The Human Face of Immigration by Patrick Carolan

We are heading towards electing new government leadership in November. While as Catholic Christians there are a number of issues we should consider in choosing whom to vote for, immigration is one of the most pressing and divisive. As Christians, we find ourselves torn between protecting our borders, upholding the laws, and caring for and welcoming migrants and refugees. As I have previously written, “We often hear people comment that they have no problem with immigration if folks would just come legally. Priests are often criticized for talking about welcoming the stranger in their homilies. They are told that they shouldn’t be talking about political issues at Mass. We debate and argue, accuse and demonize each other. Through it all, we lose sight of the human face of immigration.”

Recently, during his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said: “There are those who work systematically and with every means possible to reject migrants. And this, when done with conscience and responsibility, is a grave sin.” The Holy Father went on to say: “We can all agree on one thing: today’s migrants should not be in those deadly seas and deserts. But it is not through more restrictive laws, it is not with the militarization of borders, it is not with rejections, that we will achieve this. Instead, we will achieve it by extending safe and legal entry routes for migrants, by facilitating providing refuge for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and so many calamities.”

In 2016, responding to a question about former president Trump building a wall along the southern US border, Pope Francis said: “A person who thinks only about building walls—wherever they may be—and not building bridges, is not Christian.” He added: “This is not in the Gospel.” Pope Francis issued a call to action in Fratelli Tutti, where he writes that we can seek “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good.”

In response to Pope Francis’s directive, the USCCB issued a call to action which they titled “Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics.” The description accompanying this initiative tells us that the church encourages the promotion of the dignity of every human person. The introduction states: “We can see ourselves as members of one family. We can seek to encounter and to grow. We can identify common values. We can listen to understand. We can seek the truth together. We can jointly come up with creative solutions to the problems that face our world.” And one of the first reflections challenges participants “[t]o engage in critical examination to ensure that my perspectives are rooted in truth, that my sources of information are unbiased, and that I do not open myself to manipulation by partisan interests.” 

The USCCB provides resources on Catholic Social Teaching on immigration and the movement of peoples in another document titled Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity. The very first principle states: “People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families.” It continues: “Current immigration policy that criminalizes the mere attempt to immigrate and imprisons immigrants who have committed no crime or who have already served a just sentence for a crime is immoral.”

Our nation’s history in regards to immigration has been mixed at best. While we describe ourselves as a nation of immigrants and have often welcomed those fleeing from tyranny and destitution, our early regulations and laws were more centered around those whom we excluded.

Our first law on who could become a citizen was the Naturalization Act of 1790. It allowed only free white people of “good character” who had been living in the United States for two years or longer to apply for citizenship. Those nonwhite residents, which included black- and brown-skinned people, indigenous people, and Asian people, were denied basic constitutional protections, including the right to vote, own property, or testify in court. For all others, mostly white Europeans, there were no policies or regulations: you just came on a boat and after two years could become a citizen.

In 1849, as a backlash to the increasing number of German and Irish immigrants settling in the United States, the first anti-immigrant political party, the Know-Nothing Party, was formed. In 1882, The Chinese Exclusion Act passed, banning Chinese immigrants from entering the country. In 1907, similar policies banned Japanese immigrants.

In 1924, Congress passed the Immigration Act, which limited the number of immigrants allowed into the United States annually through nationality quotas. The main purpose of the 1924 act was to preserve the ideal of US homogeneity. Interestingly, 70 percent of the visas were reserved for Irish, German, and British immigrants.

The Immigration Act remained in place, with some tweaks and adjustments, until 1965, when the Immigration and Nationality Act was passed. It completely overhauled the American immigration system. In 1980, in what is known as the Mariel boatlift, around 125,000 Cuban refugees made a dangerous sea crossing to the Florida shore seeking political asylum. In 1986, then president Ronald Regan signed into law the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, which granted amnesty to more than 3 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.

Since 2000 there have been several attempts to reform our immigration laws. In 2001, Senators Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch introduced the bipartisan Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, which is commonly referred to as the DREAM Act. While it had enough votes to pass both Houses, the Republicans in the Senate blocked it from coming to a vote. In 2013, the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration-reform bill that was described as the most monumental overhaul of US immigration laws in a generation. The House, controlled by the Republicans, refused to even let the bill come up for a vote. It would have easily passed the House if the Speaker had allowed a vote. This year another attempt was made and another bipartisan immigration-reform bill was negotiated. Again, the Republican House leadership would not allow the bill to come up for a vote.

