Zenit
By Kathleen Naab
February 11, 2016
It
is almost certain that immigration issues will be among the principal
themes Pope Francis addresses during his trip to Mexico, which begins
tomorrow.
ZENIT
asked J. Kevin Appleby, the senior international migration policy
director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York, a member of
the Scalabrinian International
Migration Network (SIMN), to give an overview of the issue in light of
the Pope’s visit and Church teaching.
___
Pope
Francis will soon visit Mexico and will visit the U.S.-Mexican border
in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. What will the Holy
Father do at the border?
What is his purpose for visiting the border?
Pope
Francis is planning to celebrate Mass near the U.S.-Mexico border in
Ciudad Juarez and to pray with migrants near the border wall in memory
of the thousands of migrants
who have died in the desert on both sides of the border. By
remembering these forgotten dead, Pope Francis hopes to remind Catholics
and others of good will that immigrants, refugees, and other persons on
the move are human beings, made in the image of God,
and that their lives and human dignity should be respected and
protected by governments and their fellow human beings.
Is the Pope showing support for illegal immigration?
No,
he is calling upon powerful nations, such as the United States and
Mexico, to reform their institutions, policies, and legal systems so
that migrants do not have to
suffer and possibly die in search of protection and security or the
opportunity to provide for their families. In his talks on migration, he
has decried the “globalization of indifference” toward immigrants and
refugees present in the world. Although globally
we share communication, capital, and goods across borders, human beings
seeking work or safety are not protected, the people who often perform
the most difficult jobs in the world economy. As a result, they can die
trying to attain and earn the basic necessities
of life and security that many of us take for granted.
What
is Church teaching on migration? Does the Church, as some critics
have suggested, support open borders? Are there limits to immigration
that can be instituted
by sovereign nations?
No,
the church does not support open borders. In fact, church teaching
acknowledges the authority of governments to manage and control their
borders. The question is
how and to whom this authority is exercised. In his encyclical Pacem
in Terris (Peace on Earth), St. John XXIII wrote about the “universal
common good,” which requires nations to accommodate migration flows “to
the degree they are able.” The Catechism of
the Catholic Church applies a higher standard to more prosperous
nations, which “are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the
foreigner in search of the security and means of livelihood that they
cannot find in their country of origin.” (No. 2241)
The universal destination of goods, in which the Catholic Church
professes that the goods of creation are destined for the human race as a
whole, undergirds this teaching.
This
does not mean that nation-states, to preserve the well-being of its
citizens, cannot regulate immigration and control their borders,
particularly if it is for national
security reasons, but such regulation and control must be implemented
in a manner proportionate to any threat and in a way that protects human
life and human dignity.
The
Church supports the reform of national immigration systems, including
in the United States and Mexico (see Strangers No Longer: Together on
the Journey of Hope, pastoral
letter of the U.S. and Mexican bishops, 2003) in a way so that
immigrants can migrate legally to work and support their families and
that refugees can find protection and security. In many situations
today, undocumented workers fill important and difficult
jobs in an economy, but are subject to abuse and exploitation because
of their lack of legal status. Over the long-term, the global community
must work together to address the root causes of irregular migration,
such as economic inequities and conflicts in
sending countries, so migrants can remain in their home countries to
support their families in dignity and in safety.
Do
you think Pope Francis will speak to the issue of thousands of Central
American children and families fleeing violence in their home countries
to the United States
in search of safety?
It
is unclear whether the Holy Father will address this situation, but it
is likely that he would in some way, either publicly or privately with
government leaders. In
July 2014, he wrote the Holy See-Mexico colloquium on Migration and
Development, at the height of the migration crisis, and stated that
unaccompanied children fleeing Central America should be “welcomed and
protected.” In his speech to the U.S. Congress in
September, 2015, he urged the United States to respond to migrants “as
best we can” in “a way which is always humane, just, and fraternal.”
“We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays,” he told Congress, “to
discard whatever proves troublesome.”
We
are in a U.S. presidential year and are hearing claims by some of the
candidates that undocumented immigration is high, especially from
Mexico, and is a threat to our
way of life and economic well-being. What are the facts: Are more
undocumented persons coming to the United States?
No,
actually the undocumented population is falling. A recent study by the
Center for Migration Studies of New York (cmsny.org) found that from
2010-2014, the undocumented
population from Mexico dropped 9%, or by 600,000 people. The
undocumented population of all other Latin American countries, except
the conflict-ridden northern triangle countries of Central America, also
dropped. Overall, the number of undocumented in the
United States has fallen to 10.9 million, down from 11.7 million five
years ago. The reason for this drop is unclear, but it might entail
several factors, including a soft economy in the United States,
demographic trends in Latin American nations, and increased
enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Is the Catholic Church supportive of immigration reform in the United States? Why has it not passed?
Yes,
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has long supported
comprehensive immigration reform, as laid out in the pastoral letter
with the Mexican bishops,
Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope. Central to the
position of the Church is the need to bring the undocumented population
out of the shadows and on a path to citizenship, so they can fully
contribute to society and live without fear. The
Church also supports immigration policies which promote family
reunification, as family separation and breakdown is an often ignored
humanitarian consequence of the international migration system.
Despite
several attempts over the past 10 years, immigration reform has not
passed Congress. There are several reasons for this, but it is not
unusual for Congress to
try several times to pass a major reform bill before it becomes law.
It is likely that the issue will re-emerge in the next Congress, after
the presidential election.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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