The Next Phase of Immigration Reform

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Pandemic, border crackdown hamper Catholics' aid to migrants [In-Depth]
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In this Feb. 26, 2019 photo, migrants rest in the chapel of the San Juan Bosco migrant shelter, in Nogales, Mexico. For years, Catholic-led, U.S.-based nonprofits have been at the forefront of efforts to support migrants and asylum seekers along the Mexican border. Tough new border policies, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, have drastically changed their work, much of which now takes place in Mexico. (Credit: Dario Lopez-Mills/AP)


NOGALES, Mexico -- For years, Catholic-led, U.S.-based nonprofits have been at the forefront of efforts to support migrants and asylum seekers along the Mexican border. Tough new border policies, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, have drastically changed their work, much of which now takes place in Mexico.

The once heavy flow of undocumented border-crossers has dwindled as the Trump administration enforces a new virus-related ban on top of its Migration Protection Protocols that already had forced thousands of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico.

The virus outbreak has prompted one migrant support agency, the Kino Border Initiative, to temporarily close its office in Nogales, Arizona. But it is committed to maintaining operations across the border, where it aids asylum seekers congregating in Nogales, Mexico, after being barred from the U.S.

"There is some resistance to this ministry of migrants and refugees," said Jesuit Father Sean Carroll, who heads the agency. "But our sense of the common good doesn't stop at the border. We're all human beings."

Earlier this year, before the coronavirus gained global attention, Carroll's agency opened a spacious new migrant outreach center just inside the Mexican border. Carroll -- who works full-time in Mexico -- hoped to expand a twice-daily meal service that had been offered to hundreds of asylum seekers at a deteriorating cafeteria across the street from the center.

Now, amid worries about COVID-19, neither venue is being used as a dining hall. Instead, migrants line up outside the two buildings and approach the doors one at a time to get a meal served into a cup and bowl.

Carroll also has cancelled the Masses that formerly were held in the cafeteria and has asked his long-term volunteers to stop reporting for duty, leaving only a small permanent staff in place. He recently appealed for donors to send hospital masks, rubber gloves, anti-bacterial gel and other medical supplies.

"We are serving with great courage and diligence in the face of very difficult circumstances," he wrote in that appeal.

There are some similar circumstances for the Hope Border Institute, based in El Paso, Texas, and run by Catholic activist Dylan Corbett.

Across the border in Juárez, Mexico, thousands of asylum-seekers have been living in shelters and squalid camps, waiting for a chance to enter the U.S.

Corbett says his agency is trying to find the best ways of supporting those migrants, including some being denied accommodation at shelters now quarantined due to COVID-19.

"The burden of need has shifted dramatically over to Juárez, yet for a lot of people it's out of sight, out of mind," he said. "There's so much suffering on the other side, but when the eyes of the nation are no longer on the border, it's incredibly difficult."

The Trump administration has justified the new border policy as necessary to minimize the risk of coronavirus exposure in dealings between undocumented migrants and U.S. government personnel.

[...]


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El Paso bishop calls for release of nonviolent migrants in detention
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Migrants detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Basile, La., display signs April 3, 2020, related to the coronavirus disease. (Credit: CNS photo/Handout via Reuters)


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow in the U.S. faster than anywhere else in the world, the Catholic bishop of El Paso, Texas, is asking local authorities to release nonviolent migrants at his local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.

"Faith and reason tell us that the right thing to do right now is to protect each other by taking steps toward social distancing," wrote Bishop Mark J. Seitz in an April 7 statement. "The federal government has already recognized that this is very nearly impossible in facilities like prisons and detention centers."

That's why he is making the call to the agency "to urgently and quickly prioritize the release of nonviolent migrants from the immigration detention facilities in our community," he said.

"This will protect the health of migrants, our immigration enforcement personnel and our entire El Paso community. Our faith compels us to welcome the stranger with compassion. And this is also a matter of public health," he said.

"By keeping nonviolent migrants in immigration custody, we are placing everyone in danger. Together, I know we can overcome this crisis," Seitz said. "I also invite our local government leaders to join me in calling on ICE for an urgent dialogue on the need to release nonviolent offenders. This cannot happen soon enough. Our lives depend on it."

In mid-March in a letter to Congress, two doctors expressed "gravely concern" about the consequences of confinement of migrants in detention centers during the pandemic.

