We are All Immigrants: Children and Grandchildren of Immigrants

By Monica    Columbus, Ohio

        Coretta Scott King once emphasized, in recent years, the level of sheer despise and disrespect along party lines people exhibit toward each other in the United States.  It so greatly grieved her that she said that her husband did not do all that he did in bringing people together and building brotherhood for this!  She pondered aloud where in the world this even came from, in both parties, and prayed that dialogue, respect, and courtesy would be rekindled among us all.

Today in Columbus, Ohio!

       Today I had the pleasure and duty of demonstrating at the State House here in downtown Columbus, Ohio against the U.S. immigrant and refugee policies that have more recently landed some small children in "jail" for days, terrifying them and millions of others.
      This includes my own ESL (English as a Second Language) populations as an ESL teacher in Colulmbus City schools for most of the past 11 years.  During the six years as a mainstream teacher, I always taught ESL students as well. In their honor mainly, but for all those suffering at the hands of these unbelievable policies, I joined thousands of others downtown in solidarity and protest.

   

       Their has been an extremely high anxiety level in many of my students and families, with lots of tears, and I have had to comfort many.  Several large families who have been at my school all five years "ran," meaning, left this school year, trying not to be found by moving around, or are attempting to move back to Mexico, Honduras, etc, into highly dangerous and poverty-stricken destitution.  It appears worth it for some who witness or hear of the trauma of what is being done to others, even children.  They wonder too, as do I, what is next if this is possible.
      WOSU media online just posted the following, which may surprise those who think everyone is overreacting or making these things up about the current state of affairs from a Trump administration spokesman:
 "From Tyler Houlton, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, welcomed interest in the immigration system and said only Congress has the power to change the law.

"'We appreciate that these individuals have expressed an interest in and concern with the critical issue of securing our nation's borders and enforcing our immigration laws,' Houlton said. 'As we have indicated before, the department is disappointed and frustrated by our nation's disastrous immigration laws and supports action.'"

     Today, I walked throughout the entire population of protesters --  I wanted to stand with Catholics to be a visible Catholic presence there -- I could find only two priests and about 6-8 Catholics that I recognized.  It had been put on by the Domestic Workers Alliance, The Leadership Conference, the American Civil Liberties Union, and MoveOn.org.  

       I confess to have only found out about it today by a dear friend who was at the 8:30 mass with me.  I do not own a cell phone or computer and rarely watch TV (I am not condoning this!), and did not realize so large an event was happening.  I was elated to lend support to something and to people so near and dear to me.

       Back to Coretta Scott King and the partisanship that seems to be pushing out level headed thinking and humaneness, I wonder where the Catholics were?  I have protested against the abortion mills and industry often with many, but why were they not here?   I understand why there were nearly no Hispanic people (many of whom are Catholic), and much of this is mainly for them, because they do not want to further be a target for themselves and their families.  But where were those who value the sanctity and sacredness of all human life, especially children.... Those who greatly value strong families and family ties, hard work, and family values?  One sign put it correctly:

Where is the Catholic Outrage? 

        This sentiment is in terms of the ordinary Catholic lay person protesting the recent crackdown of illegal immigrants and refugees.  Yes, our beloved Ohio bishops put out a clear and strong statement in their pastoral letter a year ago, (see last year's article on this site: "Bishops Speak Out on Trump's Policies Against Immigrants and Refugees," June 16, 2017).  Moreover, in June Pope Francis has recently backed the U.S. Catholic bishops in denouncing the new asylum-limiting rules as immoral, I am proud to say.  In general though, you typically do not hear middle class white Catholics speaking much on these things in sympathy toward the immigrant and the refugee.
      Here in Ohio, you would think there would be such gratitude among most white middle class Catholics from their own immigrant history 2, 3, or 4 generations back: of immigration to the U.S. and specifically to Ohio from Ireland, Germany, Poland, England, and Italy, among other places.
      Our families were the lucky ones, so you would think we would want to give back for the sake of others in the situation our forefathers were in a few generations back.  We truly are an entire nation of immigrants, except for the Native Americans.  The backlash against them is not new though, and it is worth looking back at newspaper headlines and sentiment in New York City and Boston during the 1800's against the waves and waves of mostly Catholic poor immigrants.
 "They're going to take all our jobs!"
"They're hooligans who drink and beat their wives!"
"They are ruining our society!"

