MADISON — The Wisconsin Catholic Conference (WCC), public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, issued an action alert on February 3 calling on concerned citizens to take action in solidarity with refugees.
The WCC said that President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order with “devastating impacts on refugee resettlement in the United States.”
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Over 37 years-ago when Annunciation House — a sanctuary and home of hospitality that has served over 100,000 refugees, homeless poor, and undocumented workers — was started in El Paso, Texas, founding director Ruben Garcia and a few friends wanted to place themselves among the poor, to see where the poor would lead them. He said, “They took us to the undocumented — the most vulnerable.”
Garcia explained to me that since the undocumented have no legal status in the United States, they are forced to take undesirable, poorly paid jobs, which offer no benefits. Unlike poor U.S. citizens, undocumented workers and their families cannot receive food stamps, Medicaid, or housing assistance. They are at the lowest rung of American life.
To the editor:
I’m writing in regard to the pope’s chastisement of the United States on our immigration issues.
The American people took in 1.7 million legal immigrants in 2015. The Vatican is a sovereign nation with recognized borders; I would like to see them take in even 100th of one percent of that many people per year.
In some traditions, January 6 represents the 12th day of Christmas. As such, the date marks a transition from the Christmas season to the ordinary time of our lives.
But does that have to mark the end of the “Christmas spirit”? Dare we hope that the softening of our hearts and the acts of kindness central to Christmas might become an ongoing habit rather than a seasonal exception?
In ways large and small, we have opportunities to express, in our deeds and our choices, a concern for others, especially those whose needs may be greater than our own. Some of those opportunities may be found in our public policy choices.
