Our Brother and Sisters are Outside

By Juan Carlos Aguirre

 

            “Your brothers and sisters are outside asking for you” (Mk 3:32). These words were told to Jesus by his disciples while he was teaching to a group of followers. In his goodness, Jesus looked on the circle around him, and trying to blur all distinction between those outside and those inside, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother” (Mk 3:34-35). It is important to note that those inside the circle, as well as those outside of it, are recognized by Jesus as being his brothers and sisters. The issue of immigration in America bring about into our midst a situation similar to that of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.  We find our brothers and sisters from outside this nation asking for us. Many people see in their intention to immigrate to this country an invasion of rights on part of immigrants who want to improve their ways of living at the expense of others, namely the American people.  Other people, however, find in these immigrants a great opportunity to attain high quality labor for low pay; it is believed that this will increase the economy of the nation. Both of these political viewpoints lack from a fundamental vision towards those immigrants which cannot be neglected. The first one lacks of complete knowledge behind people’s intentions to immigrate.  The latter sees in the immigrant a mere tool of production. The Church cannot limit herself to any of these views towards immigrants. The Church cannot see in them a people looking for mere material opportunity, nor can she look upon them as mere tools of production. Rather, she is called to see them with the eyes of Jesus, “Here are my brothers and  sisters...because anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister” (Mt 12:50).

            These immigrants come from various parts of the world. However, I will refer specifically to those migrants coming from Mexico searching for a job and way to provide a better life style for their families.  According to a resent survey by USA Today, 40% of all migrants live below the poverty line and 77% of illegal migrants live in extreme poverty (Potok, 20-A). There are different political sides on this issue and it is not easy to determine whether their situation is due to a just political system or to an unjust one. Some may judge their intentions to emigrate justifiable, and some may not. Many experts agree that these immigrants come to work. The same article of USA Today acknowledges the fact that these immigrants, legal and illegal, are part of the American life, including its economy. "Mexican migrants are the lifeblood of agriculture. They have a good work ethic; they're usually from farming areas, and that's where they feel comfortable. They don't want to be on welfare. They're out there working" (Potok, 20-A). Despite that fact that these people work and contribute to the economical stability of the country they are being forbidden of certain basic human rights which have been lost by the nature of their legal status. The problem is not so much that 77% are illegal aliens; but that 77% are below the line of poverty.

            In 1993, California's Proposition 187 portrayed a vivid example of the current view that many Americans hold towards immigration. The Proposition reads as follow:

            The people of California find and declare as follows. That they have suffered and are suffering economic hardship caused by the presence of illegal aliens in this state. That they have suffered and are suffering personal injury and damage by the criminal conduct of illegal aliens in this state...Therefore the people of California declare their intention...to prevent illegal aliens in the U.S. from receiving benefits or public service in the Sate of California. (Internet).

            Those benefits include health care, education for children, and housing. Though Proposition 187 seems to be just because it protects the common wealth of the society, the bill fails to fulfill the moral need of the persons whom are denied education and health care. While labeling illegal aliens as the cause of crime and economic hardship, nowhere in this document are found the real problems which those people are facing. Namely, racial discrimination and hard work with low wages.

            A mentality like the one which created Proposition 187 in California comes from a problematic world view which faces America at this time. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), in their statement The Injustice of Anti-foreign Sentiment noticed that, "Some public officials are calling for and/or initiating public policies that tend to foster an attitude of selfishness and greed, racism and cultural bias. There are those who would even go so far as to restrict basic health and educational services which are due by right to every human being" (422). The problem, as the Bishops further explain, is due to a mentality called nativism.  This is a form of social isolationism which favors only those citizens born inside. The Bishops further noticed that "In this situation, those not like us become scapegoats for all of the ills of our society." If this nativism is left unchallenged by any authority it "deeply embeds itself into the very fabric of our common economic, social and political life" (422). In light of nativism, Proposition 187 makes sense due to the fact that illegal immigrants can become a "burden for society."

