CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- President Donald Trump\u2019s promise to treat undocumented minors with \u201cgreat heart\u201d needs to be reflected in policy that gives them legal protection, not deportation, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles has said.<\/p>\n\u201cThey did not make the decision to enter this country in violation of our laws, and in fairness we cannot hold them accountable,\u201d Archbishop Gomez said in an Aug. 29 column for the Archdiocese\u2019s Angelus News. \u201cAmerica is the only country they know, and the vast majority are working hard to make their own contribution to the American dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be a tragedy to cancel DACA and declare these 800,000 young people \u2018illegal\u2019 and begin deporting them,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was established under President Obama to protect such people from deportation and to allow them to secure work permits.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration is under pressure from the attorneys general of 10 states, who have said they will file suit against President Trump on Sept. 5 unless he cancels the program.<\/p>\n
Archbishop Gomez, however, saw an opening for the president to change.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump campaigned on a promise to end DACA,\u201d the archbishop continued. \u201cBut since his election he has expressed sympathy for these young people, promising to treat them with \u2018great heart\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis words on DACA have been reassuring, even as his actions in other areas \u2014 ordering increased immigration raids and deportations \u2014 have caused widespread fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Archbishop Gomez called on lawmakers to grant those covered by DACA permanent relief from deportation and to give them the chance for permanent residency and, eventually, to seek citizenship.<\/p>\n
The fate of the eleven million undocumented people in the U.S. is \u201cthe most complicated and controversial aspect\u201d of proposed immigration reform. However, the archbishop said there is broad support for a \u201cgenerous path\u201d to regularizing their status and even giving them citizenship if they meet requirements like learning English, paying some fines, and holding a tax-paying job.<\/p>\n
Such a path to reform would begin with resolving the situation of the young people who qualify for DACA, he said.<\/p>\n
Archbishop Gomez\u2019s column also reflected on the personal and political difficulties surrounding immigration status.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to keep in mind that beneath all the politics, there are real people, real issues and legitimate differences of opinion,\u201d he said. \u201cThat should not be an excuse for inaction. It should be the reason for coming together and finding a way to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImmigration remains a difficult issue and it is made even more difficult by the polarization of our politics. It is no secret that both parties and activist groups on either side \u2018benefit\u2019 by the present gridlock,\u201d the archbishop continued.<\/p>\n
He said there is reluctance on all sides to seeking common ground, and a seeming willingness to \u201cleave the issue unresolved, even if that means people continue to suffer \u2014 all for the sake of not \u2018giving the other side a win\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one should be na\u00efve about this reality. But we should not accept this reality, either,\u201d he said, saying that the situation is a sign of a deeply unhealthy phenomenon in democracy when all sides<\/p>\n
Archbishop Gomez said that the current administration is continuing the policy under President Obama, who deported nearly 3 million people.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump seems intent on deporting even more,\u201d added the archbishop. \u201cBut deportation alone is not an immigration policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said criminals who threaten the safety of communities should be deported, but the \u201cwide net\u201d of the government is catching \u201ca lot of good people \u2014 ordinary moms and dads who have been in this country for decades; young people starting their careers; small-business owners.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Archbishop Gomez, there is not enough trust to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, a longtime goal of the U.S. bishops. He suggested a slow, piecemeal approach may be more constructive.<\/p>\n
His outline for immigration reform included security concerns, but he said that a well-functioning visa system would be the best \u201cborder wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
With appropriate tracking, such a system would ensure enough visas for agricultural and construction workers, for service workers and unskilled labor, as well as for hi-tech and other professional jobs. Non-ministerial religious workers also need to be included in a visa system.<\/p>\n
The archbishop\u2019s column follows soon after prominent comments from Pope Francis.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 21 the Vatican released the Pope\u2019s message for the 2018 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, to be observed by the Catholic Church on Jan. 14.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollective and arbitrary expulsions of migrants and refugees are not suitable solutions, particularly where people are returned to countries which cannot guarantee respect for human dignity and fundamental rights,\u201d Pope Francis said, stressing the need to increase access to humanitarian visas and to reunite separated families.<\/p>\n
Pope Francis cited the words of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who in his own message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2007 said the family is \u201ca place and resource of the culture of life and a factor for the integration of values.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francis stressed support for family reunification, including grandparents, grandchildren and siblings, \u201cindependent of financial requirements.\u201d He urged greater assistance for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees with disabilities.<\/p>\n
Other backers of DACA youth include the Catholic bishops of Nebraska. On Aug. 29, they said these young people have become \u201ccontributors to our economy, veterans of our military, academic standouts in our universities, and leaders in our parishes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the DACA youth here in Nebraska, please know that the Catholic Church stands in solidarity with you,\u201d said the bishops of the Nebraska Catholic Conference. \u201cIt is our desire to accompany you in the anxieties and fears you face through this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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