, too, have been made to “stifle” the Church’s mission, “through proposals to criminalize those who strive to serve the basic human needs of migrants. A human being's worth is defined by their God-given dignity, not by what papers they carry,” said Mahony.

The cardinal held out hope that the Church can “reframe” the debate on immigration. It is the life of Christ that gives the Church guidance. Christ was a refugee with Mary and Joseph; He was an itinerant preacher who taught us to “welcome the stranger” because “whatever you did for one these brothers mine, you did for me.” Christ, Mahony said, set aside “misguided social norms and ethnic differences” to converse with the Samaritan woman. He also “reached out to government authorities,” like Zaccheus and Matthew. “So, too, must we reach out to government authorities -- legislative and administrative -- involved in the migration process, and work toward mutual understanding and reconciliation,” said Mahony.

“Sustainable economic development is the Church's answer to border walls,” said the cardinal. “It takes away the market from human traffickers, who lure victims with promises of jobs in the developed world. It reduces the number of refugees, since wars and conflicts often involve a battle over resources.

“We must strive for the day on which human beings can remain in their homelands and live and support their families in dignity,” said Mahony. “Governments should pursue economic policies and practices that make the need for their citizens to cross borders less compelling and necessary. As the world's economic superpower, the United States should assist these governments or, at a minimum, not make it more difficult for them to reach this goal.”

Mahony insisted that “the Church must also protect the family unit, especially in the context of migration, since families are often separated, sometimes indefinitely. Families should be able to remain together despite their legal status or circumstances and our laws should be tailored toward that goal.”

The cardinal called for laws; but, he said, “while we acknowledge the right and the need for our government to enforce the law, we must remind our fellow Americans that man-made law does not permit the violation of God's law. And by repairing the law, we are better able to enforce it in a humane manner.”

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