            The bottom line of immigration issues, however, is not exactly the fact that people are really a burden; it is more clearly an issue of racism and discontent on the part of citizens who fear a loss of economical stability by allowing foreigners to partake from the same land that they have. As Archbishop Lavada points out, "we [Americans] are racist, and we fear those who are different in color and language and culture" (47). Due to this cruel tendency in every human being the Lord tried to guide this feeling of resentment by saying, "If you have resident aliens in your country, you will not molest them. You will treat resident aliens as though they were native-born and love them as yourself--for you yourselves were once aliens" (Lv 19:33-34). The so-called melting pot, has forgotten where she has come from. We should remember that this nation was born from immigrants who found themselves in a situation similar to that of today's immigrants. In the words of John Paul II we should keep in mind that peace and prosperity are goods which belong to the whole human race. "It is not possible to enjoy them in a proper and lasting way if they are achieved and maintained at the cost of other peoples and nations by violating their rights or excluding them from the sources of well-being" (CA, 27).

            The every day life of the immigrant is invaded by fears and anxiety about their future. With the help of politicians, looking for votes in this election year, it is easy to transform immigrants to mere statistics of poverty and bad behavior. One may take part on the debate of immigration with a pragmatic view of the situation and be trapped by the political vocabulary of the economic and political crisis which immigration may cause. These political views toward immigration policy may reduce illegal immigrants to a status of criminals and the treatment they receive may be reflected by such views. I have seen with my own eyes officers from the Immigration and Naturalization Service persecute immigrants because of appearances of race and color. They search for “wet-bags” (as they are often called), in bus stops, schools, highways,  colleges, universities, hospitals and even in recreational parks, making these people’s lives a vivid nightmare; and depraving them from even something as basic as the right for leisure. The officers in many locations treat immigrants as criminals and they even go as far as to kill them in shoot outs, even when most of the time the victim was unarmed and shot in the back while crossing the border. We all may recall the sad images on television a few months ago when we witnessed the lack of respect for human rights which some officers in California  portrayed as they chased some illegal immigrants on the Highway and beat them as if they were the worst of criminals. Bishop Robert Lynch, from St. Petersburg, Florida, in a recent article, tries to open our eyes and make us see deeper into the immigration issue and feel the consequences which the actions taken by the Justice Department can cause in the lives of people. “Immigrants” says bishop Lynch, “should not be used as pawns in the political arena” (247). Pope John XXIII, not long ago, reminded us that it is not irrelevant to draw the attention of the world to the fact that those who immigrate are persons, "and all their rights as persons must be recognized." They do not loose those rights "simply because they are deprived of citizenship of their own state" (PT, 105). In the process of deportation, as Bishop Lynch  points out, families are torn apart, and on many occasions relatives are left with anxiety as to where their loved ones will be “dumped” by the Border Patrol. By falling into political language we may refer to immigrants as “Illegal Aliens” and place them in the shell of those who do not follow the law, and thus justify the action of deportation. It is easy to see aliens under the appearances of euphemisms which may bring some peace of mind at the sight of injustice. For the purpose of this paper, and leaving all personal sentiments aside, I refer to them as brothers and sisters.

            The Constitution of the United States of America is grounded in the basic belief that “all men are created equal” and from this equality the dignity and respect to which every human being is entitled to is granted. However, what really brings about the dignity of man is not so much the fact that they are equal, it is the fact that they are created. We, in our Catholic faith, believe that  all men, by their being created in the image of God, were brought forth from the word of God: "let us make man in our image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters" (Gn 1:26). This man which God created was placed within a social structure because "it is not right that the man should be alone" (Gn 2:18). For this reason the Church recognizes that "For his innermost nature man is a social being; and if he does not enter into relations with others he can neither live nor develop his gifts" (GS, 12). Man is not only a social being, for by been social he does not gain his dignity; but most of all he has been redeemed by the same Word by which he was created: Jesus Christ. "How precious must men be in the eyes of the Creator," says John Paul II "...if God 'gave his only Son' in order that man 'should not perish but have eternal life" (RH, 9-10). The dignity given to man from his creation was exalted even more when "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (Jn 1:14). The Fathers of Vatican II, after reflecting on this reality, could not but conclude that,  “The Truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate word does the mystery of man take light...Christ...by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and his love, fully reveals man to man himself, and makes his supreme calling clear” (GS, 22). With these in mind, we cannot remain silent at the injustices that some of our brothers and sisters are going through just by being born on the wrong side of the border. The Church has the mission given to hear by an example of the Lord himself,  to listen to those voices.

