Speaking at a press conference in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, several Catholic bishops questioned the effectiveness and humaneness of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and called for them to be abandoned.
John Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, said the present is “a dark period in our country on the issue of immigration.” After the failure of the immigration reform bill in Congress last year, he argued, there has been an “unprecedented emphasis on enforcement-only initiatives.” The bishop charged that these initiatives are “designed to create an atmosphere of fear in immigrant communities,” and constitute a policy of “deportation by attrition.”
He emphasized that the bishops did not question the right of the government to enforce immigration laws, but questioned whether worksite raids are effective and “most importantly, humane.”
Bishop Wester explained that he had witnessed the consequences of such raids first-hand, which he said include the disruption of communities, the separation children who are U.S. citizens from their parents, and the removal of minor children’s primary caregivers.
Tamayo expressed support for immigration officials who undertake a difficult but essential task, but insisted that workplace raids violated human dignity.
"The Catholic church has always supported the right of a nation to protect its sovereignty and to secure its borders," he said.
"Such enforcement must be tempered, however, in a way that balances the national interest with the basic God-given right and dignity of human beings. These raids fail to meet this test," he said.
Am I correct in concluding that what the Bishops are condemning, specifically, is not the legality of these raids or the right of the government to conduct them, but rather the current manner of their execution?
Labels: american bishops, immigration
|
links to this post
