CALIFORNIA DREAM ACT: A FEW STEPS FORWARD

Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law the second half of the California Dream Act. Now undocumented students in California have the right to attend State colleges and universities at in-State tuition rates, and to apply for certain Cal-Grants for tuition assistance.

I commend Assemblyman Gil Cedillo for carrying these two pieces of legislation, and Governor Brown for signing them.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, we are still left with the same difficult problem: those undocumented students who graduate from California colleges and universiites do not have any legal status, no Social Security number, and no ability to apply for a job anywhere. They are still stranded in the terrible abyss of our broken immigration system.

And what a tragic loss. Those fine young men and women are eager and anxious to get a full education, to become employed, to pay taxes, to help build up our communities and our economy, but they are denied that crucial next step.

Only the U.S. Congress can grant them a path to legal residency after graduation. And apparently no one in Washington DC has any interest or will to even think about such a step: not the House, not the Senate, and not the President.

So, eager and talented young people will continue to be offered up on the altar of anti-immigrant rhetoric, and their hopes and dreams for a better America all but snuffed out.

As a nation we owe these young adults much better. And we owe our nation better. These young people are the hope for the future, and to derail them in their young lives is a national tragedy.

But we don't give up hope, nor do we lessen our efforts. Our broken immigration system needs desperate repair, and in the meantime, millions of people in our country live in fear that somehow they may be questioned about their legal status.

I continue to proclaim a message of hope to all of our immigrant peoples, and to do my part to create coalations of Americans who understand the import role of immigrants in our long history and our future as a nation. We shall win out eventually over the rhetoric of those opposed to our immigrant brothers and sisters.

"IF YOU STOP EATING, THE IMMIGRANTS WILL LEAVE"

That was the advice from an Alabama sweet potato grower in light of the state's tough new immigration law. Farmers and food processors all across Alabama are predicting losses in the many millions of dollars.

The sentiment among Alabama's farmers is summed by by this one grower, making reference to the Hispanic farm workers who have done most of the harvesting in all of the major crops:

“These people will do work that local people won’t do, you know?” said Baldwin County farmer, Joel Sirmon. “They’re hard workers ... don’t cause no problem. We’ve had to advertise for labor, and we’ve got U.S. citizens in here. They work an hour or two, but they can’t do what the migrant workers do.”

Sirmon said many of his workers started leaving at the beginning of September. Now, with the passing of the immigration law, his situation will only get worse.

“We have fifteen in the packing house and nobody showed up this morning, so I don’t know if that’s because of the law or what, you know?” he said.

Many Americans look to simplistic solutions to try to deal with our broken immigration system, but they don't understand the much larger picture. Our country has a dreadful labor inbalance, especially in industries such as agriculture, hotels and motels, restaurants, construction, and many service industries.

Laws such as those passed in Arizona, Alabama, and Georgia aim to eliminate undocumented peoples in a way that demeans their human value and their needed hands and energies to perform jobs that other Americans refuse to take.

The Fresno Bee stated last year in an editorial:

"Some experts predict that the system will always be broken because too many people don't want change -- even if they say they do. Farmers get cheap labor, illegal immigrants get jobs, consumers pay less for services. No one wants to make difficult reforms that would disrupt this balance."

The Alabama sweet potato farmer got it right, but few of us are willing to listen: "If you stop eating, the immigrants will leave." We have gotten used to the relatively low food prices we pay as Americans; low because our food production is subsidized by immigrant workers.

As a nation built generation after generation by immigrants, we need to seek common ground through civil discourse to understand our need for workers in all types of jobs, and to seek fair and workable solutions to meet these needs. Undocumented workers aren't a problem to be fixed by rounding them up and deporting them; they are the backbone of thousands of businesses across the country. They deserve and need our respect, our understanding, and our resolve to fix an inadequate immigration system.

MESSAGE OF HOPE TO OUR IMMIGRANT BROTHERS & SISTERS

Hardly a day goes by without some new attack upon our immigrant brothers and sisters living and working among us.

Whether it be States such as Arizona or Alabama enacting harsh and focused laws to discourage and to terrify immigrant families by denying their basic human dignity and vast contributions to our society, or, media commentators continuing to blame immigrants for the nation's economic woes, our immigrants are suffering deeply.

Most of our immigrant families are "blended" families, meaning that some members have legal documents and some others do not. Every family is going to take every avenue to stay together—not to be separated by deportation. But that effort is lived out in fear and terror that in an instant a family member will be plucked off the streets and placed in detention.

Immigrant brothers and sisters: Take heart, have courage! Since the 1700s the Catholic Church in this country has welcomed each and every wave of immigrants who have come to our shores. We have stood with you, we have provided spiritual and pastoral care, and we established schools to educate your children. We have seen too many times the prejudice that greeted you, and the denial of dignity and rights which followed.

But do not be afraid. Every successive group of immigrants before you has felt the sting of insult and unwelcome by some in our country. However, your dedication and commitment to our country continue to benefit the nation. More than that, your resolve and sacrifices have helped create the great country in which we all live.