            In the Gospel of Matthew we find the story of a Canaanite woman approaching Jesus to beg him for the healing of her daughter (cf.  Mt 15:21-28). This Canaanite woman of the Gospel, which in Mark refers to as a Syro-Phoenician, a Gentile, a foreigner, (cf. Mk 7:24-30) gives us the perfect image of a stranger begging for what is due to her. The Church, in her mission to proclaim the gospel to all nations (cf. Mt 28:19) is called in this image of Jesus to hear the cry of the poor (cf Ps 34).  The Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and says, "Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil" (Mt 15:22). Jesus, however, did not give a clear answer at first saying, "I was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel" (v. 24). But the woman, with such strong faith did not give up and continued begging to the Lord saying, "Lord, help me!" (v 25). Jesus said in reply, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs" (v. 26). However, she did not give up and added, "Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table" (v. 27).  John Paul II reminds us that the Church, as she imitates Jesus, “cannot abandon man, for his destiny...is so closely and unbreakable linked with Christ. We are speaking precisely of each man on this planet. This earth that the Creator gave to the first man" (RH, 14).

            In the above parable, Jesus answers to the Canaanite saying, "Woman, you have great faith. Let you desire be granted. And from that moment her daughter was well again" (MT 15:28). The Church, as Jesus himself did,  keeps herself in constant awareness of man's situation by maintaining her eyes open to the events of history. Thus, Gaudium et Spes says that, "at all times the Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, if it is to carry out its task" (GS, 4). It is clear from the Gospel that Jesus was testing the woman’s faith by refusing to give her what she was asking for. Many immigrants in this country find themselves in a similar situation to that of the Canaanite woman. They come to our presence begging for something with faith; but it is denied to them on the grounds that they are not members of the same house. We as Church are called to imitate the Lord and see their faith and through their faith grant them what is due to them as human beings. So, it is the task of the Church to remain attentive to the needs of man, because "The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and the anguish of the followers of Christ as well" (GS, 1). It is important to note that the document specifically names the "poor" as the priority. It is the Church's priority to see that the least of the brethren acquire what is his or her due. Christ, by giving preference to the poor and needy, not only became one of us, but also remains incarnate in those who are hungry, thirsty, foreigner and naked (cf. Mt 25:31-46).

            The Church in her mission to provide for the poor does not offer technical solutions to immigration issues. Nor does she propose political or economical sanctionary solutions to alleviate the problem of immigration. John Paul II reminds us that the Church does not get involved in political actions per se "...provided that human dignity is properly respected and promoted, and provided she herself is allowed the room she needs to exercise her ministry" (SRS, 41). The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council noticed that the Church is called to unify, in the same way that Jesus "called a race made of Jews and Gentiles which would be one, not according to the flesh, but in the Spirit, and this race would be the new people of God" (LG, 9). The Church of this world sees herself as the Moses of our time. She recognizes that God has heard his people "crying for help on account of their taskmasters” and that he is "well aware of their suffering" (Ex 3:7). At this time of exploitation of migrant workers the Church is being called by God in the same way that Moses was called to bring God's people out of Egypt, out from slavery (cf. Ex 3:9ss). Thus, the Church cannot remain silence.

