ICE Raids and Doing the Right Thing

"As the illegal immigrants were being arrested, the state police superintendent assured Tobin and other clergy that his officers would not launch immigration raids. State police later said they were just assisting in a federal investigation." - AP


It is an interesting phenomenon. Many people around the country think that ICE raids are part of following the "letter of the law" --- that they are necessary because "illegal is illegal" --- now a Roman Catholic bishop is saying the just opposite --- that the raids are immoral and that government employees who refuse to participate should be able to take a stand as conscientious objectors. Novel idea isn't it?

A couple of days ago I was flying back from Argentina and while I was in line for the immigration check point in Houston I thought about what it must be like to work for the U.S. government as an ICE officer. The person checking my U.S. passport looked like he was in his late 30s, had a Spanish surname. He was congenial and polite (unlike some others I have encountered). As I spoke with him I wondered, what is it like for him to work in that job? Does he ever feel bad when he directs someone to be detained? Does he think that detaining families with small babies at international airports is necessary so the letter of the law can be followed?

A colleague of mine who recently graduated from a prestigious private university on the east coast was telling me that every time his wife and children (ages 1 and 2) fly back from their country of origin (Mexico) the wife and kids get detained at the Houston airport -- for hours. The kids start howling after a while and everyone gets miserable. The family has figured out that if they let the kids cry the detainment ends up being much shorter.

The conversation with my colleague leaves me wondering, why in the world would ICE detain a woman with a valid green card, whose husband is a tenure track professor (in political science no less) - why does this happen every time she travels back home?

Is the nice ICE officer who attended me one of the guys who stopped my colleague's wife? I wonder how he felt about it when he saw the mother holding the green card with two kids in diapers.

I guess to be an ICE officer you need to have the idea of "illegal is illegal" firmly planted in your mind. Only thing is, being that we are all human beings, you can bet that ICE officer has his own way of justifying what is right and wrong. Does he jaywalk? Has he ever run a yellow light? Did he ever cheat on an exam in college? Did he ever tell a little white lie? Did he ever get too much change at the grocery store and not tell the clerk? Has he ever told his wife she looks good in a dress when she really looks awful?

-----

RI Bishop Wants U.S. to Halt Mass Immigration Raids

By RAY HENRY
The Associated Press/Washington Post
Thursday, August 21, 2008; 4:37 PM

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop is calling on U.S. authorities to halt mass immigration raids and says agents who refuse to participate in such raids on moral grounds deserve to be treated as conscientious objectors.

Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin asked for a blanket moratorium on immigration raids in Rhode Island until the nation adopts comprehensive immigration reform. Tobin made the requests in a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Boston...

Tobin's action comes during a heated debate over illegal immigration in heavily Catholic Rhode Island. Authorities recently raided six courthouses looking for illegal immigrant maintenance workers and Gov. Don Carcieri, himself a Catholic, signed an order requiring state police and prison officials to identify illegal immigrants for possible deportation.

"We believe that raids on the immigrant community are unjust, unnecessary, and counterproductive," the bishop's letter says. It urges individual federal agents to consider the morality of their actions and refuse to participate if their conscience dictates.

In such cases, he said, "we urge the Federal Government to fully respect the well-founded principles of conscientious objection."

...Tobin is bishop of the Diocese of Providence, which covers the entire state. Some 60 percent of Rhode Island residents call themselves Roman Catholic, a higher percentage than any other state.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called U.S. immigration policies "morally unacceptable," saying they keep families divided and encourage the exploitation of migrants.

While the bishops' conference has said the federal government has a right to launch raids, it believes they are often counterproductive, said Kevin Appleby, director of the conference's Office of Migration and Refugee Policy.

He said Tobin's letter is unique because it asks that ICE agents be excused from raids on religious or moral grounds.

"I think it's an interesting idea because, from our reports, a lot of these raids have really impacted families and individuals and really terrorized communities," Appleby said. "It should be logical that some agents think that tactic is too harsh and might not want to participate."