Dr. Scott Allen and Dr. Josiah Rich, experts in medical care in detention settings, warned in a March 19 letter to lawmakers of the "imminent risk to the health and safety of immigrant detainees" and to the general public if the virus spreads in immigration detention facilities.

[...]

Seitz, in his statement, said that "this is an unprecedented moment when every El Pasoan and all of our institutions are being called to solidarity, compassion and concern for the entire community."

He continued: "In a sober way, now we see how each of our destinies really are intertwined, and how every one of us really is our brother's keeper."

The El Paso based organization Hope Border Institute expressed its support for the bishop's statement and also called for "immediate steps to release migrants from immigrant detention centers in the borderlands."

"The vast majority of migrants in ICE custody have committed no crime at all and represent no threat to our community," said Dylan Corbett, the organization's executive director in an April 7 statement. "However, the continued mass detention of migrants and asylum seekers in these facilities in this time of COVID-19 pandemic represents a clear and present danger to the health of migrants, border enforcement personnel and the entire El Paso community. As Bishop Seitz has pointed out, this cannot happen soon enough; our lives depend on it."


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I say release them. In Mexico. If they are released into the US, they blend into a semi-hidden society of illegal immigrants that eventually have children that become "dreamers". The cycle has to stop.
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Pandemic exacerbates fear, challenges for undocumented immigrants [In-Depth]
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Matamoros, Mexico, across from Brownsville, Texas, is the site of a tent camp where migrants await their asylum cases to be processed by the U.S. government. The camp is home to approximately 2,500 people and arose in 2019 after the Trump administration enacted the "Remain in Mexico" policy for assylum seekers. (Ruby Fuentes)


As the coronavirus spread throughout Chicago in mid-March, Catholic Charities' Legal Assistance Program started seeing an increase in calls from non-English-speakers. One, a client who is an undocumented immigrant, had lost her job due to the pandemic. Her landlord was threatening to evict her and her children if she couldn't pay her rent.

Such threats were already common among the United States' approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants, but the coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated fear among undocumented people and individuals seeking asylum here.

People who are undocumented do not qualify for economic stimulus funds and unemployment relief, face barriers to accessing healthcare and live with the fear that visiting a hospital could result in detention or deportation. And undocumented persons already in detention -- and those at the U.S.-Mexico border -- must now deal with additional dangers posed by the virus.

More than 2,500 people live in a temporary tent camp in Matamoros, Mexico, awaiting trials for their asylum cases for entry into the United States. The tent-camp arose in early 2019 when the Trump administration announced its "Remain in Mexico" policy for people seeking asylum.

[...]

El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz joined the Hope Border Institute, which ministers to immigrants at the border, and other local leaders in calling for the immediate release of migrants in detention centers.

"The vast majority of migrants in ICE custody have committed no crime at all and represent no threat to our community," said an April 7 statement from the Hope Border Institute. "However, the continued mass detention of migrants and asylum seekers in these facilities in this time of COVID-19 pandemic represents a clear and present danger to the health of migrants, border enforcement personnel and the entire El Paso community."

Zachary Johnson, executive director of Call To Action/USA, called detention a "sin in every circumstance," in an email interview.


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Call To Action/USA held a regional meeting in the Rio Grande Valley in November 2019, where about 50 Catholics gathered to learn about the migrant experience first-hand. "Participants were invited to use the experience to ground their immigration justice efforts in their hometowns in useful, informed solidarity with the center of the immigration struggle," Zachary Johnson, executive director of Call To Action/USA said in an email. (Ruby Fuentes)


Call To Action/USA held a regional meeting in the Rio Grande Valley last November, where about 50 Catholics gathered to learn about the migrant experience first-hand.

"The Catholic response at all times is to center the corporal and spiritual needs of marginalized people -- to the point where we marginalize ourselves," Johnson said. "In crisis, this means using personal and institutional wealth, power and privilege to empower the margins to move out of harm's way."

Meanwhile, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA's detention chaplaincy program continues to serve people in five U.S. federal detention centers, including mothers and fathers who have been separated from their children.

Jesuit Refugee Service has canceled in-person Mass and is providing visiting chaplains with personal protective equipment, said Jesuit Fr. Richard Sotelo, director of the organization's detention chaplaincy program.

"Our work changes and evolves, as the situation does, but we are committed to walk with detainees in ICE custody," Sotelo said. "Our staff are tired and have more work than they can take on but endeavor to continue their accompaniment with those who need it most."