            There a several rights which the Church recognizes as being violated in the lives of immigrants. However, due to the lack of room in this paper, I would like to emphasize two. The first is the right given to every person to have a family and to be sure that the family has their needs (such as health care, education, clothing and shelter) fulfilled. The second is motivated by the first and it is the right to sustain ones self by ones own vocation in life, which is the right to work, and by doing so,  participate in the economy of the society in which one lives.

            The first right that the Church recognizes in every person is the right to a family. Thus the Canaanite woman replied, "My daughter is tormented by a devil" (Mt 15:22). Vatican II says that, "The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life" (GS, 67). The same document recognizes that "the family is...a school of human enrichment" (GS, 52). All the members of the Church, all those who call themselves Christians are, by the very nature of their baptism, called to "strive to promote the values of marriage and the family" (GS, 52). Family is the core of society. Families can be jeopardized by their separation due to immigration. John Paul II said in 1986 that "The Church repeats with insistence that...the protection of families and particularly of those burdened by further difficulties of being migrants and refugees, constitutes an indispensable priority.”[1] Archbishop Donoghue explains that "undocumented families are being separated. In many instances one parent is deported, leaving the spouse and children to fend for themselves with no place which they can turn except religious and charitable organizations" (155). With all these sorrows in mind the Church pleads to the state to provide for those families. John XXIII believed that the state must safeguard these people by assuring that those families do not lack what it is ordinarily given to its citizens. “The state should accept such immigrants and, so far as the good of their own community rightly understood, permit to further the aims of those who may wish to become members of a new society" (PT, 106).

            The disciples of Jesus wrongly said, "Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us" (Mt 15:23). One may think that the best way to maintain a family united is to avoid immigration on the first place. However, John XXIII, told us that "Among man's personal rights we must include the right to enter a country in which he hopes to be able to provide more fittingly for himself and his dependents" (PT, 106). In the same document the pope reminded us that "when there are just reasons in favor of it, he [man] must be permitted to emigrate to another country and take up a residence there" (PT, 25). Joseph, Jesus' foster father, saw himself obliged to emigrate into Egypt due to the dangers that his family was confronting. The angel said to Joseph, "Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt" (Mt 2:13-15). Many immigrants find refuge from economical hardship by immigrating into a new country. A few months ago, however, the American Bishops asked the Mexican Bishops to tell the Mexican people not to cross the border illegally.  Notwithstanding, Bishop Jose Ulices Macías, from Mexicali, responded that the bishops of Mexico cannot tell Mexicans to stay out of the United States. "How can we exhort Mexicans not to try to cross the border if the political and economic structures in Mexico do not allow citizens to have a Job and a decent salary?"

            The second right the Church recognizes on every person and which is being violated by immigration laws is the right to labor. "Even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table" (Mt 15:27). It is necessary to acknowledge that according to statistics immigrants do not come here seeking high positions in companies. They are looking for the "scraps form their masters' tables."  Of course it is impossible to provide jobs for all; since a society must remain in balance. However, if opening jobs to some immigrants will mean that some Americans will be deprived of a new car every year, then the problem we are facing is not illegal immigration, but lack of conscience on the part of the American people. "The Church is convinced that work is a fundamental dimension of man's existence on earth" (LE, 4). The dignity of man, by his sharing in the image and likeness of God, is held together in part by the mandate which he has received from his creator to be fruitful, subdue the earth and of being masters of all creatures. The Gospel of Work, as John Paul II calls it, should be at the heart of the issue of labor, "because he who proclaimed it was himself a man of work, a craftsman like Joseph of Nazareth" (LE, 26). Work is necessary in the development of human personality because it is not only to make a living, but also to develop a personality, a character, a vocation in life. What I do for a living reflects part of who I am as a person. John Paul II, in Centesimus Annus says that "work belongs to the vocation of every person; indeed a human being expresses and fulfills himself by working" (CA, 6). For all these reasons discrimination in wages and working conditions should be avoided. It is common these days to find illegal workers doing the most difficult jobs and receiving the lowest pay for their work. An example can be pointed out in a recent article in U.S. News and World Report[2] which presents the injustices of illegal workers in Iowa working on unsafe meat production lines for very low wages and being forced to remain locked in a warehouse in order to avoid deportation. At the same time this article reflects just how unjust an  illegal "industry" can be by treating those employees almost like slaves, with no rights to claim and no benefits for their future.  To avoid all these kinds of conflict the Church states that employers should not treat immigrants "as mere tools of production...they should facilitate them in having their families with them ...and... endeavor to integrate them into the social life of the country...to which they have come" (GS, 66).