Tobin said he decided to write the letter after hearing about the plight of suspected illegal immigrants arrested during raids in June and July.

The July raid on the Rhode Island courthouses occurred as Tobin was attending the first meeting of a panel charged with monitoring the implementation of Carcieri's crackdown on illegal immigrants.

As the illegal immigrants were being arrested, the state police superintendent assured Tobin and other clergy that his officers would not launch immigration raids. State police later said they were just assisting in a federal investigation.  

For more information from the Providence, Rhode Island Diocese:  http://www.dioceseofprovidence.org

for link to complete AP/WaPo article click here

Benedict and Those Red Shoes

photo from Prada web page











The Pope wears red shoes


Somewhere in my little girl memory I must have seen a Pope wear red shoes. I was very aware of the Pope when John XXIII had the job. Everybody was crazy about him. His idea of Vatican II - for many - was saving the Church from irrelevance. The only thing I was disappointed about was that in our religion classes at Catholic school, we no longer would be learning the mass in Latin. Believe or not I can still remember one phrase - Et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis -

Back when I was in the primary grades I found the whole idea of the church very confusing. At the time, in my town, the churches were segregated - there were black protestant churches, Mexican churches, white protestant churches, ethnic Catholic churches, and Catholic churches for white people. (My father always said - with much irony- that many people did not consider Czech people white).

Of course, people now say that the church, of any denomination, is still the most segregated place in America. But in the 1930s southeast Texas it was a nightmare. While doing research for my book Cemeteries of Ambivalent Desire I found some church records that said when Mexican people would go to the door of the rectory of a church in Richmond (Texas) - the priest would see them, call the Sheriff in terror - and a few minutes later, the Mexican faithful finding themselves greeted with a gun.


I do have to say one thing for the clergy at my school and the Mexican church I attended -- they were never weird with us... Maybe the small town societal controls kept them in line - but either way - we actually felt safe among the priests.

The ones we were really afraid of were the nuns. Not for anything sordid like sexual abuse... more like emotional abuse. A few really did make us feel really bad. There was a continuous edge to what they told us. They would diminish major losses we were experiencing (like the loss of a parent), tell us there was no hope for us academically, and naturally favored those with the best cursive handwriting.

As for those red shoes in Church history, for me they represent the nobility of the Church (I mean nobility as in privilege). Over the years I have read many books on the history of the church in Europe and the Americas and have found it to be an institution that is immersed in regal rituals (and clothing) but generally has not been very sensitive to real people (real people being lay people who don't give a lot of money to the church).

There have been a few orders that were different. Mostly I can say the Basilian priests have been more aware and empathic than any other I have ever run into. But even then, decades ago, when they first came to Texas they were saying they were going to bring "civilization" to the Mexicans.

Lastly the red shoes remind me of hubris. In Houston, the hubris has been exhibited by the building of a new (and gorgeous) Co-Cathedral for the Diocese. It costs so many millions of dollars I don't even want to know.

The red shoes don't help anyone except make people talk about the Pope's feet (they are humorous I must admit) - and the expensive new cathedral tells the community that 1)the church has lots of money and 2) and spending money on a building is a higher priority than doing something for its huge immigrant population. Can you imagine how many lobbyists the Church could hire with that money! With that kind of change they might even have influence on the more xenophobic members of the U.S. Congress.

---------

Pope Benedict XVI Visits the U.S.
Why Does the Pope Wear Red Shoes?
All Things Considered, April 17, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI's ruby red shoes are drawing plenty of attention as he visits Washington, D.C. The handmade loafers, crafted for Benedict by an Italian shoemaker, are seen as a statement of his desire to demonstrate continuity with the symbols and history of the church.

Although Pope John Paul II often wore brown shoes, other pontiffs have also worn red shoes. Benedict's shoes, which stand out against his spotless white robes, also serve as a reminder of the many years he wore the red cloth of a cardinal.

For entire article and link to audio click here