Resolution on Immigration Reform (NationalConference of Catholic Bishops)

National Conference of Catholic Bishops ^ | November 16, 2000

[Cultural Jihad]

Resolution on Immigration Reform

A Resolution by the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops

November 16, 2000

Spanish Version

1. We, the bishops of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, at our annual meeting in Washington, D.C., call upon our federal policymakers to reexamine our immigration laws and enact legislative and administrative reforms which uphold the basic dignity and human rights of immigrants and preserve the unity of the immigrant family.

2. Immigrants from lands across the globe have helped build our great nation. Newcomers have contributed to our nation by strengthening our cultural and social fabric and adding their energies and ideas to our economy. Their presence has enriched our local communities, rural areas, and cities, and their faith in God has enlightened our increasingly secularized culture. In this Jubilee Year 2000 and throughout the new century, we recommit ourselves to celebrate and embrace newcomers and acknowledge the rich contributions they make to our nation.

3. The Catholic Church has historically held a strong interest in immigration and how public policy impacts immigrants seeking a new life in the United States. We believe that the current configuration of our immigration laws combined with immigration policies pursued by our government in the last several years have had the negative effects of undermining the human dignity of immigrants and dividing immigrant families. We urge our federal policymakers to revise our nation's immigration laws and policies in a manner which includes the following elements: legalization for the maximum number of persons in an undocumented or irregular legal status, particularly those who have lived here for several years and built equities in and otherwise contributed to their communities; enforcement policies, most particularly along the United States-Mexico border, which respect the human dignity and human rights of all immigrants, regardless of their legal status; revision of the 1996 immigration laws, which undermine the procedural due process rights of immigrants in our country, limit protections for asylum seekers, and are retroactive in nature; revision of the 1996 welfare law, which severely restricts the eligibility of legal immigrants for public benefits; repeal of mandatory detention of immigrants and development of alternatives to detention, especially for women and children, as well as the release of immigrants who have completed their sentences but are indefinitely detained because their country of origin will not accept their return; enforcement of and respect for the civil and workplace rights of immigrant workers, especially those in industries which rely heavily on foreign workers (i.e., agriculture, meat and poultry processing, service); a more efficient legal immigration system with reduced waiting times which is equitable, generous, and based upon family reunification; U.S. foreign and economic policies which fully address the conflict, poverty, and denial of human rights which pressure persons to come to this country; and a religious worker visa program which is permanently authorized and which more efficiently permits foreign religious workers into our country to perform pastoral work on behalf of the Catholic Church in the United States and all other U.S. religious denominations.

4. While we recognize the right and acknowledge the responsibility of the U.S. government to secure our national borders and do not condone or encourage undocumented migration into the United States, we nevertheless affirm the dignity of undocumented persons who live in our midst and make every effort to ensure that their human rights are respected and protected. Until such time as the global community effectively addresses the root causes of undocumented migration, individual nations must confront the presence of undocumented persons in a manner which upholds their basic dignity and human rights.

5. At the advent of a new Congress and new Administration, now is a good time to reevaluate our nation's immigration laws and policies. The American people must consider how to embrace the contributions of immigrants and, in the process, better our communities and nation. Our elected leaders must build an immigration system which acknowledges the increasing interdependence of our world and accounts for the migration streams which characterize the new globalization.

6. We, the U.S. Catholic bishops, stand ready to work with our public officials to fashion a new immigration model which prepares our nation for the 21st century while also upholding and respecting the human rights and dignity of immigrants and their families. We do so as pastors devoted to providing the full range of pastoral, legal, and social services to newcomers to our land. We offer, in particular, the experience of our nationwide refugee resettlement and legal immigration networks as a source of information on the needs and aspirations of newcomers in our country and on the reforms that are necessary in our nation's laws and policies.

