Will Catholic activists prevail in border crisis?
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles is championing the sheltering and safety of unaccompanied immigrant Latino children as leaders and church activists have become…
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez makes the keynote speech at Town Hall Los Angeles’ forum on “Immigration and the Next America.” in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 14,2014. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles is championing the sheltering and safety of unaccompanied immigrant Latino children as leaders and church activists have become directly embroiled in the issue that the pope has compared to racism.
In California, Texas and states along the U.S.-Mexican border, the latest twist to the immigration debate has placed those Catholic activists squarely opposed to the growing insistence among conservatives that those children be deported and a tougher stance taken along the border.
Most outspoken among the U.S. church has been the Los Angeles archdiocese leadership, which has had parishes launching collection drives to gather donations for the immigrants and a Catholic nonprofit group providing free legal services to those seeking political asylum to remain in the U.S.
ALSO SEE: Advocates travel to El Salvador to see why migrants head for the U.S.
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, himself an immigrant from Mexico, has called the situation of the immigrant children a humanitarian, moral cause, saying many had been sent by desperate parents to escape poverty and violence in their home countries in Central America.
Let us pray for one another, Gomez told parishioners who attended a special Mass Sunday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, supporting aid to the immigrant children. And especially for the young people who have come here.
But his message appeared aimed at a broader audience as he tried to recall Americans to the idea that the country was conceived as a nation of immigrants with a moral purpose.
More of our fellow citizens, Gomez said, seem to be losing faith in the spirit of America.
More than 52,000 unaccompanied minors from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras crossing the border illegally have been apprehended by U.S. authorities this year. The number of unaccompanied has doubled annually since 2011.
The issue of what to do with the minors has escalated the ongoing debate over immigration and exploded in the political landscape.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who is considering running for president in 2016, announced Monday that he would send 1,000 National Guard troops to the border with Mexico to help the Border Patrol beef up security.
SEE ALSO: The American publics mixed reaction to the ongoing border crisis
Opposition to the unaccompanied childrens presence in the U.S. has been most apparent in Congress which has only a few days left before its August recess to approve President Obamas request for $3.7 billion to help shelter the minors, with no scheduled voting dates and seemingly little optimism for passage.
Pope Francis has urged protection for unaccompanied children migrating from Central America into the U.S.
Many of their rights are violated, they are obliged to separate from their families and, unfortunately, continue to be the subject of racist and xenophobic attitudes, the pope said earlier this month.
For some time, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops department of Migration and Refugee Services has been actively involved.
Central American migrants climb ride a train during their journey toward the U.S.-Mexico border in Ixtepec, Mexico, Saturday, July 12, 2014. The number of unaccompanied minors detained on the U.S. border has more than tripled since 2011. Children are also widely believed to be crossing with their parents in rising numbers.(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
In April, a delegation of the Conference of Catholic Bishops staged a dramatic Mass at the U.S.-Mexico border, distributing Communion through the border fence and calling on President Obama to allow the children remain in the U.S.
The prospect of the United States sending vulnerable children back into the hands of violent criminals in their countries raises troubling questions about our moral character, said Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, chairman of the bishops migration committee.
SEE ALSO: Menendez has no doubt Obama will take immigration executive action
Most recently, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas has weighed in by organizing volunteers and pro bono legal assistance while taking a stand on behalf of treating the unaccompanied children with humanitarian concern.
For parents who send their children on the journey to the U.S., the life-threatening journey north is a more appealing option to these children, and is viewed by their families as the last remaining option to secure their safety, the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston said in a statement.
In Los Angeles, Gomez has personally led activists on the issue.
It has been frustrating trying to find ways to work with the authorities to provide pastoral care for these children. But we are continuing to try.
Gomez and the archdiocese have been working with U.S. to provide pastoral care to several hundred young immigrants who have detained at the naval base in the city of Port Hueneme near Los Angeles.
We need to give them guidance and warmth and a sense of welcome, the archbishop said in his message. No matter what, we need to remember these are innocent children who are lonely and frightened and far from home, caught up in circumstances they did not create and they cannot control.
