The Oklahoman conveniently does not mention that people who give undocumented people rides in their cars can be charged with a felony.
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Churches witness immigration policies playing out among Latino families
The Oklahoman
November 2, 2007
By Lillie-Beth Brinkman
There are stories like that of two sisters – one who can go to college on in-state tuition and the younger one who won’t because of changes in Oklahoma’s new state law, effective Nov. 1. Because of deportation fears, some people in the community are too scared to call police for legitimate reasons, such as domestic violence. Rumors spread that families are moving out of state due to recent law enforcement crackdowns based on existing federal immigration laws..[Father] Taylor has noticed a slight decline in the numbers of those who attend mass at his church regularly.
“People are very nervous about things right now,” Taylor said. “It’s really hard to live in a community and hear people say they don’t want you here.”
The new Oklahoma law known as House Bill 1804 will, among other things, require employers to check legal documentation in hiring and will restrict the state-offered benefits available to illegal immigrants, including access to in-state tuition at Oklahoma’s higher education institutions. It does not prevent emergency health care for undocumented immigrants or keep them from attending public schools in Oklahoma.
At the federal level, lawmakers continue to debate immigration issues such as whether to require employers to match Social Security numbers with a proper name.
And recently, local law enforcement officers worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in raids targeting violent street gang members. The actions led to the arrest of 65 people, many of whom were in the United States illegally and eligible for deportation.
The Catholic churches are working to reassure their parishioners and provide them with the information they need about the laws. Both Sacred Heart and Little Flower Catholic Church have been trying to get information to the public through recent workshops and informational meetings.
“I think the majority of the people know what is going on,” the Rev. Jenaro De La Cruz of Little Flower Church. He said he urges his parishioners not to be scared and said that many of them are already permanent U.S. residents or American citizens.
For the church, immigration is a moral issue.
“The Catholic Church’s position is that we respect every single human person. Each person has an intrinsic dignity from God,” said The Most Rev. Eusebius J. Beltran, archbishop of the Archdiocese in Oklahoma City.
“When we see something that is unjust, against the person, we take exception to it and we try to change it.”
Beltran said that the Catholic Church considers U.S. immigration policies to be unjust, especially because many of the people coming to this country aren’t given a fair hearing. Some have been waiting since the early- to mid-1990s for a hearing on their immigration status; until their case is heard, they cannot work in this country legally.
“As a result, many of those people especially from Mexico and Central America, come to the United States illegally,” he said “They come out of desperation. They come seeking a better life for themselves and their families.”
The new Oklahoma law may also jeopardize some services that agencies provide to Latino residents who are in this country illegally. Taylor wondered, for example, whether there would be repercussions for a church if the child of an undocumented worker goes on a church ski trip. Right now, it is unclear what fallout will occur from the Oklahoma law, which is being challenged in court by the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders.
Taylor thinks any law regarding immigrants should “facilitate immigration so it can be done in an orderly way,” he said.
“People have a God-given right to immigrate,” Taylor said. “The right to immigrate is not absolute. It has limits. But it is a God-given right.”
Others disagree, saying that the 500,000 or so immigrants who come to the United States illegally each year should not have access to the government’s resources and that they take jobs away from U.S. citizens.
Taylor contends that people have a right and an obligation to provide for their families, and for many Hispanics, the only way to do so is to come to the United States for jobs, Taylor said.
“People who come here looking for a better future [sic]come here seeking something good,” Taylor said.
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