U.S. border patrol agents watch for undocumented immigrants near the U.S.-Mexican border in El Paso, Texas. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)

Back to section front

EL PASO, Texas — Immigration reform has been a pressing issue for U.S. Catholic leaders since U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner proposed his Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437).

The bill, among other things, would have raised illegal immigration from a civil offense to a felony. Anyone found guilty of assisting undocumented people by offering food, clothing or shelter, could have faced imprisonment.

Although it failed, the Sensenbrenner bill put immigration reform in the national spotlight. It also created a debate about justice for undocumented people and the social and economic issues that cause Mexicans and other Latin Americans to enter the United States illegally.

With the Senate’s failure to pass its immigration bill in late June, the estimated 12 million undocumented living in the United States remain unsure of their future.

During a border immersion trip to El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico June 22-27, members of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee heard from Catholic missioners and Mexicans living on both sides of the border. The group learned about immigration and the circumstances causing people to cross the border illegally.

Legal immigration nearly impossible

Laura Talamantes, an attorney for the Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, Inc., talks about the difficulties of obtaining legal entry into the United States. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)

The process for legal permanent residence and U.S. citizenship is a long and costly one. According to Laura Talamantes, an attorney for the Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, Inc., a nonprofit legal clinic supported by the Diocese of El Paso, application fees for legal residency increased in July, from $325 to around $900.

“For our clients, we’re concerned that they will not be able to afford the application fees,” she said.

The backlog of petitions for legal permanent residence is so long that, in some cases, it would take a decade for immigrants to have their cases reviewed. She explained that the legal immigration process is complex and has many facets. For example, most people seeking temporary work or citizenship first need visas, which come in two types: nonimmigrant and immigrant.

Immigrant visas are for people who intend to live permanently in the U.S. and nonimmigrant visas are for those who seek temporary residency, such as for tourism, business, temporary work and study. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services lists more than 80 nonimmigrant visa classifications on its Web site.

Talamantes said her office hoped that immigration reform would provide an earned legalization component for undocumented persons already in the country, and a shorter period of time for immigrant families to be reunified. She said she sympathizes with families seeking entry into the United States.

“The majority of clients that I speak to tell me that they’re just here for work. They just want a better life,” she said. “If I were living in Mexico and I couldn’t get an adequate job, and I wanted to care for my family, I would come over here, too, because it’s in the best interest of your family.”

Poor laborers stand the smallest chance of gaining legal entry into the United States, leaving them with one option.

Seeking better life

José, a laborer from Guanajuato, Mexico, might be representative of the typical immigrant who enters the United States illegally. During an interview at Annunciation House, a shelter for undocumented immigrants run by lay volunteers in El Paso, José said he has traveled across the border three times for work.

Now on his fourth trip to the United States, Jose arrived with a 17-year-old nephew, a first-time visitor.

“I need to find work. I want better for my wife and my daughters,” said José. “We thank God we are here at this mission. We will find a way to travel, either on train or by car.”

If the economic conditions were better in Mexico, José said he would stay in Mexico.

“Where I’m from we make shoes,” he said. “The Chinese are making the shoes much cheaper and sending them (to Mexico).”

The shoemakers in Mexico cannot compete in the global economy, leaving workers like José unemployed.

José said he would like Americans to know that he and other immigrants simply want to work.

“We are created by the same God. We come here looking for work to help our families,” he said. “We wish that Americans would extend their hands to us as immigrants. ... We want to support our families and have an opportunity to live at least a decent life. A lot of times (Americans) pay us below minimum wage because they know we are illegal, but that’s not right.”

Jim and Karen Weaver, pictured with their children Daniel and Emma, are Maryknoll lay missioners serving in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Catholic Herald photo by Sam Lucero)

Maryknoll lay missioners Jim and Karen Weaver live in a small, cinderblock home in Ciudad Juarez with their two children, Daniel and Emma. Theirs is a ministry of presence, offering help when and where they are needed. Karen teaches English to neighborhood children. Most of their neighbors work in the city’s maquilas, where they make about $5 per day.

“One misconception is that there are a lot of dangerous people crossing (the border) on a regular basis, and that through heightened border security we’ll be able to stop them,” said Jim. “As we visit with our neighbors here, they say they would like to stay here in Mexico and have an opportunity to make a good life here. They would love to go and visit the U.S., but they want to create their life here in Mexico.”

Create opportunities in Mexico

Weaver believes that money being spent on border enforcement — nearly $25 billion over the past 10 years, according to the U.S. bishops — could be used to help Mexico create jobs, allowing Mexicans to make a living at home.

“There’s a movement to pour a lot of resources into building a fence and separating ourselves from Mexico,” he said. “I would really like to use those resources more to build up the country of Mexico, create more opportunities within Mexico.

“The more we can do to help create a free flow of people, to create friendships between people in the U.S. and Mexico, it would alleviate some of the pressure on our immigration system,” added Weaver. “I think having Mexico be a friend and an ally will improve our security more than building a fence between us.”

According to West Cosgrove, a Maryknoll lay missioner who lives in El Paso and directs a border immersion program, immigration reform must be more than keeping people out of the country. Reforming rules and procedures on who can enter the country as guest workers and permanent residents should reflect the Christian values upon which America was founded.

“Illegal immigration is not a good thing, but we have to look at why they come illegally,” he explained. “The way we define our borders says a lot about who we are. Do we want to be a welcoming, hospitable, Christian nation? If that is the case, then I just don’t see how building high fences and walls and hiring another 10,000 border patrolmen make us hospitable. What does that say about us?”

People of faith must ponder a few questions as they look at immigration reform, added Cosgrove.

“Are we using borders to create a fair, more just world, where all of God’s people have access to at least a minimal level of food, lodging and health care?” he asked. “Or are we using borders to say that we benefit on this side of the border and on that side of the border, something else is happening?

“Does what is happening on the other side of the border have anything to do with me?” he added. “I would suggest that we do have a connection with these folks for lots of reasons. First of all, through our faith. These are our brothers and sisters. I know that we believe there is one God and one family of God, and that’s tough to live out.”