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Illegal immigrants 'are not free-loaders,' says Guatemalan bishop
Catholic News Service ^ | 04.13.05 | Agostino Bono

Posted on 04/21/2005 9:20:39 PM PDT by Coleus

Illegal immigrants 'are not free-loaders,' says Guatemalan bishop

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Illegal immigrants "are not free-loaders" but hard-working people who are seeking better lives for their families because social and economic improvements are not readily available to the Latin American poor, said a Guatemalan bishop.

"Some call them 'illegals.' But according to the market model, they are better described as entrepreneurs without assets, pursuing the American dream," said Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini Imeri of San Marcos, Guatemala.

"They work hard, often in several jobs, supporting a way of life that many take for granted," he said April 13 in written testimony delivered before the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

Bishop Ramazzini testified at a hearing on the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA, between the United States and five Central American countries. Negotiators for the six countries have agreed on a text, but the accord still has to be ratified by the United States and several other countries.

Better salaries and better working conditions are the main reasons Latin Americans come to the United States, he said.

Working conditions in Central America will only get worse under the proposed free trade agreement, as this pact threatens "to lock in a much lower level of protection for workers and their families," he added.

"Poor working conditions make for bad economics. Without enforceable labor rights that are part of trade agreements with sanctions for noncompliance applied to them, we will not raise standards of labor and standards of living in my country," said the bishop.

"I know of repeated instances where workers were treated in a way that would be against basic labor law in the United States," he said.

"Industrial workers, equipped with the basic rights to have a say in the workplace, were key to the growth of a middle class in your nation," and formed "a key element in making the United States the economic powerhouse it is today," said Bishop Ramazzini.

"This is not happening in Central America and it will not happen as long as hundreds of thousands of workers are suppressed, not empowered, at the workplace," he said.

Guatemala is among the 10 worst Latin American countries regarding unequal income distribution and needs to develop a strong middle class for economic and political stability, he said.

In Guatemala, 56 percent of the population is poor and 16 percent is extremely poor, he said.

Policies governing trade need to be integrated with development programs if life for the poor is to improve, he said.

"Trade policies need to be complemented by institutional reforms and a broader development framework that affords each person their right to participate in a market that is fair and compassionate," he added.

Bishop Ramazzini also questioned whether Guatemalan farmers could compete with subsidized U.S. agricultural products if tariff barriers were dropped.

"Our farmers are hard-working" but they "cannot compete against the U.S. Treasury and the $170 billion subsidies granted in your farm bill of 2002," he said.

Almost 25 percent of Guatemala's gross national product comes from farming, he said.

The bishop also questioned the long-term benefit of CAFTA to poor countries, saying its approval could override more favorable terms being negotiated worldwide by the World Trade Organization.

"It is widely expected that low-income developing countries, such as Guatemala, will be afforded 'special and differential treatment' under World Trade Organization rules currently being negotiated," he said.

"CAFTA will likely trump such measures that are designed to allow developing countries the time and space to foster integral human development," he said.

Rather than concentrating on making it easier for goods to cross borders, trade pacts "must look at trade policies from the bottom up -- from their impact on the lives and dignity of poor families and vulnerable workers across the hemisphere," he said.

Bishop Ramazzini's testimony is the latest in a series of efforts by Latin American bishops to criticize aspects of free trade agreements being promoted by the United States.

Last June, Bishop Ramazzini was part of a delegation of Central American bishops visiting the United States to discuss their criticisms of CAFTA with church and government officials. Last July, the Central American and U.S. bishops issued a joint statement outlining objections.

In February, a delegation of bishops from the Andean countries in South America visited the United States to air similar criticisms.

Church officials have said that they are not opposed to the concept of free trade, but are objecting to specific treaties they have judged to be prejudicial to the Latin American poor.



TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: aliens; alqaida; bordercontrol; cafta; catholic; catholiclist; closetheborder; farming; farmsubsidies; freeloaders; illegalimmigrants; illegalimmigration; immigration; immigrationlist; ins; latinamerica; terrorists
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To: jackbenimble

"Dane, I can do without the implication that my views are racist. I am half Cuban."


Dane is simply a race baiter. She likes to get these threads shutdown by getting people upset and engage them in a race war. Frankly, I cannot understand why someone who routinely calls FReepers, "racists", is allowed to stay.


101 posted on 04/22/2005 3:17:43 PM PDT by shellshocked (They're undocumented Border Patrol agents, not vigilantes.)
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To: HiJinx

Gonzales is Bush's mini-me puppet.


102 posted on 04/22/2005 3:28:00 PM PDT by janetgreen
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To: dljordan; Czar
You are not an American are you?

While it may be a US Citizen, it's defiantly not an American.