        Some of the time the Catholic Church did reach out earnestly to help settle the genuine problems that the swell of poor people had created, compassionate people with a strong sense of social justice and the preferential option for the poor stepped in to help these people along.  Where has our compassion gone?
        My father remembers as a teenager, watching the news and seeing ocean-liners filled with pleading Jewish immigrants wanting to port in New York, and being turned away (1940's).  They would sale from port to port and nobody would take them, to finally head back to Germany and their certain death, unless compassionate people broke the law and hid them.
       In the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., Hitler was quoted as retorting, when under criticism yet seeing even the response of the United States, that the Germans did not want these "Jewish rats" either, so is this such a bad thing?

 

     
         A Hispanic man attested to 146 Ohioans being rounded up at a work site this past week and put into a migration camp, terrifying them all, but especially fifteen small children who were kept in "jail" for two days.  He kept saying, "Fifteen kids right here in OHIO!  It's happening right here in OHIO!" He also mentioned a 19 year old girl being gunned down and killed on the border of Texas in Texas this passed month.  In the United States of America?  There is not a humane way to stop someone coming in illegally?  I know I certainly shook my head in disbelief.

       I was interviewed by a television reporter and I explained the terrible situation of my ESL families, and that the Catholic presence is here at this protest, but not as strong as it could be.  While there were many Trump-bashing signs, which the thought probably kept some Catholics away,  most were thought-provoking and true.
      After expressing to the reporter my grave disapproval of President Trump's immigrant and refugee policies, particularly putting teenagers and children in equivalent to large dog cages, apart from their parents, I did say that he did a major feat in rescinding the Mexico Policy, by once again banning abortion funding when giving medical aid to foreign countries.  This is huge!
       The abortion industry and its support, in my opinion, are the most ghastly and horrific entities of our time. Killing off those U.S. citizens in their most delicate, vulnerable, and dependent state where you and I were at our most fragile point in our own lives, is the taproot of evil in our society. What can possibly compare?  All else is minor, though still worthy of protest.  Even our beloved Creator became only a few cells at one point, so great does He value the sacredness of human life.  Many abortions are performed long past this point though, sadly.
       Why though, do Catholics who live by the "consistent ethic of human life," in our Church's social teachings, not show up at both kinds of protest -- wherever human life and lives are gravely affected and even put at risk?  And conversely, why do these people on the liberal side, not show up at the abortion protests for saving human lives?  Coretta Scott King, and her beloved Martin, would be encouraging all of us to come together on all of these life issues.

       Since I do not own a cell phone and cannot show the brilliance behind many many signs there, I will simply change up the font for each one-liner.  These are only to make you think, and hopefully, to make you act on behalf of "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," as on our Statue of Liberty.
       I did not think that the few Trump-bashing signs were productive and I am not fully convinced that he was aware of the cages for teens and small children.  Sometimes the departments do their own thing, as with the handling of the Branch Davidian fiasco many years ago.  The fact that he immediately changed that aspect (from here on out of separating the parents and children -- he says) -- partly perhaps from the voices of so many speaking out on their behalf, tells me that it might not have been his idea. 
       Many of the conversations during this holy day were peppered with comments that I whole-heartedly agreed with about the solid work ethic of nearly all of the Hispanic population here -- how they do not ask for anything in return, do not take welfare, contribute greatly to society with strong family values.  I would be proud to have any of them be my parents!
       My favorite chant begun by one Hispanic presenter was:

El Pueblo

Unido

Jamas Sera Vencido!

