More thoughts from Jesse on immigration

Now, let’s move on to the Spiritual. The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not support illegal immigration; however the Church does support ‘immigration reform.’ The Church is encouraging and

praying that a just resolution is found and enacted. We should always pray for and enact the corporal works of mercy towards our fellow human beings – this is the golden rule given by Our Lord Jesus Christ. That is not to say that there are not some liberal Progressives in the Church who support Illegal Immigration. Many Catholics even within the clergy have been infected by ‘LIBERATIONTHEOLOGY’85 which is a combination of Catholicism with “concepts uncritically borrowed from Marxist ideology” which uses “a biblical hermeneutic marked by rationalism which are at the basis of the new interpretation which is corrupting whatever was authentic in the generous initial commitment on behalf of the poor.” 86 Liberation Theology actually developed in South and Central America and this is what many (Hispanic) Catholics in this country have been infected with. “The different theologies of liberation are situated between the preferential option for the poor…on the one hand, and the temptation to reduce the Gospel to an earthly gospel on the other.” 87 Certain aspects of ‘Liberation Theology’ have been officially condemned by the Magisterium’s Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - August 6, 1984. Moreover, many Catholics have been infected with the error of ‘Antinomianism,’ which means ‘against law.’ This is the heresy that says‘because I believe in JESUS I don’t have to follow the moral, natural or divine law.’ In fact the Catechism says that all immigrants (legal and illegal) are called to obey the laws of the country that has taken you in. Unfortunately, many of the baptized are low information Catholics who don’t read the Catechism or the Bible. Therefore they get caught up in leftist political causes because they listen to the left wing propaganda from the Spanish Media and are led by the nose. This is the classic case of the blind leading the blind as Our Lord Jesus stated (cf.Matthew 15:14). The vast majority of Mexican Americans (like myself) have no problem with immigration; we are a country of immigrants, we have a problem with Illegal Immigration. I don’t want illegal Arabs, Nigerians, Russians, Armenians, Chinese, Vietnamese, Brazilians, Irish, Syrians, Iraqi’s or Mexican etc. It is wrong to enable people to have contempt for laws. We are a country that functions much more efficiently thanany other country because of the rule of law. Lax Immigration Laws encourages a lawless society. Catholics should be against anything that is illegal in a free society (provided the law is just)! I find no contradiction between my Catholic faith and my support for the rule of law. Of course we have to protect the dignity of every human person, which I believe the U.S. immigration law does just that. Every country has the right to define its own borders and to develop laws to defend them. In my view, amnesty for illegal immigrants would be a disaster for America.

1. It rewards illegal behavior.

2. Shows contempt for the rule of law, thus weakening the respect for law not only among immigrants, but among all Americans.

It is a slap in the face to the millions of people around the world who line up and play by the rules to enter America legally. Truth be told, the Democrats are relying on Hispanic voters, legal and illegal to be a rock solid voting bloc in favor of their leftist candidates and laws for years to come. And what better way to curry favor with Hispanic voters than by granting backdoor amnesty to millions of illegal aliens, this secures their positions of power. Moreover, most people don’t know that Caesar Chavez was a longtime foe of illegal immigration. “Chavez himself was a third generationAmerican citizen and a Navy veteran. Although he has become over time virtually the patron saint of the Reconquista movement to reclaim all of the southwest for Mexico, in his prime he was an ardent opponent of illegal immigration and actively fought against the importation of strikebreakers from Mexico. Chavez understood the basic laws of supply and demand — the greater the supply (of labor), the less the demand (and hence the lower the wages). Just as the founder of the American Federation of Labor Samuel Gompers was an influential voice calling for the immigration - restricting law of 1924, so Chavez openly and actively opposed illegal immigration because it crippled his ability to unionize farm workers and increase their wages. In 1979 testimony to Congress, Chavez complained, ‘...when the farm workers strike and their strike is successful, the employers go to Mexico and have unlimited, unrestricteduse of illegal alien strikebreakers to break the strike. And, for over 30 years, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has looked the other way and assisted in the strikebreaking. I do not remember one single instance in 30 years where the Immigration service has removed strikebreakers....The employers use professional smugglers to recruit and transport human contraband across the Mexican border for the specific act of strikebreaking...’ In 1969, Chavez actually led a march to the Mexican border to protest illegal immigration, accompanied by Senator Walter Mondale and Ralph Abernathy, whom alert readers will recognize as Martin Luther King’s successor as head of the Southern Leadership Conference. Chavez demanded that the federal government close the border, routinely reported suspected illegal immigrants to immigration officials, and put his brother in charge of Minutemen like border patrols which on more than one occasion resulted in the beatings of intruders.” 88 Having borders is something that defines a country. Going back to biblical history, when the Jews returned back to their homeland after being exiled for 70 years in Babylon, Nehemiah the governor “organized the Jews to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, for a city without a wall was hardly a city at all. It could be conquered easily.” 89 Let’s use some common sense on the border issue. Do you have a front door to your house? Do you close it and lock it? Why? Hmmm, that’s the same reason a country must secure its borders. What about the biblical admonition to “welcome the stranger” (cf.Matthew 25:35)? The Greek word “for stranger” is “xenos,” which the ‘Liddell Scott Jones Classical Greek Lexicon’ recounts several instances from Homer to Sophocles that “xenos” refers to an “invited guest;” when it refers to a foreigner, a formal invitation – even a treaty often precedes the visit.