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Jesuit Fr. Richard Sotelo celebrates Mass for detainees at the Service Processing Center for detained undocumented immigrants in El Paso, Texas, Sept. 13, 2013. (Jesuit Refugee Service USA/Christian Fuchs)


[...]

In cities hit hard by the virus, Catholic organizations are making undocumented immigrants a priority during the pandemic, said Hilda Bahena, department director of Catholic Charities Legal Assistance in Chicago, which provides legal aid to any low-income person, including immigrants with any legal status.

Bahena said that she frequently sends clients to Catholic Charities Emergency Assistance Fund to apply for emergency rental assistance, food and other basic necessities, though noted that the programs are very stretched at the moment.

The number of families served by Catholic Charities food pantries in Chicago has doubled since mid-March, said Marilu Gonzalez, Catholic Charities regional director.

In addition to providing food, Catholic Charities helps arrange counseling for adults experiencing grief or trauma and connects clients with public benefits though cooperation with volunteers and donors, Gonzalez said.

"What I'd like the Catholic community to know is that we're all in it together," she said.


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Every Friday morning before sunrise, Oblate Fr. Roy Snipes celebrated Mass in La Lomita chapel. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all masses have been canceled. The chapel came into the national spotlight last year, as it sits directly where the U.S. government seeks to build a border wall with Mexico. (Ruby Fuentes)


[...]


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UK bishop calls for government to release detainees at immigration centers
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One of London's tourist hot spots, Trafalgar Square, is nearly abandoned in London, Thursday, March 19, 2020. (Credit: Frank Augstein/AP)


LEICESTER, United Kingdom -- An English bishop is calling on the UK government to release people being held in immigration detention centers.

In a letter to the UK Home Secretary, Bishop Paul McAleenan -- the point man for migrant and refugee issues for the Catholic Bishops 'Conference of England and Wales -- said those being held are at "extreme risk" during the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic since they have "limited opportunities for social distancing and self-isolating which is contrary to the public health instructions of the government."

The Home Office is responsible for immigration and policing issues in Britain.

Immigration detention centers do not hold criminals, but either asylum seekers trying to establish their identity, or undocumented immigrants waiting to be deported.

According to the Guardian, around 300 detainees have already been released during the crisis, although an estimated 900 people are still being held in the facilities.

"These people have not been charged with any crime and do not pose a risk to the wider public. It is they who are now at risk of infection, due to their detention in close proximity to one another," McAleenan writes.

"After this pandemic, questions will inevitably be asked about steps taken by the government to protect the health and rights of the most vulnerable people, including whether the government applied its own instructions and guidelines to those for whom they were responsible," the bishop continued.

Earlier this month, dozens of organizations -- including the Jesuit Refugee Service UK -- sent a joint letter to the UK government asking for more support to be given to asylum seekers in Britain.

Currently, asylum seekers are not allowed to work while their claim for refugee status is processed and are given a stipend of around $50 a week.

"Even before the Coronavirus outbreak, people on asylum support struggled to meet their essential living needs on an amount of support far lower than mainstream benefits, leading to extremely difficult decisions on what to prioritize amongst essential expenditure. Asylum seekers, including torture survivors and other highly vulnerable people, tell us that, in the current context, they are finding it even harder to buy the items that they need to keep themselves and their families healthy and safe," the letter states.

The signatories are calling on the government to immediately increase the stipend by about 50 percent, and for the allowance to be paid in cash.

[...]


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Post by Hashi Lebwohl »

I concur--release them back to their country of origin.
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Migrant ministries call for end to deportations during pandemic
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A mother and daughter wearing protective masks who are seeking asylum in the U.S. are seen at a migrant camp in Matamoros, Mexico, April 1, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. (CNS/Reuters/Go Nakamura)


Mexico City -- Catholic migrant ministries of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras have called for an end to deportations during the COVID-19 crisis, saying the practice exposes an already vulnerable group to health and security risks -- especially those sent summarily to countries of which they are not citizens.

In a statement issued over the April 11-12 Easter weekend, the ministries called for the release of migrants held in detention centers while their cases were being processed, citing health and humanitarian reasons. They also asked that governments "promote concrete actions to protect the rights of migrants and refugees" and "not politicize" the coronavirus crisis.