      Translated, this means: "The People, united, will never be defeated!"  It was a tear jerker from someone who is powerless and had terrible things happen to him and his family.  How brave!
      After the protest and a few talks, we marched around the capital block chanting songs like, "No HATE!  No FEAR!  Immigrants are WELCOME here!"

Jesus was a Homeless Refugee

I’m Jewish, I know this story

The Mayflower was Full of Refugees

Concentration Camps Were Legal Too

Those Who do not Learn From History

are Doomed to Repeat it

We are all Immigrants, Children

or Grandchildren of Immigrants

Migration Camps= Internment Camps

Refugees are not Criminal

But Taking Children is Criminal

Strong People Stand up for Themselves

But Stronger People Stand up for Others

Awful and Unlawful

Reunite Children Now

          While President Trump did back down on any further separation of parents with children in the future, there are over 2,300 children already separated whose parents are in custody and this newer  crackdown is still going very strong, continuing to separate families now and in the future.  I can attest firsthand for the terror and anxiety in impossible life choices right now of the ESL hard-working immigrant families holding many jobs to support large mostly Catholic families.  I cannot begin to imagine what they are facing with trying to support their children with so many strikes against them.

            What is going on with beginning a community for the poor and forgotten in Columbus?  I believe I announced this but if not, I am parting with the Catholic Worker Movement but not with Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin and how they modeled and lived out the Early Church.  I only add charisms of the Holy Spirit to the level of the Early Church as well.  Dorothy loved the charismatic renewal and encouraged people of all ages to become involved in them.

           While I am still discerning and waiting, I have "gone into the desert"  for this summer between teaching jobs to do the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius as best I can without a constant spiritual director.  Fr. Denis Kigozi is giving ideas -- such as not to miss a day until it is done -- but he is in the process of moving to a parish three times as large at Church of the Resurrection. 

          One new thing I added with prayer from last year is that instead of "talking to Jesus" for 15 minutes straight every day, I changed it up to rotate around.  One day I do this as talking to the Father, the next to Jesus, and the third to the Holy Spirit.  It has been beautiful!!!

          I am still very open and wanting, very ready and waiting, for whatever comes my way in living the life of the Beatitudes and the Book of Acts. Whatever I do as one with the poor, I have and will continue to do all in the Spirit of Christ, and in the spirit of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin.  God saved my life through their intercessory prayers 3 years ago in my live liver donation to my nephew and the subsequent reparative surgery 4 days later.  It has a high mortality rate for the donor, 1-200 to 1-300 (because the patient loses a large of the largest lobe of the liver, damaging it badly), and as far as those who have researched can tell, I am the only living case in the world who required a second emergency surgery 3-5 days out -- meaning something wrong happened in the first surgery -- that survived.  Thank you Dorothy and Peter!!
         I am still waiting for community members for what God would have me do, and all that this life would entail (funds, prayers), God willing. Of course, I am also still praying hard for the canonization of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin.
        Two recent large churches here in the U.S. (perhaps more) have already chosen to honor Dorothy -- St. Paul's Catholic Church in Westerville, Ohio with a large painting above a main door, like a fresco, right on the wall; and a life-size statue of Dorothy in the vestibule of the Blessed Solanus Casey Shrine on Elliott Street in Detroit, Michigan.  Please, dear Papa, Pope Francis, go ahead and move her to venerable.  I believe you have your miracle!

          There is though, a new community or charity on the horizon that seeks to live as one with the poor -- Urban Encounter -- coming down the pike as an offshoot of Encounter Ministries.  The charismatic aspect sets it apart like a city on a hill, with the spiritual works of mercy, with the charisms of the Holy Spirit lived out, being right up there to the level of the corporal works of mercy, living the "profound poverty and profound joy" of the Early Church..  Pray for them! 
        A final sidenote is that the abortion mill that performed the first abortion in Ohio, and continued for over 30 years straight, as of June 25, 2018, has closed!  I went one month before it closed!!!!  I have prayed there for years, trying to go once a month with others, and we heavily, heavily prayed for the conversion of the abortionist.  If he's not there, nobody is there.
 Yes, there are miracles!  Now we need to stop the crackdown of immigrant and refugee people here who have worked hard for their families and for our society and could not have come in legally like our forefathers who just happened to be the "right" nationality and race.  Come, Holy Spirit, come!!

