New York Times
By Jim Yardley
February 17, 2016
In
visiting the border today, Pope Francis is diving into the American
political debate about immigration, but he is also simply saying and
doing what he has done on trips
elsewhere in the world.
Not
long after becoming pope in 2013, Francis chose the Italian island of
Lampedusa for his first papal trip. It was a telling decision, because
for years, migrants from
North Africa had risked their lives to reach Lampedusa on rickety boats
or rubber rafts. His message was a cry for global attention to the
migrants drowning in the Mediterranean.
When
he visited the Holy Land in May 2014, Francis made an unscheduled stop
in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, to pray and lean his head against the
controversial partition
wall that divides the Palestinian sector of the city from Israel.
His
visit to the United States in September 2015 was more of the same. When
he stood with President Obama on the South Lawn of the White House,
Francis introduced himself
as “a son of immigrants,” a reminder that his parents fled Fascist
Italy for Argentina. During his address to Congress, Francis reminded
lawmakers of America’s immigrant tradition and called on them to welcome
such desperate people, not demonize or fear them.
Some
critics say Francis’ gestures are resonant but ultimately just
gestures. Yet, in at least one case, his influence is credited with
policy change. In 2013, hundreds
of migrants were believed to have drowned near the coast of Lampedusa
after their rickety boat sank. Francis spoke out, calling the accident a
terrible tragedy that did not need to happen. Italian officials soon
created a naval rescue program, Mare Nostrum,
credited with saving more than 100,000 migrants in the Mediterranean.
Some officials say Francis’ words influenced the decision by Prime
Minister Enrico Letta to establish the rescue mission.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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