103 posted on 04/22/2005 3:29:37 PM PDT by Marine Inspector (Customs & Border Protection Officer)
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To: shellshocked

So says Karnak the Magnificent, the diviner of hidden motivations. Maybe she just doesn't agree with the "America-First-Worst" premises being mau-mau'ed around here.
104 posted on 04/22/2005 3:33:22 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: Marine Inspector; ClintonBeGone
Should we use the same sort of scurrilous words when viewing unionized governmental labor? Why not debate ideas instead of tearing down and smearing other debaters?
105 posted on 04/22/2005 3:36:46 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: Marine Inspector
That's why I prefer Travis's acronym: FOQNA.

Good fit, isn't it.

106 posted on 04/22/2005 3:41:51 PM PDT by Czar (StillFedUptotheTeeth@Washington)
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To: Marine Inspector

" While it may be a US Citizen, it's defiantly not an American."

I think I detected that through subtle undercurrents of previous posts. I was just trying to get an honest answer even though I know one won't be forthcoming. We have a cadre (I think that's an apt analogy) of people on FR who use a definite style to reply to other posters. They never present any arguments or thoughtful rebuttals, they never answer direct questions, they resort to scurrilous name-calling and they always advocate the destruction of America through immivasion and culture war. When they feel pressured they start pinging their buds to pile on and help them. Hell, they may even work for a foriegn government. Who knows.


107 posted on 04/22/2005 4:04:48 PM PDT by dljordan
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To: dljordan; Czar
This is the only card the FOQNA's can play in this debate.


108 posted on 04/22/2005 4:14:45 PM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Czar; shellshocked; Marine Inspector
Here is another term which applies:

Quisling: a synonym for "traitor", someone who collaborates with the invaders of his country.

109 posted on 04/22/2005 4:16:19 PM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Czar

AAFTCWCCIARAL.


110 posted on 04/22/2005 4:17:34 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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To: Travis McGee

Agree...


111 posted on 04/22/2005 4:18:44 PM PDT by Czar (StillFedUptotheTeeth@Washington)
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To: Travis McGee

...and agree.


112 posted on 04/22/2005 4:19:22 PM PDT by Czar (StillFedUptotheTeeth@Washington)
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To: Cultural Jihad

"Maybe she just doesn't agree with the "America-Worst" premises being mau-mau'ed around here."


You mean like you and she say that Americans are soooo lazy and stupid that we need the illegals to do our own jobs. You mean like that "American Worst"??


113 posted on 04/22/2005 4:22:05 PM PDT by shellshocked (They're undocumented Border Patrol agents, not vigilantes.)
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To: Marine Inspector; harrowup; Cultural Jihad; jjbrouwer
While it may be a US Citizen, it's defiantly not an American.

How would a donut eating union guard shack paper pusher know the difference?

And let me make a very clear suggestion to you "Marine Inspector" - if you're going to address me, have the nuts to ping me to your post. I would think with the trouble you got yourself into with JJ, you would have the partial sense to shut up and cut your losses, rather than act like a coward and talk about people without providing them the courtesy of some notice.

114 posted on 04/22/2005 4:23:30 PM PDT by ClintonBeGone (In politics, sometimes it's OK for even a Wolverine to root for a Buckeye win.)
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To: dljordan
They never present any arguments or thoughtful rebuttals

Why so quick to presume that simply because you don't understand another's point, that one wasn't made?

115 posted on 04/22/2005 4:25:18 PM PDT by ClintonBeGone (In politics, sometimes it's OK for even a Wolverine to root for a Buckeye win.)
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To: ClintonBeGone; dljordan

you are such a card! LOL
we all know it was NAFTA and GATT lover Bill Clinton who is the commie.

we also know both Hamilton and Madison were for tarriffs to protect the United States against English competition.

not to mention - the slave traders LOVED free trade.. and became quite wealthy over it. was that one of those cases were free trade was good fer every one?

i especially liked the Native American example... LOL..


116 posted on 04/22/2005 4:25:50 PM PDT by sdpatriot (remember waco and ruby ridge)
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To: Cultural Jihad; Marine Inspector
Should we use the same sort of scurrilous words when viewing unionized governmental labor? Why not debate ideas instead of tearing down and smearing other debaters?

These people have no ideas. They instead chose to hide behind each other's skirts.

117 posted on 04/22/2005 4:27:06 PM PDT by ClintonBeGone (In politics, sometimes it's OK for even a Wolverine to root for a Buckeye win.)
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To: sdpatriot
i especially liked the Native American example... LOL..

I'm enamored that you found such joy in a passage you clearly can not comprehend.

118 posted on 04/22/2005 4:28:12 PM PDT by ClintonBeGone (In politics, sometimes it's OK for even a Wolverine to root for a Buckeye win.)
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To: ClintonBeGone
For any newbie lurkers who don't know what a FOQNA is--ClintonBeGone's famous post 26:

You couldn't beat the Mexicans lead by brother Santa Anna at the Alamo - You're certainly not going to beat Mara Salvatrucha with a bunch of fat old ex-supply sergeants.

119 posted on 04/22/2005 4:29:29 PM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: Travis McGee

You are mistaken, friend. Post #26 was by B4Ranch.


120 posted on 04/22/2005 4:31:28 PM PDT by Cultural Jihad
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