Immigrants – Pilgrims of Hope
by sr. Bernadine Karge, member of Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and immigration lawyer.
What is going on in the USA in terms of immigration? What is going on in the world? Today, we know that there are more persons than at any point in the history of humanity living away from their homeland for reasons of war, conflict, climate change, violence, poverty, and natural disasters.
Are we living in the ICE Age? In the current US narrative, an immigrant is considered to beIllegal, Criminal and should be Excluded (deported). Immigration laws over the course of our history have been Inconsistent, Complicated and Exclusionary. How can we make them Inclusive, Consistent and Embracing? Who should administer immigration law-the states or the federal government? These questions have been raised throughout our history.
How do we as members of the human family welcome the stranger and live out the five principles of Catholic Social Teaching concerning migrants?
1. Persons have the right to find opportunity in their homeland. What political, economic, social practices and policies create situations that force people to leave home? An example of this is an American company taking over lands in Central America to grow rice in a community where a rice cooperative had supported dozens of families for decades.
2. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their family. The United 4 Ukraine (U4U) program allowed persons fleeing the war in Ukraine to be welcomed to the USA and find employment. Thousands were resettled in the Chicagoland area and Midwest.
3. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders. This right must be exercised in relationship to the common good. If control of the borders is only to accumulate more wealth that is not acceptable. Nations that have more resources have an obligation to accommodate migration flows.
4. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection. When the governor of Texas decided to bus recent arrivals around the country, many arrived in Chicago, Illinois, a welcoming city and state. Civic and religious groups stepped up and worked to assist the asylum seekers in their needs. One most remarkable endeavor was a cooperative legal resource that screened and assisted 11,000 migrants from November 2023-November 2024 to apply for legal benefits.
Unlike asylum seekers, refugees are screened and cleared for refugee status before coming to this country. The refugee program was just recovering from the first Trump administration, only to be decimated again!
5. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected. The current administration is invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to round up and deport persons who are deemed to have “invaded” the USA. Mass deportation of criminal and undocumented persons was announced the first day. The border czar was quite vexed when operations began in Chicago, because immigrants knew their rights and thwarted the effort.
The government does have the right to keep people out and to keep the country safe. However, it also has the obligation to allow people into the country who qualify for benefits under the law. As an immigration attorney for the past forty years, my prayer and hope is for MASS ADJUDICATION of applications that have been pending before the immigration service or before the immigration court for 5, 10 or 15 years. If the more than $300 billion dollars budgeted for mass deportation and detention were allocated to resources to decide cases, millions of people would be in lawful status and able to remain with their families.
The policies of the current administration reflect the first Immigration Act of 1790 which stated “Free, white, persons with two years residence could apply to become citizens.” The status of citizenship confers the right to vote. A look at the population in the late 18th century, reveals that very few people would qualify for citizenship.
Who did not qualify? Any enslaved or indentured person; any person of color (black, brown, yellow, red, off white); any woman since women were considered property not persons. Implied in this law is that only free white male Protestant landowners were eligible for citizenship with the right to vote. Voting is power.
In this year of Jubilee, Pope Francis has declared the motto, PILGRIMS OF HOPE. Over the years I have been inspired by my clients who have not only left their homeland but continue as pilgrims of hope through the immigration process. In early January I celebrated with a client who became a naturalized citizen at the age of 40. He was brought to the USA by his parents at the age of four. While returning to college he was placed in removal proceeding and got a court date 5 years out. In the interim DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) came about for which he qualified. Eventually, he became a permanent resident through a family member and three years later became a US Citizen.
It is my hope that the U.S. immigration laws will be reformed to meet today’s needs. Being able to see the face of Jesus, revealed in the face of the immigrant this Lenten season is my prayer. There is more love than hate. There is more HOPE than fear.