"We observe with worry that Mexico ... is allowing its neighbor to the north to deport citizens of any country into its territory, including many without (having received) due process and without offering them the protections necessary," the statement said, adding that "entire families" were being sent to dangerous Mexican border towns "at all hours of the night, making them easy prey for organized crime."

"It's worrisome, the deportation of non-Mexican citizens from the United States, whom Mexico receives without offering a visa to be legally in the country," the statement continued.

"Mexico ... continues deporting Central American citizens, especially Hondurans, to Guatemala, violating international law and leaving these Honduran citizens without any protections."

[...]

Catholic organizations working on migration matters say movement has diminished during the coronavirus pandemic, but also say they have been unable to tend to migrants already on the road or who have been deported.

Migrant shelters have closed their doors due to health concerns, but are allowing those already inside to self-isolate there, said Alberto Xicotencatl, director of the diocesan shelter in Saltillo, some 190 miles from the U.S. border with Texas.

"People arrive at the U.S. border and realize there is a lot security and that it's impossible to approach it, so they want to return," Xicotencatl said, explaining that many people who have tried to reach the United States return and knock on the shelter door.

Those arriving at the shelter are provided food and advice, but are not allowed to enter, Xicotencatl said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said April 9 that it had "expelled" 6,319 people "to their last country of transit," using emergency public health measures implemented March 21. That last country of transit was Mexico in all but 13 cases, according to government figures.

The Scalabrinian migrant shelter in Guatemala City said in a March statement it would stop receiving migrants sent back from the United States to seek asylum in Guatemala, saying it lacked the resources to handle potential health problems.

Scalabrinian Sister Nyzelle Juliana Donde, director of the Honduran bishops' migrant ministry, told Catholic News Service her team has attended to a dozen deportation flights since a countrywide quarantine was announced March 16.

"More than 1,000 migrants have passed through the migrant attention center in San Pedro Sula and often don't have any way to get home to their families," said Donde, one of six signatories to the migrant ministries' statement.

"It's putting the migrants at risk along with those working with them," she said.


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Catholic leaders join grassroots campaign to help migrants during COVID-19 crisis
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Migrants detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Basile, La., display signs April 3, 2020, related to the coronavirus disease. (Credit: CNS photo/Handout via Reuters)


NEW YORK -- A number of prominent Catholic leaders have joined grassroots organizations from Central America, Mexico, and the United States in releasing a five-point action plan to protect migrants and refugees during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Released on April 15 in an effort spearheaded by the Hope Border Institute and Faith in Action, the joint statement says it is aimed to promote both preventative and protection strategies.

"This pandemic is a public health crisis that brings home how interconnected we are," they wrote. "It is our collective responsibility to act rapidly and in solidarity."

The five-step plan calls for the "rapid, safe and orderly" release of as many asylum seekers and migrants currently in detention; significant new measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus in refugee camps, migrant shelters and detention centers; equitable access to testing and emergency care; a guaranteed right to asylum; and a call for "immediate and large-scale" investments for public health systems, food, and income support for vulnerable families.

Catholic signatories to the statement include Sister Norma Pimentel, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini Imeri of Huehuetenango in Guatemala, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey; Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis, Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tucson, Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky, Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas.

Other Catholic organizations that have signed on are Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Labor Network, Faith in Public Life, Ignatian Solidarity Network, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and Pax Christi. They were joined by a number of interfaith leaders, representing nearly 50 organizations.

"We call for an international solidarity that promotes the economic recovery of the countries of the region and as well as the human and integral development of the most vulnerable families and communities," write the signatories, with a focus on the root causes of poverty, violence and corruption that force people to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere.

The joint statement comes at a time when the health and safety of migrants and refugees are facing extreme risks, with public health officials warning that detention facilities could become a hotbed for the spread of the virus.

[...]


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Guatemalan bishops: Deporting people during pandemic lacks humanity
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Guatemalans deported from the U.S. board a bus outside La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City March 19, 2020. (Credit: Fabricio Alonso/Reuters via CNS)


MEXICO CITY -- Guatemala's bishops have criticized continued deportations during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the practice has "no sense of humanity" during a health crisis.

In a strongly worded statement, the bishops called on the United States and Mexico to stop deportations, which "strike us in the context of national precariousness in terms of health services and strategies to contain the pandemic."

They also condemned a lack of solidarity and stigmatization at home toward those being returned.

