Every time the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency stages a major raid to arrest illegal immigrants, it causes a stir among those who say the federal agents are hurting businesses and breaking up families. The most recent example happened in Laurel, Miss., where agents raided a factory and took 595 suspected illegal immigrants into custody. It was the biggest workplace raid in U.S. history. Some workers at the plant where the raid took place applauded as the suspected illegal workers were taken away. Employees had long complained about illegal workers being allowed to work more overtime and being promoted over legal workers. So what are federal agents to do? Ignore the problem, and let illegal immigrants continue to take jobs away from U.S. citizens? No. We suggest they be allowed to continue to do their job.
— Minot (N.D.) Daily News editorial
On behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I call upon the Department of Homeland Security and President Bush to re-examine the use of work-site enforcement raids as an immigration enforcement tool. The humanitarian costs of these raids are immeasurable and unacceptable in a civilized society. For more than a year now, the department has targeted employers that hire unauthorized workers by using force to enter work sites and arrest immigrant workers. During the process of these raids, U.S.-citizen children have been separated from their parents for days, if not longer; immigrants arrested have not been afforded the rights of due process; and local communities, including legal permanent residents and U.S. citizens, have been disrupted and dislocated. As our government confronts the challenges of immigration, let it not forget one of its core duties: protecting the family unit as the fundamental institution upon which society and government itself depends.
— Bishop John C. Wester, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration
27 Comments
Of course the Catholics want to defend the illegals- as most illegals are hispanic and Catholic.
Catholic churches are bleeding American congregants.
Nevertheless, the first article is most correct- there is a huge issue with illegals taking American jobs, jobs that would pay well had it not been for the cheaper wages. The government needs to crack down and make ways for people to come legally.
Get the Catholic church to start pushing for immigration reform. Get Mexicans get involved in their own political processes to take over their own government so that they can choose where to live and work. Repeal NAFTA.
Where have the union leaders been on this issue? They should be screaming at the top of their lungs about the illegals and trying to get something done.
Instead they are turning the heads and keeping quite about it.
The Catholics are doing what they do and that is to care for all individuals no matter who they are, where they come from etc. That is the moral obligation.
Are the Catholics wrong on this one? From the church teachings no. From a legal perspective yes they are.
Let’s train our local law enforcement to send the illegals home and crack down on the business’s that are hiring them knowingly.
The Kansas Legislature had an opportunity to do something about this during the last session. Rep. Kinzer and Landwehr led the efforts on a bill that was blocked by the democrats and the speaker of the house. So nothing happend.
Let’s elect those that will make a commitment to do something.
Uh yeah, there are 78 Republicans and 47 Democrats. The Democrats can’t block anything. The Democrats wanted to penalize employers who willingly hired undocumented immigrants. The Republicans are the ones who opposed that because they sided with business interests who wanted cheap labor.
Immigration laws exist for a reason. Regardless of the Catholic Church views, we must enforce the laws of this country.
The claims that these people are only coming here looking for a better life is not logical. There are 3 BILLION people in the world living in poverty. Shall we allow all of them to come here to look for a ‘better life’?
That is why we have immigration laws. Those that violate them need to be arrested. So what if they break up families? They are here illegally, they must be held accountable.
it causes a stir among those who say the federal agents are hurting businesses and breaking up families.
Breaking up families – gee come one, this anchor family/baby ploy is how illegals get a foothold in the U.S.
I think Homeland Security should do even more raids and send them packing.
“Breaking up families – gee come one, this anchor family/baby ploy is how illegals get a foothold in the U.S.”
Kinda like with that story about that Cuban kid in Florida. Republicans loved illegals back then.
Illegals are really nothing more that stray animals. Strays will stay where they are fed and cared for. Hauling off the illegal workers was just a publicity stunt. If they really want to stop this, they need to cut the head off the snake by putting all the management who were in the know in PRISON. Then illegals will go home if no one will hire them.
The only “CON” is the illegal…..
Certainly no downside to shipping them back.
Next group on the list that should be arrested is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, charges to be filed?
PEDOPHILE.
Rapt,
“Immigration laws exist for a reason.”
You bet! And that reason is racism. Our immigration laws started as blatent racism because too many Chinese immigrants were becoming citizens, and we’ve built on that basis ever since. White Europeans have never had trouble getting in- the quotas have always restricted immigrants of other races. They attempted with limited success to fix that, but the underlying racism is still the driving force of immigration policy.
Gunhug,
“Illegals are really nothing more that stray animals.”