Bishops Speak Out on Trump's Policies Against Immigrants and Refugees

                          By Monica     LCW  Columbus, Ohio

         We want the world to know, since views come from so many countries, that our Ohio Catholic Bishops, in one voice, raised concern for the policies put into place by President Trump against immigrants and refugees.   We are soo proud of our Roman Catholic bishops right here in little old Ohio, USA!  We are thankful to God too, who looks out for the widow and the orphan, the stranger, and the least.  Jesus repeatedly spoke out and warned all about protecting the most vulnerable and lowliest who have no rights and no one to speak for them.  The actual statement of our Ohio bishops cut and pasted from their website is below my comments.
       We are a nation of immigrants too!  Our very ancestors were in this position and our lives would be very different now, most likely much worse, if they had not been welcome.  Many of us are descended from immigrants who more often than not came freely for a better life and were at least allowed entry - with the exception of our Native American citizens who were here first, and our African Americans brought here and forced, against their will, into slavery.
       One would think that we would have a deep appreciation and gratitude instead of condemnation and mistreatment, ripping families apart after they have already worked painstakingly to make a new life here like our ancestors, contributing greatly to society.

      It is neglectful for me not to have spoken out before now, not only from

my strong social justice roots of being a Roman Catholic (with our amazing social justice papal encyclicals, teachings from our U.S. Catholic Bishops, pastoral letters, etc), of being a staunch Catholic Worker which stands for Christ's peace always and justice for the poor, but mainly there is no excuse because I have seen firsthand the terror in my families of mainly Hispanic and Muslim descent that make up the majority of my ESL students (I am an English as a Second Language teacher in a public school).

      I have Muslim students and families who feel the hate and mistrust, even though they have done nothing wrong and never will.  They often asked me in my school year questions like, "Why does President Trump hate us?" or "What else will he do to us?" and "Is it going to get worse?" I had no answer to give.
      My Hispanic families in general are the most scared ones because people have already been rounded up to be sent back, even after having worked hard here for years.  They are terrified every day and their whole family cries a lot and try to make plans in various scenarios.  My little Third Grader Pedro said his family is moving back to Mexico even though there is not enough work right now.
     In the case of the "Chaldean Catholics" that are being rounded up and sent back to Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, their very lives are at stake, in addition to Syrian Muslims and others.  My father remembers seeing on the news huge ships and yachts from Germany with Jewish people lining the edges, coming into New York harbor or another U.S. port with hands clasped begging and pleading to be allowed entry, only to be turned around and sent back to their deaths.  Hitler was known to say, "You say we are being hard but you don't want the Jewish rats either."
      I tried to calm my students fears, but what assurances could I give?  I am silently appalled at the lack of basic humanity in our newer laws and actions against immigrants -- and even refugees -- the whole dark mentality.  One would wonder of a change of heart would take place if the lawmakers themselves were thrust into this situation, since they lack the empathy to imagine it.
     It reminds me of how Hitler, little by little over a period of time, imposed difficult and bigoted  burdens, heavy to carry, upon Jewish people for years before finally rounding up this ethnic group for horrific purposes.  At the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.  I was horrified with the MANY laws and prejudices that were acceptable to the German people against the Jewish population, incrementally worsening all the time.  First, they were not allowed to travel (sounds familiar), then ride or own bikes, then be out past a certain time in the evening, then they could not live where they wanted but were rounded up into "ghettos," etc, etc.  As their rights were infringed upon more and more, very few stepped up to fight these laws on their behalf.
     While I believe that President Trump would never agree to create work/death camps, given his verbal defense of our unborn citizens and abortion-mill laws changing one day -- which is important from our president -- he needs to end the terrible laws against refugees and immigrants, as well as slurs against entire populations of Americans.
       If you look up Boston and New York City news headlines and history in the 1800's and early 1900's you view quite an outcry against Roman Catholic Irish, Polish, and German immigrants taking over their cities, taking all their jobs, bringing their Catholic religion, being a menace to society with their heavy drinking and brawling, etc, etc,.. Obviously most of those European immigrants more often than not as a whole did not exude these negative stereotypes, but there were enough of those few to always get into the headlines, creating prejudice and bigotry in weaker minds and souls, as in Hitler's Germany.
     Instead of the "melting pot" image of how all should melt into typically a white-male European bent and language, I think the more exquisite analogy of the United States is the Salad Bowl image of many cultures, maintaining their distinct heritages, customs, dialect, ideas, strengths, etc, and creating a huge conglomerate (salad), better than its individual parts separate.  Beautiful in the eyes of the maker of us all, who created all in His own image and likeness, yet distinctly unique from each other, and all of whom are sacred, no matter who nor from what country.