The Bishops of the USA and of Mexico issued a joint Pastoral Letter in early 2003 entitled "Strangers No Longer--Together on the Journey of Hope" to recall the Church's history of spiritual and pastoral outreach to immigrants over the centuries. This latest Letter reaffirms all of the past initiatives taken by the Church, and pledges our continuing efforts over the coming years.

Although it is not my role to speak on behalf of the U.S. Bishops, nonetheless, I do wish to reaffirm my personal commitment to stand and walk with you--all of our immigrants across the country in the spirit of past declarations by the Bishops' Conference. In particular:

+ Families awaiting reunification processes: Do not give up, and do not be afraid; realize that your Church continues to advocate for a family to be united with all its members, as well as to assist you in the process;

+ Parents afraid of workplace raids by ICE: Please maintain your prayerful patience when you leave for work, and thank God when you return home; focus on your family members and be sustained by all the good you are doing for them;

+ Children at home anxiously waiting for your parents to return: Say a prayer each morning for their safe journey to and from work, and thank God when they return to you in the evening; thank them for their hard work for you and for your brothers and sisters;

+Those of you in our midst who do not have jobs: Do not give up; there are many groups in the Church and in our communities dedicated to help you find a job; say a prayer to St. Joseph the Worker, the earthly father of Jesus, to assist you in finding a job;

+Immigrants in process to obtain a green card or to obtain legal residency: Continue to be hopeful, seek the assistance of our many immigrants’ rights groups who can assist you with the legal processes;

+Students in high school and college without proper papers: You are known as our “Dreamer students”, and we have great hopes for your future. Continue with your studies, and explain your own personal journey to those who are working to create a path for you towards legal residency; become involved in groups helping to pass the Dream Act and other legislation to protect you and to give you a future;

+For all immigrants living and working in our midst: Be proud to be living in the United States, and get to know your new country well. Remember that we are a nation of millions of immigrants who came before you. Be inspired by their hard work and sacrifices to help make our nation strong, safe, and hope-filled for your children. Learn English, as well as the positive values of our society. Work hard towards full citizenship, and participate in our many democratic processes—especially voting in all elections.

The Catholic Church is standing and walking with you on your journeys forward. No matter how strident and hateful the words against you, you are not alone. Please count on us; we respect your dignity as brothers and sisters, and we will fight for your basic human rights; we will never abandon you.

NEW PATH FOR OUR IMMIGRANTS

The White House has announced new steps to assist "low-priority" offenders, unauthorized immigrants such as the elderly, crime victims, and people who have lived in our country since children--most of them brought here by parents and family at an early age.

There are approximately 300,000 illegal immigrants in various stages of deportation proceedings, and this huge backlog has clogged the immigration legal system. There will be a case-by-case review of all these cases, and the focus will now shift to those who have been found guilty of a serious crime and whose deportation makes sense.

However, to focus upon the elderly and students who have graduated from high school and college serves no valid purpose. Educated immigrants who are now willing and able to enter the labor market, pay taxes, and improve the economy are a great asset to all of us. I am hopeful that many "Dreamers"--students who have graduated from college and/or served in the military--can now register with the immigration department and be given authorization to become employed with their own social security number.

I support the efforts of the White House to put the emphasis where it belongs: the deportation of those who have committed criminal acts while in this country. Those whose only "crime" is to be here without papers need to be considered separately and seen for their value to our country.

Some are claiming that these new procedures amount to "amnesty"--which has become apparently a very negative concept and word. Only those cases will be closed which demonstrate that the unauthorized immigrant has taken positive steps for his/her education and work skills, and that they are now prepared to assume their responsibilities as contributing members of our society.

On July 12 last year I did a blog of the issue of "amnesty," and I invite you to view that blog as well.

I am confident that Americans of good will can understand that the steps being proposed will help our country enormously, while those who have committed crimes here will be deported to their home countries.

AGRICULTURE HELD HOSTAGE AGAIN ON IMMIGRANTS

As the harvest of our nation's crops continues across the land, once again we are faced with the incongruity of our immigration laws with the availability of workers to perform those jobs.

Nowhere is this felt more acutely than in our vast agricultural industry. Fully mechanized crops such as wheat, corn, and cotton do not present the same challenges.

But all of the hand-harvested crops such as fresh table tomatoes, table grapes, peaches, nectarines, plums, strawberries, and vast numbers of similar crops demand an immediate availability of trained and committed workers to deal with those quick harvest times.

However, the current immigration laws and regulations do not allow for a quick response for qualified workers to perform those tasks.

Efforts to force farmers and growers to use E-Verify are ill-founded. Bryan Little, the director of labor relations for the California Farm Bureau Federation, has pointed out: "There is not another labor force out there for our industry other than the one we have now. And taking that away will create huge problems."

