Needed: an immigration policy that serves the common good

A major row has broken out between the Trump administration and the Catholic hierarchy in America over the issue of refugees and economic migrants. It is a row that promises to rumble on in the years to come and equally so in Europe, where immigration and asylum-seeking have become possibly the most controversial issue in European politics.

Ironically, the person who is chiefly at loggerheads with the American bishops is a Catholic convert, namely the US Vice-President, JD Vance.

President Trump wants to start deporting illegal immigrants en masse, and to slow right down the number of people seeking asylum in America who mostly come across the American border with Mexico into Texas. Texas is the American version of Italy and Greece in that most people seeking asylum in Europe arrive first of all in one of those two countries.

Friction

The row between Vance and the bishops erupted when it emerged that the Trump administration is willing to even send immigration officials into traditionally protected areas like churches and schools if suspected illegal immigrants are hiding there.

Needless to say, the bishops are strongly opposed to their churches being invaded like this and then Vance added insult to injury by accusing them of being motivated by money because Church organisations that help immigrants and asylum-seekers do receive money from the State in order to do so. It was a low blow.

He said that the bishops need to “look in the mirror a little bit and recognise that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”

I hope it was an uncharacteristic moment,’ the cardinal said”

In response, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, someone who probably leans more towards the Republicans than the Democrats, said he was “hurt” by Vance’s “inaccurate” remarks.

“A guy who has struck me as a gentleman and a thoughtful man, and from whom I’m still expecting great things – I hope it was an uncharacteristic moment,” the cardinal said.

Still, he added: “You think we make money caring for the immigrants? We’re losing it hand over fist.”

Immigration

When Donald Trump became president first time around in 2017, he did so partly on a promise to ‘build a wall’ between Mexico and the US to stop illegal immigration. It is currently estimated that there are at least 7 million illegal immigrants in America with the number climbing rapidly.

Pope Francis pushed back saying we should build bridges, not walls.

But the issue of illegal immigration has not gone away and a failure to properly control the border with Mexico under Joe Biden helped to get Trump elected to a second term as president. Notably, Trump won the support of 45% of Hispanics in America, a very large number for a community that has traditionally voted Democrat and who you might think would be sympathetic to those wishing to start a new life in America.

However, a big majority of Hispanics living in America arrived legally, and many resent it when those following them, even if from the same country as them, do so illegally.

In a very strong signal, Pope Francis recently announced that the new Archbishop of Washington is Cardinal Robert McElroy, a persistent critic of Trump’s attitude to illegal immigration.

As usual, when discussing this issue, we need to make a sharp distinction between different types of immigration. There are genuine asylum-seekers who are fleeing persecution in their home country and are seeking safety elsewhere. Then there are economic migrants who are not fleeing persecution, but are simply seeking to improve their economic circumstances, as millions of Irish did in the past, and sometimes still do.

Finally, there are those who enter a country illegally, that is, they do not go through the proper routes. They might be falsely claiming to be fleeing persecution, and are really would-be economic migrants, and then there are those who are not pretending to be refugees but have still entered the country illegally.

What should the Christian attitude be? Do we agree with illegal immigration, or do we believe people should enter a country by legal routes only? Entering a country illegally, or pretending to be something you are not (e.g. a victim of persecution overseas), is obviously a form of cheating, or false witness, and can Christians really condone this?

People should be able to go where they like, when they like, and settle anywhere”

No pope, no bishop, no priest, no Christian lay person, could ever condone cheating and therefore, logically, must oppose entering a country illegally.

The question then changes; perhaps there should be no immigration rules at all, and no borders? That is, people should be able to go where they like, when they like, and settle anywhere. In this way, no one would ever be breaking immigration law because there would be no such law to begin with.

But does this seem like a sustainable position? What happens to the people living in your own country if there are no limits on immigration? What does that do to your welfare system, to the cost of accommodation, to our schools and hospitals, to the jobs market? What kind of downward pressure does it exert on wages? Do we end up with high unemployment and social discontent? What happens to the poor already living in your country as the welfare system starts to collapse? What happens to the common good?

There are all questions anyone interested in offering true moral leadership on this issue needs to address honestly.

Position

So this brings us to another possible position for Christians to hold, which is not in favour of opening the borders, but rather seeks a generous immigration system, one that treats asylum-seekers fairly (while looking out for those falsely claiming asylum), and admits as many economic migrants over a given period as the country can sustain, while not harming itself and especially its own poor.

Christians cannot favour mass deportation of illegal immigrants who have put down deep roots in their new country. They might have broken the law, but we need to be humane in our response.

As usual, Christians must seek the common good in their approach to immigration. Open borders are extreme. Closed borders are extreme. Mass deportations are extreme. What we should seek is a balanced and proportionate immigration policy.