      It's a good thing that compassionate Catholics - nuns (sisters), priests, laypeople - took some of those that were the young "hooligans" under their wings to help shape them into who they became, with great care and compassion.  Most immigrants though have been responsible, reliable, hard-working, law-abiding citizens building our nation stronger and more just with each generation.  May we ask our immigrant ancestors from the past to please pray for us, pray for our nation, and especially, pray for our immigrant, refugee, and other "stranger" populations who always held a special place within the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
     Below is the Ohio Bishops' Statement on Immigration, April 4th, 2017, at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Conference of Ohio.  It was sent to President Trump and to Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, and to all Ohio members of the U.S. House.  This is taken from the Catholic Conference of Ohio website.
     Bravo to our Catholic paper here and its editors of  The Catholic Times, for printing it prominently in the beginning of the paper!
     Come to Carey, Ohio on the VIGIL (Aug. 14th) of the feast of the Assumption of our Blessed Mother to spiritually support the Chaldean Catholics living in great fear.  Twenty-five to thirty buslines, multiple campers, etc, etc take over the entire city of Carey!  So beautiful!!  You will never have heard such singing and such gusto in the songs in love of Mary as you will when the Chaldean Catholics are there.  It may not be for long though, if our lawmakers have their way.
    

News & Press - Catholic Conference of Ohio

Ohio Bishops Issue Letter of Concern regarding Changes to Immigration and Migration

Call for comprehensive reform, support for children and intact families, enforcement efforts that focus on threats to public safety, and maintaining programs for refugees

• Posted: Apr. 4, 2017
• Categories: Legislative Action Alerts, Immigration Reform, News

CATHOLIC CONFERENCE OF OHIO
Letter Encouraging Legislative Support for Immigrants and Refugees
Catholic Bishops of Ohio
April 2017
Welcoming refugees and immigrants is a significant aspect of our American heritage and a fundamental character of Ohio faith communities, including the Catholic Church. Ohio is blessed to have many refugees and immigrants in our parishes, schools and ministries. The Catholic Church in our state operates numerous programs that directly sponsor and support these newcomers.
As we listen to our pastors, principals, program directors, and more importantly, to the refugees and immigrants served by our Church’s ministries, we know of many good people who are deeply concerned for their personal safety and fearful about separation from their families. These are ongoing concerns, but recent changes in federal policy have heightened such fears.
At both the state and national levels, our Church has long spoken out in favor of policies that ensure safety and compassionate treatment for immigrant and refugee persons and families in need. We continue to call upon Congress to address our broken immigration system through a comprehensive reform that improves security and creates more legal and transparent paths to immigration.  As for enforcement, we do not advocate for the breaking of laws.  Yet, we do urge for a more humane enforcement of these laws in a way that distinguishes between actual criminals and otherwise law-abiding, undocumented immigrant family members.  We believe immigration officials should prioritize removal to those who are real threats to public safety. Likewise, most local law enforcement agencies we encounter are highly concerned about increasing trust between police and immigrant communities.  Their work for public safety relies on trust between immigrants and local police and sheriff departments.  We oppose efforts to pressure our state and local law enforcement to proactively enforce immigration regulations, unless public safety is truly at risk.
Ohio does not benefit from separating good families and traumatizing children in our schools who each day live in fear of finding that their mothers or fathers are no longer at home to greet them. In these instances, justice should be sought, but the punishment should be commensurate with serving the good of the family unit, which is the fundamental cell of all society. In January 2017, the chairman of our United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, Bishop Joe S. Vasquez, echoed our concerns over policy shifts created by recent presidential executive orders that increase the detention and family separation of many immigrants. He wrote:

