Immigration reform efforts, prayers continue 4/16/06

Immigration reform efforts, prayers continue

By Michelle Martin
Staff writer

About 400 people gathered to pray for immigration reform April 10 at Our Lady of Tepeyac Church, days after senators left Washington for a two-week recess without voting on an immigration bill.

The congregation prayed the Stations of the Cross, with each station used to remind worshippers of one aspect of immigrant life, from the lack of access to health care to unscrupulous employers stripping undocumented workers of their dignity. At the last station, Jesus is Laid in his Tomb, Our Lady of Tepeyac pastor Father Robert Casey said immigration reform advocates are “in time of watchful waiting. This is a time of waiting inside the tomb.”

The Spanish and English service was led by Casey; Auxiliary Bishops John Manz, vicar for Vicariate III, and Gustavo Garcia-Siller, liaison to the Hispanic community; and several priests who serve parishes in the predominantly Latino Little Village and Pilsen communities.

It was timed to coincide with “A Day Without Immigrants,” when immigration reform protests and rallies were scheduled in cities across the United States. In Chicago, which saw a massive rally March 10, several smaller events occurred at locations throughout the city and suburbs. A coalition of organizations is planning an interfaith vigil for immigration reform at 3 p.m. April 23 at the Cerrito del Tepeyac at Maryville in Des Plaines, and another gathering May 1.

All the events come as immigration has dominated the political landscape in the wake of U.S. House approval of a bill aimed at tightening the border by increasing the number of border patrol agents, building a fence for hundreds of miles along the border, making it easier to deport undocumented immigrants and classifying those without legal status as felons. The bill also would make it a crime to offer aid to undocumented immigrants, a provision that has drawn outcry from church leaders, who say that their mission includes serving the poor, no matter what their status.

The Senate debated and nearly passed an immigration reform bill that would include a path to legal residency and citizenship for most undocumented immigrants, but the deal fell through April 7, just before senators left for their break.

While the April 10 service was a prayer, not a protest, it touched on many of the issues that protesters have been rallying around: the need for a path to legal residency and citizenship for undocumented workers, for a workable solution to unite families divided by the border, a way for students raised in the United States to earn legal residency and qualify for student aid.

At the 12th station, Jesus Dies, the congregation prayed for all those who have died trying to cross the border in search of a better life in the United States.

At an interfaith vigil scheduled for April 23, the congregation will create a memorial for immigrants who died on the border and pray together in support of immigration reform, family unity and the Dream Act, which would allow undocumented students who attend high school in the United States to qualify for student aid and to earn citizenship.

For information about the Catholic Church and immigration, visit www.catholicconferenceofillinois.org and www.usccb.org.

"A Day Without Immigrants,” when immigration reform protests and rallies were scheduled in cities across the United States. In Chicago, which saw a massive rally March 10, several smaller events occurred at locations throughout the city and suburbs. A coalition of organizations is planning an interfaith vigil for immigration reform at 3 p.m. April 23 at the Cerrito del Tepeyac at Maryville in Des Plaines, and another gathering May 1.

All the events come as immigration has dominated the political landscape in the wake of U.S. House approval of a bill aimed at tightening the border by increasing the number of border patrol agents, building a fence for hundreds of miles along the border, making it easier to deport undocumented immigrants and classifying those without legal status as felons. The bill also would make it a crime to offer aid to undocumented immigrants, a provision that has drawn outcry from church leaders, who say that their mission includes serving the poor, no matter what their status.

The Senate debated and nearly passed an immigration reform bill that would include a path to legal residency and citizenship for most undocumented immigrants, but the deal fell through April 7, just before senators left for their break.

While the April 10 service was a prayer, not a protest, it touched on many of the issues that protesters have been rallying around: the need for a path to legal residency and citizenship for undocumented workers, for a workable solution to unite families divided by the border, a way for students raised in the United States to earn legal residency and qualify for student aid.

At the 12th station, Jesus Dies, the congregation prayed for all those who have died trying to cross the border in search of a better life in the United States.

At an interfaith vigil scheduled for April 23, the congregation will create a memorial for immigrants who died on the border and pray together in support of immigration reform, family unity and the Dream Act, which would allow undocumented students who attend high school in the United States to qualify for student aid and to earn citizenship.