New Ulm Journal: Bishops' letter on immigration raids

Today's New Ulm Journal has published a letter from Minnesota's Catholic bishops concerning the ICE work raids in Worthington:

TO THE EDITOR: As the Catholic Bishops of the State of Minnesota, we are distressed and disheartened by the work place raids that took place in Worthington, Minnesota and other communities this past week. To add insult to injury, immigration officials chose the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of the Americas, as the day to target these workers and their families.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers justified these raids as part of their investigation of a largescale identify theft scheme. In fact, few of the workers arrested at the Swift plant in Worthington were charged as perpetrators of the identity theft scheme.

The U.S. and Mexican Catholic bishops have called for an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. Criteria for reform include:

• a broad-based earned legalization program (permanent residency) for the undocumented of all nationalities;

• a reform of our family-based immigration system to allow family members to reunite with loved ones in the United States;

• a reform of the employment-based immigration system to provide legal pathways for migrants to come and work in a safe, humane and orderly manner; and,

• a restoration of due process protections for immigrants.

The raids did nothing to advance needed reform. Instead, the raids heartlessly divided families, disrupted the whole community of Worthington and undermined progress that that city had made toward bridging racial and cultural differences.

We call for an end to such raids which violate the rights of workers and the dignity of work. These men and women are our brothers and sisters; as workers, they provide our food; as residents, they support our local businesses and communities. We must always remember that their dignity as human beings must be foremost in our thinking as we address the critical issues surrounding immigration. Our faith calls us to overcome all forms of discrimination and violence so that we may build relationships that are just and loving.

Comprehensive immigration reform, including a broad legalization program, should be a policy priority when Congress meets in the new year.

Archbishop Harry Flynn
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Bishop Richard Pates
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Bishop Victor Balke
Diocese of Crookston

Bishop Dennis Schnurr
Diocese of Duluth

Bishop John Nienstedt
Diocese of New Ulm

Bishop John Kinney
Diocese of St. Cloud

Bishop Bernard Harrington
Diocese of Winona

Read more about the Catholic Church's Justice for Immigrants campaign.

The Worthington Daily Globe reports that Representative Walz visited Worthington on Friday to meet with local officials about the sweep and its effect on the local community:

Representative-elect Tim Walz visited Worthington Friday in the wake of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweep of Swift & Co.

“It’s a really unfortunate situation,” Walz said. “We all know it’s because of the failure of the federal immigration system.”

Walz met with Mayor Alan Oberloh, Worthington Police Chief Mike Cumiskey and Nobles County Attorney Gordon Moore to discuss how the sweep and how immigration in general had affected the area.

Walz also visited Newport Labs and stopped by the YMCA to learn about its expansion plans.

“There’s so many good things happening in Worthington,” Walz said. “Worthington’s a dynamic city. It’s a city on the go. It’s a city that’s dealing with immigration.”

Walz would like to reform the immigration process by reexamining the number of legal immigrants who should be allowed to come into the country. He also favors a system in which it wouldn’t take people 15 to 20 years to legally immigrate.

He does not favor a system of guest workers without a path to citizenship being provided for them.

“We need comprehensive reform,” Walz said. “This is a federal issue, and I think people need to continue to hold the federal government accountable for this.”

To Walz, biometric identification could solve the problem of unidentified illegal immigrants.

At Swift & Co., the federal pilot program that checks workers’ social security numbers doesn't tell whether the person matches the number, Walz explained. Using biometrics like fingerprinting would sharply reduce the incidence of identity theft.

“People want to come in legally,” Walz said. “If this economy is going to continue to grow, it’s going to need workers."

Walz believed Swift was “bending over backwards” by using the pilot program to try and comply with federal laws.

Though he agreed ICE had done a good job, Walz said they simply wouldn't have the manpower to solve illegal immigration through additional enforcement actions.

Walz ranked immigration high on his list of priorities for his upcoming congressional term.

"I think this thing is solvable. This is not the puzzle that has no end to it," Walz said of immigration reform. "If we just get serious about it I think we can get it done."

Walz was proud of the way Worthington had handled the enforcement action by quickly acting to support people affected by it.

"The city responded as well as you could ever hope a city would respond," Walz said.