"How is it possible that all the United States is throwing out all of these citizens, who have worked honorably in favor of the U.S. economy, even though their status wasn't considered 'legal,'" the bishops said in the April 15 statement.

"Are they no longer useful to U.S. society, particularly if they have contracted coronavirus? If the governments of the United States and Mexico have always presented themselves as champions of the defense of human rights, why do they now demonstrate the opposite?" the statement continued.

"The example of both governments to the world is one of not having the most minimum sense of humanity."

[...]

Health Minister Hugo Monroy said April 14 that half of the country's approximately 200 COVID-19 cases came to the country with deportees -- including 75 percent of people on a flight in late March. Monroy later retracted his comments.

The bishops' conference, meanwhile, called on the country to better accommodate returning migrants, nothing that some communities had prohibited people returning from other countries due to health concerns.

"When they send remittances, they're congratulated and praised. Now that they return deported without a dollar in their pocket, they're discriminated against and rejected. Is this the Christian spirit? Is this national solidarity?" the statement asked.

The statement also recognized the hardship suffered by the poor in the Central American country, where sheltering in place often means potential hunger as well as a loss of income.

"It is of grave concern the situation of millions of Guatemalans, who live day-to-day in informal jobs and now don't receive an income," the bishops said.

The bishops praised government efforts to help those sheltering but warned of "the same old management," in which social programs are used for political purposes and "favoritism" is commonplace.


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America's first concern must be our own
Citizen"s. Not criminals who need to be
Deported to their own countries.
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Out with the foreign devils! Gaijin go home!
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Bishops criticize immigration restrictions, say they will hurt families [In-Depth]
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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and two other Catholic bishops criticized President Donald Trump's April 22 executive order to temporarily restrict some forms of immigration during the pandemic, saying it could "fuel polarization and animosity."

"While we welcome efforts to ensure that all Americans are recognized for the dignity of their work, the global crisis caused by COVID-19 demands unity and the creativity of love, not more division and the indifference of a throwaway mentality," the prelates said late April 23.

They also said they are "extremely concerned" about how the proclamation will impact immigrant families "looking to reunify" as well as religious workers.

Issuing the joint statement were Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, USCCB president; Washington Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Migration; and Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, California, chairman of the board of directors of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., or CLINIC.

[...]

In their response, Gomez, Dorsonville and Soto said: "There is little evidence that immigrants take away jobs from citizens. Immigrants and citizens together are partners in reviving the nation's economy. We must always remember that we are all sons and daughters of God joined together as one human family."

"We are extremely concerned about how the proclamation will impact immigrant families looking to reunify, as well as religious workers," they continued, noting the executive order prevents certain immigrant family members from reuniting with their loved ones living in the United States.

"Additionally, it bars religious workers seeking to come to the United States as lawful permanent residents from supporting the work of our church, as well as many other religions, at this time," they said. "This will undoubtedly hurt the Catholic Church and other denominations in the United States, diminishing their overall ability to minister to those in need."

The prelates said the virus "is merciless in its preying upon human life; it knows no borders or nationality," and at a time when "our common humanity is apparent more now than ever," they added, Trump's action "threatens instead to fuel polarization and animosity."

[...]

Said Susan Gunn, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns: "The evils of racism and xenophobia do not stop during a pandemic. To suspend immigration is inhumane and will split up families seeking safety."

"The facts are that immigrants are good for the economy, especially during this pandemic," she said April 23. "Some 25 percent of doctors and 70 percent of farmworkers are immigrants, and we need more, not fewer, of these and other essential workers during the novel coronavirus pandemic."

Gunn said this latest action by Trump is all part of his "zero-tolerance" immigration policies and "illustrate the next steps the United States has taken down an already dark path -- a path clouded by fear and distorted ideologies that violate our core values and further diminish the United States' role as a world leader."

[...]


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Post by Gaius Octavius »

Well, immigration reform (so to speak) has arrived. Now there's ZERO IMMIGRATION.
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Catholic immigration advocates attack Trump tweet on halting immigration
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A worker in New York City holds a sign from a car during a caravan demonstration for the rights of essential immigrant workers April 21, 2020. (Credit: Mike Segar/Reuters via CNS)


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Though it's still unclear how an April 20 tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump saying he would "suspend immigration into the United States!" will manifest itself in policy, some blamed him for trying to scapegoat immigrants as a way to divert attention from the administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Catholic members of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a group of 55 national, faith-based organizations, joined an April 21 statement accusing the president of using a "dog whistle" against immigrants.

