Border To Border
One World, One People,
One Nation Under God
Presented by:
the Sisters of St. Dominic at Caldwell, NJ
and STM Public Discipleship Ministry
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Inscribed on Lady Liberty’s pedestal are these words by Emma Lazarus
from her poem “The New Colossus”
• Give me your tired, your
poor, your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free,
• The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore,
• Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tossed, to me:
• I lift my lamp beside the
golden door.
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
How Did It Come To This?
• Industrial Revolution, along with a rise in agricultural
productivity, resulted in unprecedented modern
economic growth.
• At the same time, both population & per-capita income
rose as never before imagined.
• Global population rose more than six-fold in just two
centuries
• World average per-capita income rose even faster by
nine-fold between 1820 and 2000
• In today’s rich countries’ economic growth increased by
25-fold during that same period.
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
The Third World vs. First World
• Imperial rule left conquered regions at a loss for
education, health care, local political leadership or
adequate physical infra-structure.
• Newly-independent countries in Post WWII made
disastrous political choices (socialist economic models
or a choice for self-sufficiency supported by inefficient
trade barriers).
• Many regions now affected by special obstacles &
hardships (diseases like malaria, drought-prone climates
in areas not suitable for irrigation, extreme isolation in
hard-to-reach areas, an absence of energy resources like
coal, gas & oil, & other liabilities not experienced here.)
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Catholic Social Teaching
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Life and Dignity of the Human Person
Call to Family, Community and Participation
Rights and Responsibilities
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
Solidarity
Care for God’s Creation
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Some Hard Facts
• Immigrants have put $7 billion each year into
our Social Security fund which would be denied
were they to be deported.
• Immigrants spend $450 billion each year in the
US.
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism &
Illegal Immigration Control Act
(HR 4437) passed by House of Reps just 10 days after introduction
• Proposes significant changes to US immigration policy
• Mandates return to home country to apply for a temp work visa
($2,000/yr fined for not doing so)
• Such visa lasts only 2 yrs & does not lead to permanent residency
or citizenship
• Family members can only visit 30 days per year
• For such workers this is a crime & felony – possible jail time &
being barred from future legal status in US
• Workers (or asylum seekers) would no longer face an
immigration judge or adjudicator before deportation
• For those helping (church personnel, healthcare workers,
lawyers) : Criminal penalties & 5 year prison term
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
The Secure America an Orderly
Immigration Act (HR 2330)
proposed by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) & Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
• Offers alternate, more comprehensive reform with path
to legalization
• After working 6 yrs illegally, can apply for permanent
residency & 5 yrs later, apply for citizenship
• Those in foreign lands can be issued work visa, if they
have a job offer in US
• Eliminates the 480,000 cap for immediate relatives of
US citizens for family visas, thus allowing families to
reunite
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
NJ Members of Congress
SENATE MEMBERS:
• HOUSE MEMBERS:
Frank R Lautenberg (D)
• District 11:
One Gateway Center, 23 fl.
Newark, NJ 07102
Robert Menendez (D)
• Rodney P Frelinghuysen (D)
30 Schuyler Place, 2nd Floor
Morristown, NJ 07960
One Gateway Center, Suite 1100
Newark, NJ 0102
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Sample Form Letter /
Tips for Writing Congress
Dear Rep. (or Sen.) __________:
•
As your constituent, I am writing to urge your support for legislation pertaining to immigration
reform, specifically that which takes a just approach (vs. a very restrictive approach) toward those
who enter our borders for economic and employment opportunity.
•
I am aware there are currently several pieces of legislation under consideration. The two which
catch my attention most fully are:
•
The (very restrictive) Border Protection, Anti-Terrorism & Illegal Immigration Control
Act (HR4437), passed by the House of Representatives just 10 days after introduction,
and
•
The (more just) Secure America An Orderly Immigration Act (HR2330), proposed by
Senators John Mc Cain (R-AZ), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
•
Support of HR2330 is important to me because …………..
•
Close your letter with a restatement of your purpose and indicate the response that you expect.
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
What else can WE do?
• Share this information with others / Encourage friends, relatives
& fellow citizens to also write to their local congressional reps,
• Continue to follow the progress of immigration reform in your
local newspaper and periodicals,
• Host/support a Fair Trade Exchange craft show/event/program
• Attend Human Rights Workshop on 3/28/06 at Caldwell College
• Participate in /sponsor-a-walker in local Fall 2006 Crop Walk
• Donate Phone Cards
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
What else can be done?
(federal interventions)
Broad legislative/policy initiatives of a long-term nature:
• Increase poverty-focused development assistance
• Urge smart use of government-held food reserves
• Designate at least 10% of our exportable food for
concessionary sales or grants to food-short nations.
• Congressional support of agricultural development in
less developed countries
• Debt Cancellation measures for foreign countries least
able to repay such obligations
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
One Last Thought…..
• And remember, it is said the greatest harm to
humanity is when good people do nothing.
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Reading Resources /
Reference Bibliography
• “The End Of Poverty”, author, Jeffrey D. Sachs
• “How To End Poverty”, Time magazine, 3/14/05
• The Catholic Advocate, 1/11/06 issue, “Catholic
Groups to Oppose ‘Punitive’ Immigration Bill”
• “Inside America’s Secret Workforce”, Time, 2/6/06
• “How Much Is Enough?”, author Arthur Simon
• “Embracing Illegals”, 7/18/05 issue of Time magazine
• Opinion, Star-Ledger, “Middle Way on Immigration”,
• “Street-Corner Immigration Reform”, NYTimes, 2/25/06
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Resources on the Web
• US Conference of Catholic Bishops www.usccb.org
• USCCB Committee on Migration
www.justiceforimmigrants.org
• US Conf. of Catholic Bishops Archdiocese of Newark
www.rcan.org
• House Judiciary http://judiciary.house.gov/
• International Institute of NJ www.IINJ.org
• US Congress www.congress.org
• Catholic World News www.cwnews.com
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28
Notes and Comments
• Knowledge is like a garden.
• If it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.
(African Proverb)
Be generous & you will be prosperous. Help
others & you will be helped. / Proverbs 11.28