7. At the threshold of a new millennium, our nation must revisit its historic roots and reexamine attitudes, laws, and policies toward newcomers who come to our land in search of a better life. We call upon all Catholics and citizens of good will to heed our Lord's call and challenge: "For I was a stranger and you welcomed me." (Matthew 25:35)




__________________________________

Office of Migration & Refugee Services
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000

June 03, 2003 Copyright © by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

[Cultural Jihad]

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[WOSG]

"While we recognize the right and acknowledge the responsibility of the U.S. government to secure our national borders and do not condone or encourage undocumented migration into the United States,"


... good! then you should have no problems with supporting Tom Tancredo's Plans, my fellow Catholics.

It doesnt deny anyones human rights to say "No Trespassing" on property that isnt theirs...
http://www.house.gov/tancredo/Immigration/

Rep. Tom Tancredo’s Four-Point Plan for Immigration Control

The United States has lost control over its immigration policy. Over one million persons enter our nation illegally each year and we have antiquated and error-prone systems for knowing who our legal visitors are and for enforcing their visa time limits. Every poll shows that over 75% of citizens support border security and strict enforcement of our immigration laws. They want our immigration policies fixed. Here is my four-point plan for achieving control of our borders and enforcing sensible immigration policies.

1. Secure our Nation’s Borders

* Increase Border Patrol manpower from the present 11,500 to 20,000 (HR 3534).
* Use the U.S. Military until the Border Patrol reaches that manpower level (HR 277).
* Accelerate the use of new technology and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to identify and help apprehend smugglers and trespassers.
* Double the capacity of the detention centers for apprehended trespassers.
* End the “catch and release” policy by instituting fines and jail time for repeat offenders.
* Require stiff prison sentences for convicted “coyotes” and felons who return to the U.S. after deportation.
* Accelerate the implementation of the “USVISIT” biometric identifier program for all foreign nationals entering the country through our ports of entry.

2. Establish a Genuine Guest Worker Program

* Enact a genuine Guest Worker Bill (HR 3534) to allow any foreign national to enter the US legally to work for up to one year in a job that cannot be filled by a citizen.
* Require employers to advertise all jobs on an internet bulletin board and for two weeks before hiring a Guest Worker.
* Require illegal aliens already in the U.S. to first return home and apply for jobs through the legal processes.

3. Improve “Interior Enforcement” of Immigration Laws

* Provide adequate resources to the “Detention and Removal” branch of the Bureau of Customs and Immigration Enforcement (BICE) to allow apprehension and removal of all criminal aliens.
* Enact the “CLEAR” Act (HR 2671) to give local law enforcement incentives and reimbursements for participating in immigration law enforcement.
* Establish stiff fines and tax penalties for employers who violate the law by hiring illegal aliens, and devote adequate resources to identify and prosecute those employers.

4. Remove Incentives for Illegal Immigration

* Employers who hire illegal aliens should face stiff fines and tax penalties (see#2 above).
* Federal and State agencies should be prohibited from recognizing the Mexican Government’s “Matricula Consular” ID card.
* States that grant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens should suffer loss of federal highway funds.
* Children born to illegal aliens should not be given citizenship status (HR 1567).
* Federal court rulings and other policies that require health and educational services to illegal aliens should be overturned.
* Amend Social Security Act to deny credits for wages earned in illegal employment or to self-employed engaged in illegal activities (HR 1631).
* Insist that the Government of Mexico extradite felony criminals who retreat into Mexico.
* Encourage the Government of Mexico to repeal its Dual Citizenship law.

[MJY1288]

Are you a masochist, You're gonna need a good pair of Nomex Jammie's, cause in a few minutes, the "hunt-em Down and Deport-em" crowd will be here to roast you like a cheap steak

[MJY1288]

It's very hard to argue with Tancredo's plan

[MJY1288]

My biggest objection with many who chime in on this subject, is the idea of mass deportation. That will never work, it's simply impossible

[hedgetrimmer]

Gee, Britain could evacuate 1 1/2 million people in WWII, what is the big deal about deporting criminal aliens?

***
When Hitler came to power in 1933, British leaders worried that a new war might begin. By 1934, afraid that British cities and towns would be targets for bombing raids by aircraft, officials made secret plans to move infants, schoolchildren and some adults to the countryside if war began.

In 1938, during the Munich crisis, evacuation was very nearly started in Britain, but war was avoided and children remained at home. More detailed evacuation plans were prepared after the crisis. Evacuation was to be voluntary, with parents deciding whether to send their children away.