            So far I have presented an overview of immigration based upon injustices and rights to family and labor. However, that is not the whole picture of immigration. We should not get the impression that immigrants come to be served, which is not the case. The Church recognizes certain values that immigrants bring with them. Many of these values may not be just economical, for surely they contribute in this area; but they also offer more values of faith which can help us attain a better grasp of the Gospel.

            Jesus told the Canaanite woman, "You have great faith" (Mt 15:28). Those immigrants which come to this country are not just bringing their desire for a better life; they also bring something which this society is missing: Faith. Even though most immigrants show a great deal of poverty, their experiences of faith are richer in tradition and practice. Archbishop Lavada says that "They are the poor in Spirit and in fact whom the Lord himself declared blessed and happy, and commands us to imitate and welcome with a neighbor's love" (47). Thus the words from the gospel challenge us even more when we are forced to see them as neighbors. "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Lk 10:27; Lv 19:18).

            In the Acts of the Apostles (8:2-8) we find an example of Philip going from place to place preaching the good news. Philip specifically "went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them." The people in that town welcomed Philip's message because "they had heard the miracles he worked and because they saw them for themselves."  Many people were cured and evil spirits were spelled. As a result of Philip's message "there was great rejoicing in that town." Like Philip, immigrants today come to this country bringing a culture of great faith. A culture which has Christianity rooted to itself. Archbishop Lavada points out that, "their religious beliefs and values were sustained and passed on by a strong family culture shared by most of the society, by religious symbols and saints, especially by the appearance of Mary...as one of them at Tepeyac...Our Lady of Guadalupe" (47). They bring us a culture soaked with the Gospel. They have a strong sense of family and a deep love for simplicity of life. They see a great value in popular religion, which maintains their Catholic heritage even when the Church cannot provide enough priests to serve them.

            The American Church surely finds abundant resources of faith from this people, as Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete recognizes, "The Hispanic presence is not a problem, but a resource that the Catholic Church in the United States urgently needs" (158). For this reason, it is necessary to create a plan of work at the parish level to make use of this opportunity to evangelize to its maximum. Thus Monsignor Albacete suggests that "a strong campaign of evangelization which clearly recognizes that faith either generates a culture or it is lost" (158).

            "Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted. And from that moment her daughter was well again" (Mt 15:28). The desire which immigrants have is not so much economical stability, but support and acceptance by the community. They come from a different culture. Their culture must be respected. The parish must protect these people's culture. Their experience of faith is so embedded in the culture, that if they loose their identities, they may loose their faith as well. Msgr. Albacete says that, "culture is precisely all through which the human person is expressed and nourished as such as a unique and unrepeatable subject" (159). It is in culture where every person cultivates its identity as such. It is notorious in parishes to see how parishioners are led by the idea that immigrants come to invade their liturgical life. It is important, however to cultivate a Hispanic cultural expression and maintain certain sensitivity towards their expression of faith in order to make their faith flow to other areas of the parish.

