| U.S. News

In a statement “On Immigration Enforcement Initiatives” released Sept. 27, Bishop Gerald R. Barnes of San Bernardino, Calif., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, said that the failure of the U.S. Senate last June to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation has “set back” while not ending attempts to repair a “seriously flawed” system.

“It is disturbing our nation has yet to find the will to humanely address this challenging issue confronting our nation,” Bishop Barnes said on behalf of the bishops’ conference.

As a consequence, he said, “congressional inaction” has led to state and local governments to address the issue in legislation and ordinances that “are creating a patchwork of immigration policies across the nation.”

“To compound matters, local jurisdictions have been pitted against each other, with some cities or counties passing anti-immigrant measures,” Bishop Barnes said. “State and local laws that seek to force migrants to leave the country by denying them the means to subsist not only violate human dignity, but undermine the common good.”

Further, he said, migrant workers throughout the United States have been increasingly targeted by “federal enforcement raids and other actions that separate families and lead to exploitation and abuse.”

Acknowledging that the immigration debate has provoked “informed analysis and thoughtful discussion,” the bishop decried “harsh rhetoric against migrants in this country,” especially those who are without legal status.

“Fanned by talk radio and anti-immigrant organizations,” he said, “this rhetoric has inflamed fears and misunderstanding among some portions of the American public, leading to a polarized and vitriolic atmosphere.”

While “the voices of division and fear are loud,” Bishop Barnes said that there is too little acknowledgement for the “great contributions” provided by migrants working in such industries as agriculture, construction and service. “Our country,” he said, “has instead relegated them to a permanent underclass of workers, without full rights in our society.”

“This,” he added, “is unworthy of a great democracy.”

While the U.S. bishops “acknowledge the right of our country to secure our borders and enforce immigration law,” such enforcement “must respect human rights and dignity and minimize the separation of families,” he said.

The announcement of initiatives by the Bush administration that use wage and tax data to enforce immigration law is a cause for concern, the bishop said, noting that the inadequacy of Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases could lead to the termination of legitimate migrants and be used by “unscrupulous employers” to discriminate against some workers.

“We reaffirm our view that enforcement-only measures at any jurisdictional level will further drive undocumented migrant workers into a hidden underclass and create more fear and suspicion in immigrant communities,” he said. “Such measures will not repair a system that is inadequate to meet the labor needs of our economy.”

Urging Congress to immediately return to the work of crafting meaningful legislation on the issue, Bishop Barnes stressed that comprehensive immigration reform “is the best way to secure our country” and address the problem of unauthorized migration to our country.