On December 12th, 2011, the Latino Bishops of the United States issued a letter addressed to their immigrant brothers and sisters. Thirty-three bishops, led by Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles, expressed their solidarity with the millions of undocumented workers urging them to “not be mastered by evil; but master evil with good” (Rm 12:21).
The bishops mentioned one of the obstacles to achieving comprehensive immigration reform. “Regretfully, some in reaction to this environment of [economic] uncertainty show disdain for immigrants and even blame them for the crisis. We will not find a solution to our problems by sowing hatred. We will find the solution by showing a sense of solidarity among all workers and co-workers – immigrants and citizens – who live together in the United States.”
As an immigrant and as a priest who works with immigrants, I have encountered some of this disdain and sowing of hatred towards immigrants. After answering a few questions for the Macon Telegraph, the newspaper ran an article about local immigrants traveling to Atlanta to take part in an immigration reform march. Though I only spoke about the dignity of the human person and that the Church looks after the spiritual needs of her flock regardless of legal status, an angry reader responded, “If priests would spend more time preaching the Gospels and the doctrines of the Church and less time with their left-wing, post-Vatican II liberation theology, the Church might not have all the problems it is experiencing these days. Pablo Migone is aiding and abetting these illegals and should be arrested along with the rest of them.”
What saddens me most about this reaction is that its author is probably Catholic. Speaking up for the dignity of a human person is neither left nor right wing, it is neither pre nor post Vatican II, and it is not liberation theology. Speaking up for the dignity of the human person, especially those without a voice, is Christianity.
Disdain and hatred must be put aside when discussing immigration reform. The facts must be sought and considered. The Federation of American Scientists was cited by Bishop Taylor of Little Rock in a pastoral letter reporting that immigrants pay between $90 to $140 billion dollars in federal, state income, property and sale taxes, as well as social security. Since 2005, $55 billion dollars are added to the “suspense file” at the Social Security Administration by undocumented tax payers who will never collect benefits.
The report also states that 70% of immigrants arrive at prime working age. The United States has not invested in their upbringing, yet these workers will inject an estimated $500 billion to the social security system in the next twenty years.
The Statue of Liberty in New York has greeted immigrants for over one century with a line from the poem “The New Colossus” which reads, “Give me your tired, your poor / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” May our country, through just immigration reform, remain true to the sentiments expressed in these lines.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In