[Coleus]

Reform Should Provide Avenue to Legal Residency and Citizenship

[DoughtyOne]

Yes and reform of Bank Robbing laws should see armed robbers forgiven if it's been two years since they conducted their last heist.

And oh by the way, I'd like my taxes forgiven next year.

[joesnuffy]

Illegal alien invaders are NOT immigrants.

[Panerai]

The Catholic church is all for the criminals, judging by all the Catholic church leaders I have seen speak at illegal alien marches, in favor of them. Makes sense, this is where their new audience is. Just another reason to love the Catholic church getting involved in politics.

[Mr. Mojo]

Signs that said “Bush Step Down” and “Bush is the real terrorist” were common at the rallies. But that doesn’t seem wise. Did the marchers not know that Bush is the one who first proposed the national “guest worker” program for illegal immigrants that they were marching for? Did they remember how his decision to do so imperiled his re-election by angering his conservative supporters?

No matter how hard the GOP tries to grab the Latino "pro-immigrant" vote they don't have a chance in hell of succeeding. They'd be better served putting all that energy into keeping their traditional voters from straying and keeping more future Democrat voters from arriving ....and encouraging the ones already here to head back home.

How? Three moves: 1) heavily fine employers who hire illegals, 2) rescind the anchor baby laws, 3) end illegal alien welfare. No jobs + no automatic citizenship for procreating + no taxpayer freebies = no reason to stay. ....or to come in the first place.

[ecomcon]

Crisis either way. We lose the identity of this country so we can have social security or we keep this country's identity, bite the bullet and do without.

[Incorrigible]

The immigrant I married better thank me!!

[Redleg1963]

But they didn’t seem to realize that illegal immigration has always been a misdemeanor – and that to make it a felony would increase the drain on America’s resources 100-fold.

No it was a Felony until the mid 70's!

[org.whodat]

How much of the gold that the church stoled off of the central and south American Indian's have they returned??

[AmeriBrit]

O.K. hows this for an idea. Make it against the law for parents to give pocket money to their children after the age of 15 years. If they want new clothes, a car, gas for the car, all the latest audio equipment etc., let them start cutting lawns, pulling weeds, babysitting, bagging in grocery stores, running errands, working for the farmers, and so on ( all the jobs the illegals now do supposedly, (((cough-cough)))) to earn the money themselves. This would cut down on their time to join gangs, teach them a little responsibility and cut out the jobs and reason the government insists we need illegals for.

This method worked when we were growing up, why can't it work again?

----------------------------------------------------------

[Flightdeck]

Bunch of anecdotal crap

[Lizavetta]

Without immigrants, we wouldn’t have enough workers paying into the system to support retirees.

When employers are not taking out payroll taxes, Social Security, etc. because they're paying illegals in cash, the illegals aren't paying into squat and aren't supporting anyone, you idiot.

And don't tell me they're paying property taxes to support the schools that warehouse their children, because you're lying.

[antceecee]

This Catholic ain't applauding!

[sockmonkey]

My cousin married an illegal immigrant. He overstayed his student visa (blue card, I think) which he had for the Seminary where he was studying for the Catholic Priesthood..oops.

He then started making fraudulent documents, and helping to smuggle in illegals for between $3,000 to $10,000 a pop. I think it was $10,000 for pregnant women who wanted to come to the US to have their children. It was less for those who were already here who just needed a birth certificate, and social security card. He was deported twice, IIRC, but came right back to the US.

He was charged with the document forgery, and the government estimated that he had made about eight million dollars tax free by the time they closed him down.

The ninth circuit overturned his conviction on appeal-something to do with the handwriting expert, I think. I could not understand this as they busted his storefront business with all his fake document making equipment..oh, well.

His children had points added to their SAT's because they were minorities, and got scholarships to college, even though their Dad had eight million tax free dollars he could have sent them to college on.

He is now a School Counselor in the Bay Area in California.
He is one of the faces of illegal immigration, I'm not going to read about in the warm fuzzy illegal immigration stories, I guess.

