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In the Heart of the Church |
STATEMENT ON IMMIGRATION
Florida Bishops'
Conference
January 1, 2011
“When an alien resides with you in your land, do not molest him. You
shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the
natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself;
for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the Lord am
your God.” Leviticus 19: 33 – 34
We, the Catholic bishops of Florida, are deeply concerned with our
nation‟s flawed immigration system and its impact on the human
dignity and lives of our migrant brothers and sisters. This system
divides families and causes human suffering to those who search for
work in support of their families.
In Florida, our economy is dependent upon manual labor for
agriculture, construction and the service industry. Limited numbers
of worker visas are available to bring unskilled labor into the U.S.
for jobs but too often, demand exceeds need. This has created a
market for undocumented workers who may face abuses such as
inadequate wages, substandard housing and no benefits with a real
threat of exploitation by unscrupulous employers, human smugglers
and human traffickers. While the Catholic Church does not advocate
for undocumented immigration into the United States, it respects the
dignity of the human person and the right to work to meet the basic
needs of their families.
The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are
able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the
means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.
Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is
respected that places a guest under the protection of those who
receive him. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2241)
The failure of the United States Congress to enact comprehensive
immigration reform leaves migrants in search of work without legal
protection and vulnerable to mistreatment. At the same time, our
State and nation benefits from their work and their taxes, creating
a permanent underclass with no rights in our society. In his 1981
encyclical letter, Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II expressed
that care should be taken to prevent the exploitation of those who
must emigrate in order to find work. Furthermore, just legislation
must ensure the same criteria apply to immigrant workers as other
workers in society. As a moral matter, we cannot accept the toil and
taxes of these human beings without offering them the protections of
our laws. This is not the American way.
We also have grave concerns about the impact of this flawed system
on family unity. Families are the building blocks for society and
the place where children are nourished and protected. Too often,
backlogs and visa quotas for countries prevent immigrant citizens
and legal permanent residents from bringing spouses, parents and
minor children from overseas, a wait for some approaching 20 years.
The U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants are at
significant risk if parents are incarcerated and scheduled for
deportation.
Our humanitarian concerns with the broken immigration system do not
conflict with, but complement the right of the sovereign nation to
control its borders. By repairing the system comprehensively, and
providing legal means for entry, the nation would replace illegality
with legality so that individuals and families could migrate and
work in a safe and controlled manner. This would not only protect
the rights of the migrant, but also help ensure national security,
as law enforcement would be able to focus on those who come to our
country to harm us.
The Church recognizes the right of a sovereign state to control its
borders in furtherance of the common good. It also recognizes the
right of persons to migrate so that they can realize their God-given
rights. These teachings complement each other. While the sovereign
state may impose reasonable limits on immigration, the common good
is not served when the basic human rights of the individual are
violated. (Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, a
joint pastoral statement composed by the Bishops of Mexico and the
United States.)
While we support the right of the sovereign nation to control its
borders, this does not mean that it should be done in a manner that
undermines basic human rights. The vast majority of immigrants to
this nation are not criminals, which should be taken into account in
any enforcement strategy. The recent increases in deportation and
the sometimes inhumane treatment of detainees such as refusal to
allow contact with families and no legal representation causes us to
question the methods used against those already in fear for their
lives. Immigration law is complicated and only trained professionals
have current knowledge of the laws, not local law enforcement.
Any passing of laws that give legal sanction to profiling people
will decrease public safety and discourage reporting of crime. The
so-called „illegals‟ are so, not because they wish to defy the law,
but because the law does not provide them with any channels to
regularize their status in our country which needs their labor. They
are not so much breaking the law, as being broken by the law.
Instead of passing local and state laws which cause fear in
immigrant communities, Congress must bring these persons out of the
shadows so they can fully contribute their talents to our nation.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has consistently
advocated for “a path to citizenship” meaning those who are already
present and contributing to society could come forward and pay a
fine, undergo a comprehensive criminal background check, show they
have paid taxes, are learning English and obtain a visa that would
lead to permanent residency. Immigration is a federal issue and
there must be a federal solution rather than the attempts to craft
varying proposals in several states including Florida.
We call upon our federal delegation to lead the fight for
comprehensive immigration reform in Congress. We call upon the
Florida legislature to resist efforts to demonize those who provide
the labor for our economy and a living for their families. Our
Catholic Social Teaching and the tradition of the Church affirm the
dignity of every human being, made in the image of God.
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, Archdiocese of Miami
Bishop Victor Galeone, Diocese of St. Augustine
Bishop Robert N. Lynch, Diocese of St. Petersburg
Bishop John G. Noonan, Diocese of Orlando
Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito, Diocese of Palm Beach
Bishop Frank J. Dewane, Diocese of Venice
Auxiliary Bishop Felipe J. Estévez, Archdiocese of Miami
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