            The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Unity. In breaking bread and sharing it, we all become one bread and one body in the Body of Christ. "And as there is one loaf, so we, although there are many of us, are one single body, for we all share in the one loaf of bread" (1 Cor 10:16-17). In this table in which we share the sacrament of unity, "there can be neither Jew or Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female--for you are all one in Christ" (Gal 3:28). For this reason, the Eucharist in the parish should make liturgical celebrations, and more specifically the Eucharistic Liturgy (the mass) the source of unity among parishioner. All should participate, including those who are new. We all can be enriched  by different cultural expressions of faith. It is for this reason that St. Paul says, "There are many different gifts, but it is always the same spirit; there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord. There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all" (1 Cor 12:4-6).

            We must find a manner to adapt all points mentioned above within the parish life. It is notorious in many parishes I have visited the kind of confusion which new comers cause. There are some parishes which focus largely in the cultural aspect of Hispanics, while others place their focus on their incorporation to this culture. The first issue, however, is not grounded so much on the difference in culture; rather it is the fact that they too declare and share the same profession of faith. They are Catholics before being Hispanics. At present time there is a discussion among people on the use of terminology towards immigrants. The issue is whether they should be called Hispanics or Latino. The only right answer to this questions is that they should be called what they really are: Christians. It is very easy to look for labels on people and put them in individual shells according to our terminology. However, we need not to see with our social eyes but with the eyes of our faith. For the Letter to the Hebrews remind us, " Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen...It is by faith that we understand...that from the invisible the visible world came to be" (11:1,3). Pastors need to create conscience in parishioners so that they may welcome the poor and needy with eyes of faith. The faithful need to see in the poor and immigrant the face of Christ. Because it is in seeing the face of Christ in the poor and needy that they will be judged. So that when parishioners ask the Lord, "When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you?" Jesus answers them, "In truth I tell you in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me" (see 25:31-46).

            Our Lord set the perfect example for pastors.

            "When he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to the disciples, 'The harvest is rich but the laborers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to his harvest" (Mt 9 36-37).

            Pastors, as shepherds of the flock entrusted to them by the Church are obliged to see that no sheep in the flock is lost or stolen. This strongly includes the poor and immigrant because they are the ones who lack protection. Pastors should not give preferences to certain "groups" or associations. They should minister the Gospel in their territory assuring their parishioners that no one is a victim of discrimination at work or is being used as merely tools of productivity. The pastor should try to stop such abominations even if the employer is another parishioner. Pope Paul VI said that bishops and priests should exercise their authority to teach the truths revealed to the Church. "They are teachers of the faith" (EN, 68). They act in the person of Christ (cf LG, 10, 37). And from this ministry they ought to educate their parishioners.

            The liturgy in a parish may become a source of separation when different expressions are put together. However, it is of great importance to give each parish member what is his or her due. The Church should provide services which may help immigrants sustain their own culture; at the same time the church should provide non-Hispanics with means by which they can enrich from such culture. Gelesia Márquez Marinas says that "Every family belongs to a defined cultural community by identifying itself with a common group as set off by race, religion, nationality...to create...a sense of peoplehood" (47). This experience creates a sense of belonging and it is from this sense that these immigrants will sustain their faith.

            Families should be supported in various ways. Parishioners who live near immigrants should welcome them and make them feel part of the same Church. 

            Education programs should be provided by the parish family to each individual family. The education should provide solid Church doctrine. This doctrine should create a common ground by which immigrants and citizens feel related to each other. From this relatedness parishioners may find their common faith and see their brothers and sisters in each other.

            As part of the education program from the parish, classes should be offered in the immigrants native language, i.e. Spanish. However, the parish should also provide English and American History classes in order to facilitate immigrants integration into American society.

            The parish should provide food and clothing to those in need, especially those who have just arrived in this country. It is ludicrous to ask for Social Security numbers to those who come to our doors begging for food and care. Unconditional Love stops being unconditional when we put a requirement which is completely irrelevant to Love itself. The Lord, when healing the daughter of the Canaanite woman did not ask for a membership card; rather he tested her faith.