A year later, in September 1939, evacuation commenced several days before Britain entered the war. From the cities and big towns, schoolchildren, their teachers, mothers with children under five, pregnant women, and some disabled people were moved by train and road to smaller towns and villages in the countryside. The evacuation plan worked very well and 1½ million children and adults were moved within 3 days, including 600,000 from London.

[WOSG]

That alas is a Red Herring ...

We are at about 0% success rate on deportation of illegal aliens ... 'mass deportation' is the claimed negative effects of an instantaneous 100% success overnight.
It wont happen even with every single proposal We suggest happening. Most of these would work over time to 'weed out' the illegals. Time enough for things to adjust.
College kids getting back in the landscape business (that's how I spent 2 summers), etc.

Well, in the extremely unlikely event of it happening,
you could always invite some folks back in.

That is why I agree Bush's guest worker program should be *paired* with the Tancredo plan, and why Tancredo's plan itself has a component for the guest worker program.

[MJY1288]

There is a good possibility that it will when the House takes this issue to the House floor. Tancredo is well respected on this issue and I think Tom Delay will play a big part in making dure Tancredo's plan is debated and adopted.

[WOSG]

ON further reflection, there must be a term for this philosophy of being so "Christian" you insist that you, your country and its citizens act as a doormat for even the disreputable to take advantage of you. Maybe just "60s Liberalism". It sounds so "Carteresque" in its Pollyannish silence on the real consequence of seemingly 'kind' policies. IN truth the ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS. And the bishops policy would lead to suffering and - yes - even death, although that is hardly their intention.

This is classic: "revision of the 1996 welfare law, which severely restricts the eligibility of legal immigrants for public benefits; " NO! Go that route and you have streams of people coming to the US for hand out instead of a job and ahand up. Net result? We change that law and combine it with their insistence on lax security and amnesty and our whole social welfare system would explode in cost, causing *Americans* to suffer the consequences.

Kind of like that story of the kind church worker who would let criminals into her house in acts of charity. One day, one of those criminals killed her. I dont think being good should require you to be blind to people's nature and behavior.

[MJY1288]

"Gee, Britain could evacuate 1 1/2 million people in WWII, what is the big deal about deporting criminal aliens?"

That's fine, but the Brit's knew where they were, we can only guess where the illegals are in this country. Not to mention the logistics of moving 8 to 12 million people back to Mexico in a country this large. And lets not forget how a massive deportation would be portrayed around the world by our ultra liberal press. Just think of a massive deportation as Elian Gonzalez times 10 million

[WOSG]

No, we should NOT wait until it goes to the floor.

The Bill coming out of the Immigration committee must be a strong bill on enforcement and on changing legal immigration (ie end chain migration and 'anchor babies'). You dont fix things like that on the floor.

JMHO.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

Fools. I guess they haven't taken enough heat on the child abuse issue, they now want to alienate everyone else.

[Missouri]

This is better.

Link to Constitution Party platform

Contitution Party's platform on immigration.

We affirm the integrity of the international borders of the United States and the Constitutional authority and right of the federal government to guard and to protect those borders, including the regulation of the numbers and of the qualifications of immigrants into the country.

Each year some 972,000 legal immigrants and hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens enter the United States. These immigrants — including illegal aliens — have been made eligible for various kinds of public assistance, including housing, education, Social Security, and legal services.

This unconstitutional drain on the federal Treasury is having a severe and adverse impact on our economy, increasing the cost of government at federal, state, and local levels, adding to the tax burden, and stressing the fabric of society. The mass importation of people with low standards of living threatens the wage structure of the American worker and the labor balance in our country.

We favor a moratorium on immigration to the United States, except in individual hardship cases or in other individual special circumstances, until the availability of all federal subsidies and assistance be discontinued.

We also insist that every individual group and/or private agency which requests the admission of an immigrant to the U.S., on whatever basis, be required to commit legally to provide housing and sustenance for such immigrants, bear full responsibility for the economic independence of the immigrants, and post appropriate bonds to seal such covenants.