During this campaign cycle, former president Trump and numerous other Republican officials have claimed that our borders are being overrun by rapists, murders, and terrorists. Others spread false statements that undocumented immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than ordinary citizens, that they are a danger to public health, and that they increase our crime rate and are responsible for our growing deficit. It would take pages and pages to document the lies and falsehoods that are being spread about migrants—even though they are easily debunkable. 

Based on the principles the USCCB has promoted, one has to wonder why some of our bishops and priests, who are so adamant about condemning Democrats for their positions on the LGBTQ+ community and abortion, are not as eager to condemn the lies and falsehoods spread by Trump and his Republican allies around immigration. We have lost sight of, as the USCCB and Pope Francis state, the dignity of each person. We identify them as the “others,” as rapists, murderers, thieves, and terrorists, without taking the time to listen to their stories. So I thought I would share one such story with you.

My parents came to the US in 1950 from Ireland. My mother told me that they came over on a short-term visitor visa. Like a lot of Irish and Italian immigrants, they stayed long after their visa expired. When my parents arrived in the country, they had no money and little education, just a dream. As my mom would say, she got off the boat with one baby in her arms, another in her belly, and not a pot to pee in.

My dad grew up in southern Ireland and left school at a very young age to work on the family farm. My mom grew up a Catholic in Belfast. She had to leave school when she was 13 to stay home and take care of her seven younger siblings so her mother could go to work. While they spoke English, it was with such a thick Irish brogue that few people could understand a word they said. My dad was a butcher, so he was able to get work right away—most likely under the table, since he did not have a work permit or green card. They were eventually able to get green cards and work permits because there was a process to become citizens. My mom would often mention how proud she was when they took their oath of citizenship.

This dirt-poor, uneducated Irish-Catholic immigrant couple went on to raise six very successful children. Two of them went on to receive doctoral degrees. One became a teacher and then a school principal. Another was a cardiac nurse who ran a rehabilitation clinic where she helped thousands upon thousands of people recover from heart disease. My youngest brother is a system designer who has several patents to his name. I became an activist and a writer. I started out in the labor movement and was elected president of a public-employee union. Later I started working on faith and justice issues. I cofounded the Global Catholic Climate Movement, now known as the Laudato Si’ Movement, and Catholics Vote Common Good. I served for many years as the executive director of the Franciscan Action Network. My parents had 18 grandchildren, several with PhDs, one who served two tours in Afghanistan, and another who is in Army intelligence.

Because a lot of my activism was centered around immigration, I would often talk to my mom about her story. One day she had seen a news report about women being turned away at the border and separated from their children. She had tears in her eyes when she said to me: “I often wonder what would have happened if, when your dad and I came to America, we were told that we were not welcome, to go back to where we came from.” She went on to say, “I am so proud of all that my children and grandchildren have accomplished. Each of you, in your own way, has contributed to making this country better. If we had been turned away and not welcomed, none of that would have happened.” One time I asked her, “Why did you leave Ireland where you had lots of family and friends to come to America?” She replied, “Because I had a dream that my children and grandchildren could have a better life. And I am so blessed and grateful that I got to live to see my dream come true.” She went on to say: “You know those women who are trying to cross the border in the south are exactly the same as me. They have the exact same dream that I had and, given the opportunity, their children will grow up to have the same impact that all of my children had. So you have to promise me that you will keep doing what you are doing, you will continue to fight so those women can have the same opportunity that I had to see their dreams come true.”

So when you hear all the hateful rhetoric and lies about how “those people” are “coming to steal your home and rape your daughters,” please stop and remember my mom, and all those other moms who just want a chance to see their dreams come true. ♦

Patrick Carolan is a Catholic activist, organizer, and writer. He served as the Executive director of the Franciscan Action Network for ten years; he co-founded the Global Catholic Climate Movement and Catholics Vote Common Good. His writing and activism are centered on his understanding and belief through Franciscan spirituality of the connectedness of all creation and God.

Image: Immigrants at Ellis Island undergoing a medical inspection. New York Public Library