[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 16, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S7884]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CATHOLIC BISHOPS' STATEMENT ON IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, the Nation's Catholic bishops have long 
been concerned with the fair treatment of immigrants and refugees. In 
fact, the U.S. Catholic Conference maintains the Nation's largest 
immigrant and refugee service organizations in the country, and they 
provide a broad range of assistance to newcomers to America.
  Last month, the bishops took up the immigration issue at their annual 
conference in Portland, OR. A statement issued by the bishops provides 
valuable insight and guidance to Congress as we consider the many 
important issues involved in immigration reform. The statement speaks 
forcefully for maintaining a strong safety net for immigrant families, 
and for continuing our tradition of providing a haven for persecuted 
refugees. The statement also urges Congress not to take the unwise 
step, as some have proposed, of denying innocent undocumented immigrant 
children access to public education.
  I commend this statement to my colleagues and ask unanimous consent 
that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   A Statement on Immigration by Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, President, 
                National Conference of Catholic Bishops

       The Catholic Bishops of the United States take seriously 
     the responsibility entrusted to them as Pastors and Teachers 
     to speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. 
     We have spoken frequently in recent times of our concerns 
     about the treatment of immigrants and refugees in the United 
     States. Regrettably, since our last statement just a year 
     ago, the public debate has become even more acrimonious, and 
     Congress is now considering the final form of restrictive 
     legislation that runs counter both to Christian teaching and 
     the proud tradition of this nation of immigrants.
       The Church has long acknowledged the right and the 
     responsibility of nations to regulate their borders for the 
     promotion of the common good. For that reason it is 
     appropriate for the United States to engage in a debate about 
     its immigration and refugee policies. Unfortunately, though, 
     that debate has taken on a punitive tone which seems to seek 
     to diminish the basic human dignity of the foreign born.
       In particular, I express grave concern and dismay at 
     provisions of the legislation which would target the most 
     vulnerable among us--children, the sick, and the needy--in an 
     impractical effort to cure our nation's social and economic 
     ills. Health care and education are among the most basic of 
     human rights to which all have a moral claim, yet this 
     legislation seeks to restrict severely or flatly deny these 
     rights to those who were not born in this country. Indeed, 
     there is a disregard for human life in this legislation which 
     is inconsistent with the Gospel and which I find morally 
     objectionable.
       Refugees and asylum seekers, those fleeing persecution and 
     possible death in search of safehaven in the United States, 
     risk the real possibility of being returned immediately to 
     their oppressors as a consequence of this legislation. As 
     emphasized by the Bishops in a statement last year, these 
     people ``have a special moral standing and thus require 
     special consideration.'' \1\
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     Footnotes at end of statement.
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       The health and well-being of immigrants who gain entry into 
     the United States are similarly threatened by this 
     legislation. All of us at some point may be affected by 
     hunger, poor health, housing needs, family crises, and aging. 
     This legislation is so overreaching and restrictive that it 
     would make it almost impossible for legal taxpaying 
     immigrants to seek assistance when confronted with these 
     vicissitudes of life. The undocumented are put even more at 
     risk. They may be faced with deportation simply for seeking 
     food and medical care for themselves and their children. By 
     denying these most basic needs merely on the basis of where a 
     person was born is to place the health and well-being of the 
     entire community at risk.
       Furthermore, undocumented children could be denied access 
     to education in a misguided effort to hold them accountable 
     for the actions of their parents. Consequently, immigrant 
     youths face the possibility of being left illiterate and 
     idle, turned out on the streets to be tempted by crime and 
     deliquency--or to become their victims. Teachers will be 
     forced to become de facto agents of the Immigration and 
     Naturalization Service. Surely, the common good cannot be 
     served by such measures.
       Finally, at a time when great emphasis is being placed on 
     the renewal of the American family, this legislation would 
     effectively prevent the reunification of immigrant families 
     by mandating financial tests which would be impossible for 
     most sponsors to meet. I believe this to be contradictory and 
     counterproductive. Immigrants, like the nature born, draw 
     strength from their families in times of need, and as we said 
     in our statement last year: ``Family reunification remains 
     the appropriate basis for just immigration policy.'' \2\
       The principles of human dignity and human solidarity, which 
     the Church has long taught, should be factors in shaping the 
     goals of public policy, including immigration. Pope John Paul 
     II has forcefully spoken on the need for solidarity:
       ``Solidarity is undoubtedly a Christian virtue. . . . One's 
     neighbor is then not only a human being with his or her own 
     rights and a fundamental equality with everyone else but 
     becomes the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the 
     blood of Jesus Christ and placed under the permanent action 
     of the Holy Spirit. One's neighbor must therefore be loved, 
     even if an enemy, with the same love with which the Lord 
     loves him or her; and for that person's sake one must be 
     ready for sacrifice, even the ultimate one: to lay down one's 
     life for the brethren (cf. 1 Jn. 3:16)'' \3\
       Pope Paul VI's lament nearly 30 years ago that ``[h]uman 
     society is sorely ill,'' \4\ sadly is still true today. Now 
     as then, we agree that the cause of society's illness may be 
     attributed to ``the weakening of brotherly ties between 
     individuals and nations.'' \5\ Therefore, all people, and 
     particularly those who have been entrusted with leadership, 
     are given the moral charge to build up the ties between 
     individuals and nations. I call on Congress and the President 
     to address and correct the punitive provisions of the pending 
     immigration legislation which will provide for a more 
     thoughtful bill respecting the human dignity of our foreign 
     born sisters and brothers who aspire to come to our country. 
     In welcoming them, we welcome Jesus Himself.


                               Footnotes

     \1\ NCCB, Committee on Migration. ``One Family Under God,'' 
     1995. p. 9.
     \2\ NCCB, Committee on Migration. ``One Family Under God,'' 
     1995. p. 11.
     \3\ John Paul II, Encyclical letter ``Sollicitudo Rei 
     Socialis,'' 1987. Sec. 40-40.1.
     \4\ Paul VI, Encyclical letter ``Populorum Progressio,'' 
     1967, Sec. 66.
     \5\ Ibid.

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