The Constitution Party demands that the federal government restore immigration policies based on the practice that potential immigrants will be disqualified from admission to the U.S. if, on the grounds of health, criminality, morals, or financial dependence, they would impose an improper burden on the United States, any state, or any citizen of the United States.

We oppose the provision of welfare subsidies and other taxpayer-supported benefits to illegal aliens, and reject the practice of bestowing U.S. citizenship on children born to illegal alien parents while in this country.

We oppose any extension of amnesty to illegal aliens.

We oppose bilingual ballots. We insist that those who wish to take part in the electoral process and governance of this nation be required to read and comprehend basic English as a precondition of citizenship. We support English as the official language for all governmental business by the United States.

[Cultural Jihad]

Good luck if you think that the Constitution Party is a religion, or the highest arbiter of right and wrong.

[Cultural Jihad]

We are at about 0% success rate on deportation of illegal aliens ...

From the census bureau, here's how many aliens were removed for each reported year from 1990 through 1998.

1990: 1,052,500
1992: 1,149,500
1993: 1,285,800
1994: 1,080,600
1995: 1,364,600
1996: 1,643,000
1997: 1,554,900
1998: 1,742,300

10,873,200 aliens expelled either by force or voluntarily during 8 reported years.

[MJY1288]

I don't think I said we should, What I meant was that if it does, Tancredo's approach will be adopted. In the mean time, I will be sending my thoughts to my elected officials. I think the focus of any immigration reform should be on the employers who hire the illegals.

I think we should come up with a plan that puts an emphasis on penalizing the employers who break our immigration laws. The only crime I see being committed by those who come here strictly for work, is entering illegally.

On the contrary, I see those who knowing hire illegals as the real criminals. As a Business owner myself, I know that these employers are breaking several federal tax laws, they are committing fraud when they sign their Fed 940 report, defrauding federal and state labor laws, violating workman's comp regulations, and a host of others.

I say if we see a few of these Service Industry CEO's being paraded in front of the camera's on that familiar "perp" walk we saw those Wall Street crooks perform for the camera's, after they were charged with defrauding their investors. We might see our border become more manageable

[WackyKat]

Translation of the Resolution:The Catholic Bishops think that the United States needs a lot more Catholics, and we don't care about the cost to the nation's political, demographic, economic. and social character and stability

And maybe we can make birth control illegal again!

[harbingr]

From Phyllis Schafly's EagleForum.org Report:

Whose Side are the Politicians On?

contents:
-Driver's Licenses = Pseudo Amnesty
-Don't Change Oath of Citizenship
-The Biggest Issue in California
-Amazing News from India News from India

excerpt...

'The U.S. press reported that President George W. Bush and Karl Rove attended a fundraiser in September in Jackson, Mississippi that netted Republican gubernatorial candidate Haley Barbour $1.2 million. To read the really big news about that Jackson event, we have to go to the Internet and call up what was reported by the Hindustan Times on September 16.

The private reception in Jackson was attended by eight Indians, one of whom, Paresh Shah, specifically questioned the President about his stand on the bill introduced by Rep. Tom Tancredo (H.R. 2688) that calls for terminating H-1B visas. Shah told the Indian news service IANS: "Bush spread his hands as wide apart as possible and stated unequivocally that 'Tancredo and I are at opposite ends of the pole. I fully do not support Congressman Tancredo's bill against H-1Bs'."

This isn't the first time that American jobhunters got their up-to-date employment news from faraway India. On June 14, the Economic Times of India published a report that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick assured India that its workers who come to the United States on H-1B visas will receive Social Security benefits even though they don't comply with the rules American workers must meet.

In order for Americans to receive Social Security benefits, we have to pay taxes into the system for 10 years or 40 quarters. Those who come here from India on H-1B visas are allowed to work here for three years and get one three-year extension, for a total of six years (not ten years).

"Totalization" is the bureaucratic buzz word to describe executive agreements to give foreigners employed in the United States Social Security benefits to which they are not entitled. A similar "totalization" plan is now cooking in our State Department to give Social Security benefits to Mexican aliens, even if they are in our country illegally.