GUEST COMMENTARY: It’s All About the Workers

c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Labor Day 2006 finds people in the United States struggling with the hopes and fears surrounding the issue of immigration. People come here seeking work and a better life. They come, in part, because U.S. employers need their labor and our economy depends upon them. Many come through official […]

c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Labor Day 2006 finds people in the United States struggling with the hopes and fears surrounding the issue of immigration. People come here seeking work and a better life. They come, in part, because U.S. employers need their labor and our economy depends upon them. Many come through official legal channels. Many others do not.

These realities and our inadequate immigration system have led to a necessary, but sadly divisive and paralyzing, debate on how our nation should respond. People of goodwill can and do disagree over how to improve our immigration laws. We must get beyond the anger and fear, stereotypes and slogans that often dominate this essential discussion.


We all bring our own perspectives, biases, even prejudices to this conversation. This Labor Day it might be worthwhile to view these difficult questions through the eyes and experiences of someone very different from ourselves.

Think of a father in Mexico who cannot feed his family, or a rancher on the border whose land has become a dangerous path for desperate people; a worker without legal status cutting meat or picking fruit, or an unskilled U.S. worker searching for a decent-wage job; a farmer or business owner who can’t find enough workers, or a union leader representing exploited and unrepresented workers; a border guard asked to do an impossible task with limited resources, or a legislator trying to reconcile these very different perspectives in pursuit of the common good.

My own history as a grandson of Italian immigrants, and now a bishop and pastor in diverse Brooklyn, shapes my perspective and yes, my biases. I have seen the daily struggles and dreams of immigrants. That’s why we must find reasonable and responsible ways to welcome those seeking a new life of opportunity. We can help newcomers without legal status to come out from the shadows and contribute more fully to our communities.

The challenge of immigration is not just at the borders, but in our labor markets: More than 12 percent of U.S. residents, and 15 percent of workers, were born in another country, up from about 5 percent in 1960.

Newcomers find themselves linguistically and culturally isolated, vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination because of their legal status and language barriers. Communities _ especially in parts of the country that until recently saw little immigrant activity _ feel overwhelmed.

At the same time, many parts of the economy have grown dependent on immigrant labor _ seasonal agricultural workers, meat and poultry plants where the labor force is nearly half immigrant, the busboys and maids in our restaurants and hotels. We have come to depend on international migration to fill our work force.

More than 80 percent of those who have come here illegally are working, contributing to the common good by paying taxes and performing work. They come to America because they cannot find the economic, political and social conditions they need to support their families in their native countries.


We support trade, aid and debt-relief policies that will reduce poverty and empower the poor. We must foster long-term economic development and protect human dignity in underdeveloped nations so that people can provide a decent life for their families in their own countries.

The Catholic Church does not condone law-breaking, but the fact that people are here without legal documentation is a reality. We know their names and faces; they are in our churches, schools and social service agencies. We need comprehensive reform that includes a path to earned legalization for the millions of those who are already here. Justice and prudence demand that we treat them with dignity.

We also support a carefully designed temporary worker program that ensures workers on either side of the border are not exploited. Everyone working in our country should have a safe workplace, wages and employment benefits and the protection of organized labor.

In short, the immigration debate this Labor Day challenges us to consider again who we are as a nation, how our economy treats all workers, how we follow the Gospel’s call to “welcome the strangers” among us.

Just as when my grandparents came from Italy, immigration is a human story of people yearning for work and longing for freedom. That is what Labor Day is all about. Our traditions call us to welcome those who share the values of hard work, a decent life for one’s family, contributing to the community, a life of dignity and opportunity.

(Nicholas DiMarzio is the Roman Catholic bishop of Brooklyn, N.Y., and chairman of the Domestic Policy Committee for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.)


KRE/PH END DIMARZIO

To find a photo of this columnist, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by last name.

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!