[RFT1]

Thankfully I resigned my K of C membership a few months ago. They are just another go along, get along group.

[catholicfreeper]

Good article. People might not like it but I think its very fair. I understand many Catholics of course are against this view. However many of us see that both sides in this debate have been a tad extreme. I am kind of disheartened about the negative comments about the Church here. What the Church is reminding us is that we are not dealing with some vague and impersonal "they". We are at the end dealing with human beings. Human beings that have a special dignity because they are human beings and made in the image of the creator.
I recognize for every good immigrant or illegal immigrant story of course there is a bad story that can be brought up. What the Church is asking us to consider here is the fact that a blanket law that could break up families etc might not be just. The Church has on a consistent basis upheld the dignity of the State and National identity. However the Church does remind us that the laws we enact must not cause unneeded suffering or pain. The fact that Church reminds us that we are dealing with Human beings is important task. It shouldn't be condemned but considered in informing our views. Why do people fear that?

[MHGinTN]

The giant immigration marches in April were almost surreal. Continuing to call them 'immigration marches' is what's surreal! That's like calling Hitler's storming into Belgium 'A vacation visit'. This is about being invaded by very poor people trying to escape a feudal state run by a lying ruler named Vincente.

[catholicfreeper]

To all people that now want to bash the Knights because of one position lets look whatelese they are doing. From the Homepage





Knights Pledge Solidarity to Pope Benedict XVI





Knights Pledge Solidarity to Pope Benedict XVI
April 19 marks the first anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI. To commemorate this event, the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution in public praise and support of the Pope.



Knights of Columbus Salutes 500th Anniversary of St. Peter’s Basilica
When St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome celebrates its 500th anniversary on April 18, 2006, it will look its best for the celebration thanks, in significant part, to a series of refurbishments made possible by support from the Knights of Columbus.

Knights Work with Bishops to Defend Marriage
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Knights are joining forces in a campaign to encourage U.S. Catholics to write their senators urging a vote in favor of the Marriage Protection Amendment. The Order is printing 10 million post cards urging senators to support the amendment. Grand knights and pastors can order additional post cards by filling out and faxing this order form. Shipping is free.

Supreme Knight Praises South Dakota Legislature
In approving the Women’s Health and Human Life Protection Act, the South Dakota legislature “has done the entire nation a tremendous service,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said Feb. 27

As of Dec. 31, Knights and others have added over $4.2 million to the Order's Gulf states disaster relief effort. The Knights of Columbus Supreme Council has donated $2.5 million to aid hurricane victims in Gulf Coast states, and encourages donations to the Order's disaster relief effort as well. The Supreme Council also matched all donations received by the Order before Nov. 1, 2005.
How to donate online or by check
State, local councils act
Knights in for long haul

Contribution by Order Aids Catholic Schools in Alabama
A $100,000 contribution to the Archdiocese of Mobile (Ala.) received from the Knights of Columbus Gulf States Disaster Relief Fund will be applied toward the material and financial restoration of the Catholic schools most seriously impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita

[ozzymandus]

I wonder if the Catholic Church would be so supportive of illegal immigrants if they were 98% Lutheran?

[p23185]

This entrepreneurial immigrant spirit is precisely what we call “the American spirit.” As for draining America’s resources: Americans should be more fearful of a future without heavy immigration than one with it. Over the last several decades, American family sizes have decreased nearly as much as European family sizes. Without immigrants, the United States would be below replacement-level population growth. We would be losing more Americans each year than we gain. The crisis that threatens Social Security’s future would be upon us today. Without immigrants, we wouldn’t have enough workers paying into the system to support retirees. If you draw Social Security income, you should thank an immigrant.

So the answer is since we have aborted this generation of American (40 million+ since 1973), we now need the lowest level of Mexican to come and replace those lost. The wealthy and educated Mexican stays in the upper strata in Mexico while we take the lowest level "hard worker" and the undesirables from Vincente Fox. Is that the understanding of the writer?

What I want is for abortion to be left to the state legal system and get the "American" replacement population back up.