"The announced increase in immigrant detention space and immigration enforcement activities is alarming. It will tear families apart and spark fear and panic in communities. While we respect the right of our federal government to control our borders and ensure security for all Americans, we do not believe that a large-scale escalation of immigrant detention and intensive increased use of enforcement in immigrant communities is the way to achieve those goals. Instead, we remain firm in our commitment to comprehensive, compassionate, and common-sense reform."

In Ohio, our Church’s refugee resettlement network includes diocesan offices in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton. In 2016, we resettled over 1000 refugees. Catholic parishes and diocesan offices also work in collaboration with other refugee resettlement programs in Ohio. These programs have safely and compassionately resettled refugees from all over the world, including a small number from Syria. Measuring by the immense outpouring of support from parishioners and others in our communities towards these refugees, we believe most Ohioans who know migrants and refugees welcome newcomers with open arms and wish to see Americans offer acts of mercy. The refugee program is one of the most vetted processes for entry into the United States.  We do not oppose efforts to improve on the system, should there be a need.  However, the temporary shutdown of all refugee admissions, and the more than 60 percent reduction in the number of refugees who can be resettled, create a chilling effect on our ability to maintain programs and ongoing assistance.  Refugees who have languished in camps for years will continue to find no relief, and a sudden temporary halt for our own agencies will likely result in significant downsizing of resources and staff.
We encourage your support for the following:
1.  A comprehensive reform of our immigration laws, not just enforcement-only measures, but a reform that provides more paths for legal entry and a rational and clear cut separation of duties among federal and local law enforcement officials which does not compromise the community character of local law enforcement;
2.  The BRIDGE Act: S.128/H.R. 496. (This Act will protect the dignity of DACA-eligible youth by ensuring that these individuals, who were brought to the United States as children and are contributing so much to our nation, can continue to live their lives free of the anxiety that they could be deported at any time.);
3.  Efforts to persuade the administration to reestablish enforcement priorities, so that they focus more on true criminals and threats to public safety;
4.  Maintaining the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program with adequate funding while further improving the vetting process.
As Pope Francis said, "To migrate is the expression of that inherent desire for the happiness proper to every human being, a happiness that is to be sought and pursued. For us Christians, all human life is an itinerant journey towards our heavenly homeland" (February 2017 Address to Participants in the International Forum on Migration and Peace).
Thank you for this consideration.
The Catholic Bishops of Ohio
Most Rev. Dennis M. Schnurr
Archdiocese of Cincinnati
Chairman, Board of Directors, Catholic Conference of Ohio
Most Rev. Joseph R. Binzer
Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati

Most Rev. Frederick F. Campbell
Bishop of Columbus

Most Rev. William Skurla
Apostolic Administrator of Byzantine Eparchy of Parma

Most Rev. Jeffrey M. Monforton
Bishop of Steubenville

Most Rev. Daniel E. Thomas
Bishop of Toledo & Apostolic Administrator Diocese of Cleveland

Most Rev. George V. Murry S.J.
Bishop of Youngstown

Most Rev. J. Michael Botean
Bishop of Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Canton

Most Rev. Bohdan J. Danylo
Bishop of St. Josaphat Ukrainian Eparchy, Parma
Letter Catholic Bishops of Ohio (PDF)