"In a late-night tweet, President Trump made another major policy announcement that his aides are now scrambling to implement," the statement said. "It was not an announcement that the federal government would stop seizing PPE (personal protective equipment) from the states and other nations. Not an announcement that the federal government would stop deporting people who test positive for the coronavirus to other nations, spreading the disease.

"Instead," it said, "Trump announced he would suspend all immigration, turning to the dog whistle to distract Americans from the many ways his administration is failing to keep us from dying."

Sister Simone Campbell, a Sister of Social Service, who is executive director of the Catholic social justice lobbying group Network and is part of the coalition, characterized the proposal as a "racist immigration ban," and one that "comes while immigrants do the essential work that keeps our nation going during this pandemic."

"My faith teaches that welcoming immigrants is our sacred moral duty. Because of this we are called to fight this order," she said. "Trump is desperate to project blame away from himself. As with most bullies, he chooses the vulnerable to attack. He blames immigrants for his own failures. We cannot allow the president to divide us with racist tactics. We stand with our immigrant sisters and brothers."

Jill Marie Bussey, director of advocacy at Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., or CLINIC, also part of the coalition, said the tweet revealed the administration's "shameful plan to issue an executive order to further shut down immigration in response to COVID-19."

[...]

Lawrence E. Couch, director for the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, said the president had "only earned our skepticism regarding his newest anti-immigration pronouncement."

[...]

"The economic piece is equally misguided. We have shown again and again that immigrants strengthen the American economy. The loss of work affecting millions of American citizens has nothing to do with immigration and everything to do with the pandemic," Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said in an April 21 statement.

"In fact, the administration recently increased the number of foreign workers allowed into the United States to address the need for agricultural workers," she said. "We must question the mixed messages coming from the White House -- how is it that our country is both safe enough to begin reopening soon and in such a dire situation that it must close its borders?"

[...]

El Paso's Hope Border Institute, which has been a fierce critic of the administration, also weighed in via Facebook on the tweet, which is expected to turn into an executive order.

"We will not be fooled into blaming 'the other.' We will not fall for racist attacks for political gain. We will not be led astray by false narratives of 'good' or 'bad' immigrants," the organization said on April 21. "We will not stand by as our community members are considered expendable in the face of a pandemic. We know better and we demand better."


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Intra-Thread Trackbacks: pg 128


Catholic leaders to Trump: Coronavirus pandemic not an excuse to crack down on immigration [In-Depth]
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(Image: Catholic News Service)


After significantly walking back what had been a shocking late-night Twitter announcement of a complete ban on immigration, President Trump signed a proclamation on April 22 that calls for a 60-day freeze on the issuance of green cards for certain immigrant classes. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops criticized even this markedly diminished move the next day, noting that it would prevent "immigrant family members from reuniting with their loved ones living in the United States" and would bar religious workers seeking to come to the United States as lawful permanent residents "from supporting the work of our church, as well as many other religions, at this time."

[...]

... Late Monday night, April 20, [Trump] unveiled his latest strategy to contain the epidemic, returning to the anti-immigrant theme that has typified his presidency: "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!" the president announced.

[...]

San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy commented on the outburst by email: "The federal government has always had a responsibility to ensure that immigration into the United States should be carried out in ways that safeguard the physical health of our country, but the president's declaration is not a health policy.

"It is a policy rooted in the fear of the stranger, the other, the marginalized and the dispossessed," he said.

"We have faced this fear throughout our history in the nativism and populism that have sought to deform our nation's historic commitment to immigration as a pathway to providing refuge for the persecuted, a home for those seeking the values of America at its best, and an essential source of renewal and growth for our multicultural society," Bishop McElroy said.

"Now this nativism is unmasked as an attack not upon illegal immigration but upon all immigration," he said. "We cannot let this moment of pandemic, which calls us all to unity as God's children, become the occasion for further prejudice, exclusion and injustice."

[...]

In a statement released on April 21, the Franciscan Action Network charged that the president has been using the coronavirus crisis as cover for a series of "detrimental policy changes: from gutting various environmental regulations and extending the separation of children from parents on the border to defunding the World Health Organization."

"These despicable policies, none of which were germane to our nation's concerns regarding the pandemic, were enacted without the consent of Congress and raise troubling questions about democracy, rule of law, and Constitutional overreach by the executive branch," the network said.

[...]


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