Rep. Lamar Smith [R-Texas] has proposed a bill that presumes that legal American workers are more than ready to take on the onerous jobs done now by illegal immigrants. But farmers and growers maintain that they are caught in the middle: they can't find documented workers willing to pick crops and take care of livestock. Making the farmers and growers use E-Verify would make it impossible to farm.

The present system relies on the H-2A provision to bring workers in from other countries. But the very concept and its past history show vividly how such a program will not work. Manuel Cunha is president of the Nisei Farmers League in Fresno and he points out that "H-2A is a disaster, and it doesn't work for California farmers."

Erik Nicholson, national vice president of the United Farm Workers union, has pointed out that "We need to provide the hundreds of thousands of workers who have been helping to build the agriculture economy with a way to gain legal status."

Once again, in one of the nation's top industries, it has been shown that piecemeal approaches to immigration reform do not work.

What is needed is a system which recognizes our need for special workers and to find a way to assist them to become legalized on a path to citizenship--creating an experienced and committed workforce for the future.

Our current immigration system is broken and cannot fulfill the needs of our country.

ARCHBISHOP PIETRO SAMBI: SUPERB PASTOR

Pope Benedict XVI's personal representative to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, died on July 27. Archbishop Sambi had been our Apostolic Nuncio for some six years.

As soon as Archbishop Sambi arrived in our country, he began immediately to know the Church in the United States. He was filled with the love of God and the joy of Risen Life in Jesus Christ. Wherever he went around the country he brought enthusiasm, hope, and a deepened commitment to the Church.

His arrival here in the midst of the horrific clergy sexual abuse scandal showed his qualities of a good shepherd, and how he prayed and worked to bring about healing and reconciliation for all of us in the Church. When so many were discouraged because of the scandal, he brought a message of forgiveness and hope for those who had suffered, as well as a call for the entire Church to make the protection of children our highest priority.

His previous post was as the Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, and he was keenly aware of the importance of the Christians living in the area of the Holy Lands. He made friends with the Jewish people, the Arabs, and the Palestinians in those lands, and his message was always one of healing and reconciliation among those peoples whose lives were shaped by Salvation History, especially the ministry of Jesus Christ in their midst.

Those of us involved in the Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulcher deeply appreciated his understanding of the important place in the world, and he was always supportive of our efforts to assist the peoples there.

All of us in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are particularly grateful to Archbishop Sambi for his essential role in our Holy Father's appointment of Archbishop Jose H. Gomez to serve as our new Archbishop. We continue to thank God for the presence and the pastoral leadership of Archbishop Gomez in our midst.

Please keep Archbishop Sambi and his family in your prayers, and let us pray that his many virtues and qualities as a pastor will be a model for all of us as continue on our journeys towards the Kingdom of God.

CALIFORNIA GETS FIRST HALF OF DREAM ACT

On July 25 Governor Jerry Brown of California signed into law AB 130 [Assemblyman Gil Cedillo] which now permits undocumented college students to access various private financial aid sources to assist them attend college in the state.

This is the first time in the country that undocumented students will be able to apply legally for private tuition grants to enter and remain in college programs.

Keep in mind that this California DREAM Act is aimed at helping those students who were brought to the State as minors 16 or younger, and whose only country of memory is the United States.

But AB 130 still only helps with the simple part of solving the plight of these young men and women. The more important need is to have Congress pass the federal DREAM Act so that these students might also access a legal path to residency and eventually to citizenship. Then, having graduated from a college or university in California, they would be able to get jobs legally, become contributing members of our society, and start paying taxes.

On February 9 of this year, I placed a blog entitled "Tragic Waste of Our Youth and Our Money" showing how we invest about $174,000 educating these young people in high school and college, but when they are now ready to pay taxes and begin returning that investment, we won't allow them.

Hindering undocumented college students is wrong on all counts--morally, socially, and economically. With some 10,000 baby boomers beginning to retire each day across the country, we will need all of our college and university graduates to not only fill those jobs, but to help create new employment opportunities in exciting new fields.

With some 11,000,000 undocumented people living in our country, with many working and living in the shadows and on the edges of our society, we have a moral obligation to enact Federal legislation which ends our national dilemma: how to balance the need for legal workers at all levels of the work force with the availability of workers.

Assemblyman Cedillo has a companion Bill, AB 131, which would allow these same students to apply for certain California tuition assistance programs, such as Cal Grants. That Bill is pending in the legislature.

I understand the views and feelings of those who oppose giving undocumented residents any recognition or assistance. But leaving millions of people in underground employment and in the shadows of society does not strengthen our nation--it weakens it.

The California DREAM Act is a first step in recognizing the potential which our undocumented college students are ready to offer the State. But we now need a structured path whereby they can become legal residents able to contribute fully to the economic and social development of our communities.

Sadly, political polarization has stymied Congress in its efforts to enact desperately needed immigration reform. The Federal focus is only on enforcement--which only misdirects our limited resources to chasing employed people like criminals.

We should be directing our energy helping to bring these people into full legal compliance so that their employment more fully builds up the nation as legal taxpayers.