            The bottom line is to create conscience in the parish. There is an extreme need nowadays to create conscience in individual persons who by their individual decisions may affect the way in which the Gospel in presented to immigrants. We may sit down in our parish halls and complain about political and religious views on the issue of immigration; however, let us not forget that we are all members of the Church and "It is the whole Church that receives the mission to evangelize, and the work of each individual member is important for the whole" (EN, 15).

            We must become witnesses of the Gospel in all areas of our daily lives. It is only in being salt of the earth that we make the world taste the beauty of different faith expressions in our culture. Through this witness of sharing and loving the word of God, we "stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how [we] live" (EN, 21).

            I am an immigrant. I came to this country to study and some members of my family came here to look for jobs. We were lucky enough to have papers; however, I have seen many who suffer discrimination and lack of compassion because they cross the border by illegal means. They have been persecuted by police officials as if they were criminals. They have come to parishes looking for shelter and been denied it. Sometimes they are even denied a glass of water after walking trough the desert for days searching for an Oasis called "The American Dream" just to find out that such an “Oasis” is just an illusion. It is in light of these and many other things I’ve seen that I write this paper. Not to inform readers on immigration laws; but to create a conscience towards immigrants, towards those brothers and sisters who are outside. We pray that one day we may come to them and see in them our brothers and sisters  outside.  I hope that when such day arrives they may answer in the words of the Lord, looking at those sitting in a circle round them  and say, Here are my mother and my brothers.  However such day will not come until we recognize that Jesus came and broke the dividing walls of enmity among people (cf Eph 2:14), "So you are no longer aliens or foreigners visitors; you are fellow-citizens with the holy people of God and part of God's household...and Christ himself is the cornerstone" (Eph 2:19).

 

WORKS CITED

 

Albacete, Msgr. Lorenzo; “The Hispanic Presence in the Church in the United States”; Origins, August 10, vol 25, 1995.

 

Bible. The New Jerusalem Bible; New York: Doubleday, 1985.

 

Donoghe, Archbishop John; “Roundup of Undocumented Immigrants Questioned”; Origins, August 10, vol 25, 1995.

 

Gaudium et Spes; Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents; ed. Austin Flannery; Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1984.

 

Hedges, Stephen J., Dana Hawkins, and Penny Loeb; “The New Jungle”; U.S. News and             World Report; Sep. 23, vol 121, p.34-45. 1996.

 

Lavada, Archbishop William; “Hispanic Ministry’s Changing Face”; Origins, June 1, vol 25, 1995.

 

Lumen Gentium; Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents; ed. Austin Flannery; Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1984.

 

Lynch, Bishop Robert; “The Human Story Behind the INS Roundup”; Origins, October 3, vol. 26, 1996.

 

Macias-Salcedo, Bishop José Ulices; “On File”; Origins, May 2, vol 25, 1995.

 

Marquez Marinas, Gelesia; “Immigrant Families in Cultural Transition”; Who Are My Sisters and Brothers; Washington: USCC, 1996.

 

NCCB; “The Injustice of Anti-Foreign Sentiment”; Origins, Nov. 25, vol. 23, 1993.

 

Pope John XXIII; Pacem in Terris, Peace on Earth; Washington: USCC, 1963.

 

Pope John Paul II; Centesimus Annus, on the 100th Aniversary of Rerum Novarum;          Washington: USCC, 1991.

            -----. IGP2, Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, Teachings of John Paul II;                                      Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1986.

            -----. Laborem Exercens, On Human Labor; Washington: USCC, 1981.

            -----. Redeptor Hominis, Redemer of Man; Washington: USCC, 1979.

            -----. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, On Social Concern, Washington: USCC, 1987

 

Pope Paul VI; Evangelii Nuntiandi, On Evangelization in the Modern World; Washington: USCC, 1976.

 

Potok, Mark; “Illegal Workers ‘A fact of Life’ on U.S. Farms”;. USA Today  Sep. 30th,   1996, p19A - 20A.

 

Proposition 187. California: Accessed through INTERNET, Columbus Freenet. Loaded onto the Net by San Luis Obispo City Library.