IMMIGRATION
The Valley Catholic
MORAL THEOLOGY
The border crisis: A refugee disaster
By Father Gerald D. Coleman, SS
A humanitarian
crisis is being played
out along the southern border of the United States. Since
2001, there has been an unprecedented
increase in the number of children
arriving at our borders. Most of these
children are from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. Recent
government estimates project that about
90,000 children will arrive by year’s end,
and 130,000 in 2015.
Gang violence, killings and intimidation form the outrageous circumstances
fueling this catastrophe. In Honduras,
for example, 408 youths under 18 have
been killed since January of last year.
More than 2,200 children from San Pedro
Sula, a city in Honduras with the world’s
highest homicide rate, arrived in the U.S.
from January through May, far more
than any other city in Central America. In
El Salvador, murders of children 17 and
under were up 77 percent from last year.
With major youth gangs and thugs
operating with impunity, analysts indicate that it will be a growing difficulty
to keep children from fleeing until the
root causes of violence are addressed.
Many parents of these children facilitate their departure believing that
United States immigration policies offer
preferential treatment to minors. Along
the way of escape, there are numerous
reports of trafficking and exploitation of
many of these children, forcing them to
face increased dangers, insecurity, and
sexual abuse.
This calamity is of major humanitarian concern and represents a clear
case of refugees seeking a safe harbor,
rather than immigrants journeying to a
foreign land.
Nativists protest. During the week
of July 7, when 140 of these kids and
their mothers were being bused to a
Border Patrol facility in Murrieta, California, an angry mob of 150 protestors
surrounded the vehicle, while shaking
fists and chanting, “USA, USA.” The bus
was forced to turn around. This type of
reaction reveals an appalling blindness
to a human tragedy.
The border crisis is a calamity crying
out for a witness of compassion and solidarity. This is why California’s Catholic
Bishops believe that “the gravity of this
situation transcends politics.”
The Catholic Church has a long history in child protection and refugee and
asylum protection. The Gospel of Matthew
notes the refugee circumstances as Jesus,
Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt to avoid
violence, persecution and death. Jesus
gives praise and promises eternal life to
those who welcome Him in the stranger.
Pope Francis defended the rights
of refugees early in his papacy as he
traveled to Lampedusa, Italy. Francis
has decried the “globalization of indifference” and “the “throwaway culture”
that lead to the disregard of those fleeing
persecution and violence.
In Evangelii Gaudium, Francis notes it
is essential for Catholics “to draw near
to new forms of poverty and vulnerability.” Unaccompanied minors, due
to their heightened defenselessness, require our special consideration and care.
What might we do?
First, we should make our opinion
heard that the 2008 Trafficking Victims
Protection Act should not be amended
or repealed. If this were to come about,
the deportation of these refugee children could be done with speed, thus
demonstrating an unconscionable lack
of empathy and compassion. We are not
facing an immigration control problem.
We are facing a humanitarian crisis.
Second, we should urge Congress to
release the $3.7 billion in emergency assistance requested by the White House.
This money will help these children
secure safe and viable shelters by establishing refugee centers of hospitality,
assistance and security.
Third, we must do everything in our
power, through personal donations and
assistance, to ensure that refugee children receive appropriate child welfare
services, legal assistance, and access to
immigration protection.
Fourth, we must pressure Congress
to initiate a forthright conversation
with the Central American countries
from which this humanitarian disaster
originates. The root causes driving this
refugee emergency must be addressed
and adequately reformed.
Fifth, we must work toward a “globalization of solidarity” where we embrace the fleeing children as our own.
• Father Gerald Coleman, SS is Vice
President of Corporate Ethics for the Daughters of Charity Health System.
August 19, 2014
15
Humanitarian border crisis calls
for compassion, action
By Gregory Kepferle
Detention of thousands of unaccompanied children at the U.S. border is truly a humanitarian crisis. These children at great risk travelled thousands of miles through several
countries seeking safety from violence, abuse and gangs, but have for now lost their homes,
freedom and any sense of security and certainty.
Government struggles with the increased flow while attempting to meet its humanitarian obligation, follow current immigration law, and respond to political pressures to
strengthen border security and pass comprehensive immigration reform.
This crisis of child refugees has been building for several years. A few years ago,
Homeland Security encountered about 8,000 unaccompanied children per year at the
border. That number has grown dramatically.
Over 50,000 have arrived in the first six months of 2014, with 90,000 projected to arrive
this year and perhaps 140,000 next year! Over 30,000 unaccompanied children are already
being cared for by families throughout the country, including over 3,000 throughout
California.
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County is one of many Catholic Charities agencies
working with the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Migration and Refugee
Services helping these children through our Refugee Foster Care program. Over the past
ten years Catholi