“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. “ – Lev.19. 33-34
For many months people in the United States have renewed their efforts to bring about reform of immigration laws. NETWORK – a Catholic leader in the work for justice and peace, educates, organizes and lobbies for economic and social transformation. It was my privilege to be part of their Nuns on the Bus Campaign in June.
Raising awareness of a social justice problem in the general population is always difficult. It was with a view to raising awareness of the plight of undocumented immigrants all over the US that Network organized the Nuns on the Bus for Immigration Reform this past spring.
The goal of this Campaign was for commonsense immigration reform that:
- Ensures family unity
- Protects the rights of immigrant workers
- Enhances the present diversity visa program
- Provides a clear and direct pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people who are undocumented in the US
We are well aware of the difficulties of undocumented people. There are employment problems, educational problems and worst of all, the ongoing fear of families being destroyed by imprisonment and deportation.
Celia, one of the residents, spoke to us. She has two sons; one is a US citizen, the other is not. Celia lives in fear of her elder son being picked up by Border Patrol and delivered to Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). Lilian another resident described how the Border Patrol Agents sit at the end of the road in the Trailer Parks and will pick up one of the residents either walking to or from their car, and then take them to ICE. They are detained a few days, and then deported in short order. These are not criminals, rather farmworkers, picking the food on which we depend.
Sr. Gabrielle Williams has served for over ten years as a faith-builder, educator and social activist with people like Celia and Lilian. She gave us some background on the difficulties facing people in the trailer parks. In addition to living with the fears of ICE – dilapidated homes, pollution, health problems and unfair labor practices, these people face many on-going challenges on a daily basis. Working with the county and state, she has seen some improvements and she thanks the volunteers from neighboring parishes for their support. One of Sister’s fellow community organizers acknowledged, “What brings values and quality of life for these people? Their faith. Sister helps them believe.” The Catholic faith gives these people both the reason and the tools needed to fight another day.
Miguel, a Pastor and one of the elders, reminded us that these people work hard – and they are very poor. Lilian shared a friend’s story of her community going out to pick okra, told they would be paid $12 a basket; yet at payment time being given just $10. Little wonder they are poor. They couldn’t go to the police or a union and get redress. Those without documents are subject to this wage theft – with no way to press for fair compensation.
With so much attention given to Latinos, we sometimes forget that not all the immigrants in this area are farmworkers from Mexico or Central America. Sister Monessa told us of the thirteen pharmacists recruited from South Africa and brought to this area by CVS Drugstores. Some have left CVS, finding Walgreens and others to be better employers. They experience many of the same cruelties and fears as do the Latinos.
Sister Simone Campbell, NETWORK Executive Director and leader of “Nuns on the Bus,” said, “Everywhere we went, we met citizens and aspiring citizens working hard to feed their families and make our nation better. We also witnessed the bravery of hardworking people who must deal with daily uncertainty and fear caused by our broken immigration system. Across our nation, people are rightfully demanding that we fix our laws. We call on Congress to make that happen now.”
Carmel Crimmins rsm
US Province
