Washington D.C., Jan 27, 2011 / 18:00 pm
Speaking for the U.S. bishops, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles told the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 26 that the country should not return to a model of immigration enforcement based on workplace raids. Instead, he urged lawmakers to seek immigration reform that is both humane and just.
“Immigration is ultimately a humanitarian issue, because it impacts the basic human rights and dignity of the human person,” he explained in his written testimony. “The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops believes that the humanitarian costs of workplace raids are immeasurable, and unacceptable in a civilized society.” Archbishop Gomez chairs the conference's Committee on Migration.
With their new majority in the House of Representatives, some Republicans are seeking a return to the immigration enforcement strategies of the Bush administration, which focused on arresting groups of unauthorized migrant workers. The Obama administration has actually deported greater numbers of illegal immigrants, while shifting its enforcement focus onto employers that hire them.
Archbishop Gomez rejected any notion that the government should place its highest priority on rounding up those who have broken U.S. immigration laws. The workplace raids, he said, often had the effect of breaking up families, especially by separating children from their parents for significant periods of time.