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Vol. 45 No. 52
March 21, 2007 |
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Boston cardinal says U.S. needs ‘humane’
policy on immigration
(CNS) |
Boston (CNS) — After federal immigration officials
spirited away to Texas nearly half of the 327 people
arrested in a March 6 raid on a New Bedford handbag and
backpack factory, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston called
for “some kind of comprehensive immigration reform.”
“While immigration reform is urgent, the needs of the women
and children in New Bedford are desperate,” Cardinal
O’Malley said in the March 15 Boston Globe in an opinion
piece titled “A more humane immigration policy.”
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According to news reports,
Massachusetts officials, including Gov. Deval Patrick,
were angered that before caseworkers from the state
Department of Social Services were allowed to speak to
detainees to determine whether any of those arrested had
left children behind at home or school, almost half of
the detainees were flown to Texas March 8. Federal
officials refused to share with the state a list of
those detained and have refused requests by the state to
halt additional flights.
“It is the case that most of the these families are ‘illegals,’
people who do not have the proper legal documents to be
in the United States,” he said. “But before they are
‘illegal,’ they are human —
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Cardinal Sean O’Malley
(CNS photo/Gregory
L. Tracy, The Pilot) |
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women and men with families, hopes and dreams, a
determination to find a better life for their children.
Their humanity, human dignity and — most of all — their
children have the first claim on our conscience as
Americans.”
Cardinal O’Malley did not propose elements of current
immigration policy that need to be improved, but he pointed
out the shortcomings that were evident following the raid.
“In order to be released from custody, those arrested in New
Bedford had to assert that they were ‘the sole caretaker’ of
their children,” the cardinal said. “Mothers can be
separated from their children, and perhaps deported, as long
as there would be a caretaker for the children remaining in
Massachusetts.
“Immigration law and policy are complex, but a test of ‘sole
caretaker or parent’ as the determinant of being able to
remain united with one’s children fails the test of humane
response.”
The majority of those taken into custody in the March 6 raid
were Guatemalans, Mexicans and Hondurans, along with a few
Brazilians and some Portuguese and Salvadorans, according to
a lawyer for the Catholic Social Services office in Fall
River.
Most of those who were rounded up were women who operated
sewing machines. The sweep also revealed sweatshop
conditions in the factory.
After the raid about 200 women were transported to Fort
Devens in Ayer for questioning; about 60 were later let go
after they were found to be eligible for release. “These
events provide another example of why some form of
comprehensive immigration reform is needed. President George
W. Bush has called for it, Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.)
and John McCain (R-Ariz.) have worked for it, but the
objective has been mired in political rhetoric and
obstructive tactics at several levels of the political
process,” Cardinal O’Malley said in his Globe opinion piece.
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Last modified:
11/17/2007
© Copyright 2007 The Long Island Catholic |
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