ARIZONA: Religious community rallies against immigration law
Episcopal News Service. April 26, 2010 [042610-03]
ENS staff
Bishop Kirk S. Smith told Arizona Episcopalians April 23 not to panic in response to a new state law that will make it illegal for undocumented immigrants to be in Arizona and that will require people suspected of being illegal to show proof of legal status.
"I know that the passage of this law is deeply troubling to many of you, especially those of undocumented status. I know that many of you fear for your jobs, your families, and your future in this state and in this country," Smith wrote in a letter to Arizona Episcopalians.
" … I am writing to encourage you not to lose heart. First, there is no need for panic. This law does not take effect for 90 days. During that time there will be many court challenges, including those coming from the federal government. The law might be tied up for months or years in litigation, and I believe that there is a good possibility it will never go into effect."
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070, aimed at identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants, into law April 23. In a statement issued with the bill's signing, she described it as a tool for the state to use in addressing a crisis it didn't create and that the federal government has refused to fix.
"For weeks, this legislation has been the subject of vigorous debate and intense criticism. My decision to sign it was by no means made lightly. I have listened patiently to both sides. I have considered the significance of this new law long into the night. I have prayed for strength and prayed for our state," she said. "I’ve decided to sign Senate Bill 1070 into law because, though many people disagree, I firmly believe it represents what’s best for Arizona. Border-related violence and crime due to illegal immigration are critically important issues to the people of our state, to my Administration and to me, as your governor and as a citizen."
The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated Arizona's illegal immigrant population at 500,000 in 2005. The Center for Immigration Studies estimated Arizona's undocumented population at 350,000 in 2009.
"This law offends the dignity of all Arizonans," said Smith in his letter release. "The tendency to scapegoat a vulnerable population for Arizona's economic stagnation and federal inaction on immigration issues is an unworthy and counterproductive response to the problems we face. This law will make our communities and neighborhoods less safe, it will undermine our efforts to recover from this recession, further strain our broken state budget, and fill our courts with more lawsuits and less justice."
The Episcopal Church's General Convention and Executive Council has repeatedly called for comprehensive immigration reform, most recently in July 2009, convention passed Resolution B006, which also called for an end to local enforcement of immigration law and a return of such enforcement to federal agencies. In 2006, convention passed Resolution A017, committing the church to welcome strangers "as a matter of Christian responsibility, to advocate for their well being and protection and to urge its members to resist legislation and actions which violate our fundamental beliefs as Christians."
The Arizona religious community responded to the governor's action by issuing statements and staging rallies and marches across the state.
The Arizona Interfaith Network issued a news release April 23 saying the governor's decision to sign the bill will damage the state's economy and social fabric, and that by codifying racial discrimination, "this law makes Arizona the laughing stock of the nation and a pariah on the international stage."
"This bill does nothing to address any border security concerns," said Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the United Methodist Church's Desert Southwest Conference. "At our borders and in our congregations, schools, workplaces and service programs, we witness the human consequences of an inadequate, outdated system. The passage of SB1070 demonstrates why America needs comprehensive immigration reform: frustration with our broken immigration system is driving Arizona to make inappropriate and self-defeating efforts in this area. We want our broken immigration system to be healed through a just transformation of the law at the appropriate federal level of jurisdiction, which makes it possible to meet the labor needs of American business while making our border secure."
AIN is a non-partisan, broad-based organization composed of congregations, schools and non-profits throughout Arizona, working to strengthen family and community across lines of race, class and religion.
In its statement, AIN pointed to the all-to-common tendency to seek scapegoats during a recession, warning that Arizona will pay the price for "codifying nativism," that the state's economy will suffer as undocumented immigrants will seek work in other states and that neighborhoods will become less safe when Latinos become too afraid to report crimes.
Church World Service, the 63-year-old faith-based humanitarian organization that works with some 34 refugee resettlement affiliates across the country to resettle refugees in the United States, also weighed in.
"We are deeply concerned about the enactment of SB 1070. This legislation feels reactionary and hateful. It is a clear representation of the politics of division and exclusion," said John L. McCullough, Church World Service executive director and CEO.
"Church World Service understands firsthand the impact this legislation will have on communities," McCullough said. "We do take heart that President Obama has strongly condemned this legislation, and urge his administration to do everything in its power to prevent its implementation and the consequences it will have for human rights."
Arizona's legislation, which would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally, is an "urgent reminder of the necessity of enacting comprehensive immigration reform," McCullough said.
"Federal legislation fixing our broken immigration system is the way to heal our communities, reunite families, and create an effective and humane immigration system. We thus urge all members of Congress and President Obama to enact comprehensive immigration reform into law, and to rise above the politics of division and to embrace real solutions."
CWS is pressing Congress to enact just immigration reform legislation before the summer recess.