Community-Based Alternatives to Immigration Detention (Part 2)

By Sue Weisher, Ph.D., Migration Specialist

Politics drive anti-tax movements and low-income families suffer

By the Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J.

Everyone seems to be worshiping at the “no new taxes” altar. This continues some 30 years of anti-tax propaganda whose most vociferous current harbinger is the Tea Party movement. The actual results have included a widening of the gap between rich and poor to its current morally grotesque levels and the substantial deterioration of U.S. infrastructure.

As we contemplated the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2010), it seemed to our staff that a key prism through which to view these five years was how New Orleans was or was not a welcoming community—first, to the poor, the elderly, and people of color who often were least able to weather the storm and its aftermath; and, second, how we welcomed those migrants who came to help rebuild our homes, our offices, and our communities.

By the Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J.

The drama of competing federal budgets and the game of “chicken” about shutting down government is red meat for the pundits, the media, and ambitious politicians. But it ignores one basic truth: government budgets are not about economics; they are about national morality. Such morality is now on the line in Washington.

 by Fred Kammer, S.J.

 by Fr. Fred Kammer, S.J.

Consideration of racism is grounded in fundamental scriptural beliefs: equal dignity of all people, created in God’s image; and Christ’s redemption of all.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church spells this out:

 by Fr. Fred Kammer, S.J.

The rights of migrants (refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, migrant workers, and internally displaced persons-IDPs) begin with the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching, namely, the dignity and sanctity of the human person. The right to life and the conditions worthy of life—when threatened by poverty, injustice, religious intolerance, armed conflict, and other root causes—give rise to the right to migrate.¹

As Pope John XXIII explained:

by the Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J.

by the Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J. 

In 1986, the U.S. bishops wrote:

Whether the problem is preventing war and building peace or addressing the needs of the poor, Catholic teaching emphasizes not only the individual conscience, but also the political, legal and economic structures through which policy is determined and issues are adjudicated.¹

by the Rev. Fred Kammer, S.J.

Teaching (CST) is one-half of the answer to the question, “What is really going on in this situation?” Beyond mere description, the focus here is on trying to understand and analyze a situation,problem, or dilemma more carefully. Holland and Henriot define social analysis as “the effort to obtain a more complete picture of a social situation by exploring its historical and structural relationships.” ²