Panel Discussion from 5/27 formation gathering

The following are notes from our first immersion pilgrimage formation gathering on May 27, 2009. The four individuals listed spoke from their professional and personal experience working with immigrants and immigrant communities here in Chicago and on a national level.

Oscar Chacon – Executive Director of the National Alliance of Latin American and Carribean Communities (NALACC)

“Immigration issue” includes enormously complex situations and issues

Immigration policies (rules about entering/residing in this country) and immigrant treatment (the way we treat people once they are here) are two separate issues

Rule of Law & Application of Law

In 1996, there was a fundamental change in immigration policy and since this time, many have vigorously insisted on being more harsh and intense in the enforcement of the existing laws.

So while the economic, political, and social climates of different countries and regions of the world have changed over these past 13 years, the number of VISAs allowed for certain countries have remained the same. Additionally, since 2001, enforcement of immigration policies have been considered part of our national security rather than simply our international policies and relationships with other countries.

Joyana Jacoby – formerly with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Archdiocese of Chicago

An outcome of the Catholic Bishops commitment to work for legislative reform of the U.S. policies on immigration and how undocumented immigrant/migrants are treated, CCIR’s mission is two-fold:

advocacy: working to create and gain support for comprehensive and compassionate immigration reform

education: creating transformative moments and learning opportunities for both immigrant and non-immigrant communities, drawing all together to discover the demands our Christian identity holds on us regarding these issues.

‘it is a slow and difficult journey working to overcome and break down the fear that divides and polarizes the U.S. and even the U.S. Catholic community. The CCIR (connected to the larger movement of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development) will continue to work for the transformation of laws, policies and the hearts of people until these changes come about and human dignity is upheld as the most important and primary concern.

Stephanie Garza – community organizer with the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP)

Stephanie gave witness to the increase in raids on workplaces, homes, and neighborhoods, as well as increases in numbers of detentions and deportations among residents of the southwest side of Chicago.

Also an increase in the difficulty in changing/’fixing’ citizenship status, as family relationships (including marriage) to citizens are no longer necessarily sufficient to change an individual’s own status

SWOP and other community organizers work for advocacy to support those who have experienced the loss of a loved one due to a raid and deportation. They work with families who are forced to make decisions about what to do with citizen children who are left behind or families who are divided as one parent is deported and another lives in fear of the same fate while raising children who are citizens.

Stephanie spoke of the drastic increase sense of terror in immigrant communities and the way this fear permeates the everyday lives of immigrants and non-immigrants alike.

Chris West – works for Catholic Relief Services and serves as the Director of Field Operations for Justice for Immigrants – the national campaign coming out of the U.S. Bishops Conference

“Immigration is not a ‘problem’ but rather a part of the human condition.’ Since the beginning of humanity, people have been ‘on the move,’ and this point in history happens to be the most drastic period of migration and immigration the world has ever seen.

Chris spoke about the basic principles coming out of Catholic social teaching that speak to issues of migration and immigration:

1. people have the right NOT to migrate – to find and build a dignified life for themselves and their families in their country/region of origin
2. If the conditions necessary to build that dignified life are not present, people have the right to migrate to a place where they can provide this dignified existence.
3. countries have the right to have and protect their sovereign borders – they have the right to monitor the goings and comings of people
4. wealthier countries have the moral obligation to care for the world’s poor and needy when circumstances arise that warrant that action
5. human dignity and rights of immigrants must be respected because first, and foremost, these are Children of God.

U.S. and Mexican Catholic Bishops’

5 policy principles for reform of immigration laws

(from Strangers No Longer, the joint document on immigration)

1. address root causes of migration by looking at political and economic situations in sending countries
2. create a legalization program to give individuals the opportunity to become legal residents and citizens once they are here, and create guest-worker programs for seasonal workers that protect against abuse and threat of family separation
3. reform of family-based immigration system; reduce long waits that separate families
4. reform employment-based immigration system
5. restore due process in immigration system/courts