Yeah, the Indians said just that, and when they tried to enforce their immigration laws, the stray animals slaughtered them, took over the country and became you!
Let’s stop enforcing All Laws.
I want to rob a car dealership, a gas station, and drive a corvette 150 mph down I-70 and not have the cops bother me.
Take a look at Mexico’s immigration law there Jed-O.
Also look at some of the diseases arising in this country that were nonexistent for decades.
And then there is wage suppression & crime.
It isn’t about race, idiot.
“Jed”
What immigration laws? You’re an idiot jed.
There is only one good use for an illegal immigrant, target practice. Its time to end the scorge that is costing America more than the Iraq war.
Target practice? What an idiot. Don’t forget you can trace your ancestry to some region outside America.
Some if not many Catholic Bishops need to be rounded up with the illegals. They already stand on very tenuous ground and could be moved to Mexico with little fanfare.
OK, bear with me on this… I’m going to ask you to think.
Businesses hire illegal immigrants because they’re cheap and easily exploited.
Illegal immigrants are cheap and easily exploited because they’re afraid of being deported.
So the effect of deporting illegals is to make the remaining illegals even _more_ fearful, even _more_ prone to exploitation, and even _more_ desirable to their employers.
Therefore, in order to reduce illegal immigration, we must tolerate the illegals who are already here. We must end deportation, enforce strict compliance with wage and labor laws, and reserve punishment for those who _hire_ illegals.
This is a recipe for disaster. Locking up business owners is a sure way to send the economy into a tailspin.
Thus, we cannot apply more than token punishment against those who hire illegals.
Conclusion: There is no reasonable way U.S. domestic policy can control illegal immigration.
What’s left? Hydro-Quebec. Quebec was relatively impoverished until the win-win solution of generating clean power and exporting it to the northeast US caught on. Today Quebec is one of the richest provinces in Canada.
So, in the case of Mexico, the obvious solution is large scale solar-thermal power plants.
“Target practice? What an idiot. Don’t forget you can trace your ancestry to some region outside America.”
Buit still twice as smart as you for some reason. My ancestors immigrated here legally, though some of them were actually Indians who were here all along.
Calling illegals target practice is downright scary. I am not wishing harm to them. They are people for god’s sake.
That kind of hatefulness is unwarranted and harmful to the pro-legal immigration support.
“Calling illegals target practice is downright scary. I am not wishing harm to them. They are people for god’s sake.
That kind of hatefulness is unwarranted and harmful to the pro-legal immigration support.”
I have no problem shooting intruders in my home and I see no difference about intruders in our country. They may be people, but they are also criminals who are costing this nation (you and me) more than the Iraq war (another waste) is costing us. We are past pleasantries. They know they are unwelcome here but they stay or are allowed to stay due to anchor babies. It’s time to be a little more firm. I’m not too worried about breaking up families either. I would rather support just little pepe than little pepe and his whole family.
Idiots like you cost this nation more than the Iraq war. Turn that gun on yourself.
“Idiots like you cost this nation more than the Iraq war. Turn that gun on yourself.”
LOL, and now you’ve proven yourself irrational, just like most supporters of the Iraq war. Thanks for proving yourself a neocon so I won’t waste my time trying to reason with you.
“They may be people, but they are also criminals who are costing this nation (you and me) more than the Iraq war (another waste) is costing us.”
I think that’s just a “slight” exaggeration…the Iraqi war is estimated to cost us 6 trillion dollars before it’s through, and has already cost over 4,000 American lives….illegals scrubbing floors and working at McDonald’s hasn’t come close to hurting the country the way this war has.
And to add to what I’ve already said, those who aid illegal immigrants need to be charged with aiding and abetting. If I allowed a convict to hide from the law in my house I would be charged with the same crime.
“LOL, and now you’ve proven yourself irrational,” That coming from a person who feels ‘target practice’ on illegals is rational makes me feel really bad.
“I think that’s just a “slight” exaggeration…the Iraqi war is estimated to cost us 6 trillion dollars before it’s through, and has already cost over 4,000 American lives….illegals scrubbing floors and working at McDonald’s hasn’t come close to hurting the country the way this war has.”
Actually not, I posted a half dozen links that prove the cost of illegal immigration to America but for some reason the censor didn’t like it. Free speech my ass.
Do answer me this though….how long do you think that Social Security will be around after either of the two presidential candidates give illegals amnesty and thousands of them become eligible for payouts? Please don’t give me a retarded answer like the working illegals will be paying into it…they all work jobs that a retard could do. They are paying in less than they will eventually take out.