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Voting laws present a challenge to Hispanic citizens

30 Sep 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“The law of the Lord is perfect” and “the decree of the Lord is trustworthy,” the psalmist assures us this Sunday. New voting laws in 23 states, however, raise questions of fairness and have researchers wondering whether more than 10 million Hispanic U.S. citizens will be disenfranchised this election year.The new laws include purges of people suspected of not being citizens in 16 states that unfairly target Latinos, the civil rights group Advancement Project said in a study released this week. The Latino community accounts for more than 10 percent of eligible voters nationally, but the share in some states is high enough that keeping Hispanic voters away from the polls could change the outcome of the election.Laws in effect in one state and pending in two others require proof of citizenship for voter registration. That requires onerous and sometimes expensive documentation requirements of voters, especially naturalized American citizens, many of whom are Latino, Advancement Project said. Nine states have passed restrictive photo identification laws that impose costs in time and money for millions of Latinos who are citizens but do not yet have the required identification, it said.Republican-led state legislatures have passed most of the new laws since the party won sweeping victories in state and local elections in 2010. They say the laws are meant to prevent voter fraud; critics say they are designed to reduce turnout among groups that typically back Democrats.Decades of study have found virtually no use of false identification in U.S. elections or voting by noncitizens. Activists say the bigger problem in the United States, where most elections see turnouts of well under 60 percent, is that eligible Americans do not bother to vote.Homily hint: How many eligible voters in your faith community plan to vote this November? This Sunday might be a good moment to invite them to commit in their hearts to exercise their civic duty by casting their vote. The nation's Roman Catholic bishops offer a voter guide for the 2012 election, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. Catholics make up about one-quarter of the electorate nationwide. Sources: Articles by Patricia Zengerle for Reuters and Rachel Zoll for the Associated Press

latinos hispanics voting republicans voting laws advancement project proof of citizenship voter ids photo identification laws

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Immigration reform migrates to top of legislative agenda

03 Feb 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus' neighbors in Nazareth were not pleased when he pointed out in this Sunday’s gospel that the benefits of God’s care and concern are not reserved only for the "home team" but are available to outsiders and foreigners alike. Immigration reform picked up momentum this week, but battle lines began to emerge over whether a clear path to the benefits of citizenship will be laid out for those currently in the country without legal documentation.Both President Barack Obama and members of a bipartisan group of U.S. senators called “the gang of 8” unveiled immigration plans this week. The approaches are in broad agreement on basic principles, but issues such as border security and the route to citizenship could spark division between the president and Republicans.The Senate's avenue to citizenship would allow many undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status immediately upon passage of the law. Their ability, however, to then seek legal permanent residency would be contingent upon the U.S.-Mexico border being deemed secure by measures as yet undefined.While the White House has said that it is withholding judgment on the Senate plan until actual legislative language is drafted, the president said he wants a bill that makes it clear from the outset that undocumented immigrants eligible to earn their way to citizenship can eventually obtain it."What we don't want to do is create some kind of vague prospect in the future that somehow comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship will happen, you know, mañana," Obama said. "We want to make sure we are very clear this legislation provides a real pathway."Emphasizing the idea that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants, Obama said: "A lot of folks forget that most of 'us' used to be 'them.' . . . Unless you're one of the first Americans, a Native American, you came from someplace else."Homily hint: Biblical values such as the proper treatment of strangers and sojourners in our midst are front and center in the immigration debate. Providing information in the parish that reviews some of these core biblical principals as well as church teaching on the subject would go a long way toward informing the local debate on immigration reform. Testimony from faith-community members who are recent immigrants, as well as those who recall their ancestor’s stories of immigration, would also serve the cause of-consciousness raising. Sources: Articles by Jordan Fabian for ABC News, Matthew L. Skinner for The HuffingtonPost, and Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey for the Los Angeles Times

citizenship barack obama senate undocumented immigrants gang of 8 immigration reform

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Deportations depress immigrant communities

29 Dec 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Confronted with life-challenging circumstances, Joseph and Mary fled Israel for Egypt under cover of night, we hear in the gospel for Holy Family Sunday. Many an immigrant family that has risked all to slip across the U.S. border without permission can relate to the story. For them and some 11 million others in the same situation, getting relief from deportations is more important that creating a pathway to U.S. citizenship, a new study finds. With immigration legislation stalled in the U.S. Congress, two polls released Thursday by the Pew Research Center expose a potential conflict for minority groups that voted overwhelmingly last year for President Barack Obama. Obama is under pressure from immigration supporters to use his executive power to stop deportations. "There's no question that these groups want a pathway to citizenship for the unauthorized, but the surveys also show that, especially for Latinos, it's the threat of deportation that casts the longest shadow on their communities," said Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew's director of Hispanic research and author of the report. Earlier this year the Senate passed far-reaching immigration legislation that would strengthen border enforcement and allow a 13-year pathway to citizenship, but activity has stalled in the Republican-controlled House, with the citizenship provision a major sticking point. The delay has put pressure on Obama to act, as he did last year in halting deportations for some young immigrants. Still, under his administration deportations of immigrants in the country illegally have hovered near 400,000 annually. That level continues a trend of rising deportations that began during the George W. Bush administration. In recent weeks 29 House Democrats urged Obama in a letter to suspend deportations; last month "executive order" was the rallying cry of hecklers at an Obama Democratic fundraiser in San Francisco. Any action by Obama to halt deportations would mean that immigrants here illegally would in effect get interim legal relief; only action by Congress, however, could give the immigrants legal status. Homily hint: “I’ll be home for the holidays” is wishful thinking for the millions of undocumented immigrants separated by thousands of miles and a national border from loved ones. Whatever your position on immigration at the policy level, on a human level we can all reach out to those who are here on their own to let them know they are not alone. Source: An article by Hope Yen for the Associated Press

citizenship immigrants immigration barack obama congress deportation pew research center immigration reform
The People of God are called to vote

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Special occasion: Citizenship THEY SAY THAT RELIGION and politics don’t mix. But in reality, they’re pretty much the same thing. Because in a democracy government is of the people, by the people, and for the people . . . WE are the people. And in our case, we are not just the people. We are a particular kind of people. We are the People of God. And it is our duty, obligation, calling, and vocation to express ourselves in politics as the People of God. As Pope Francis teaches in his 2013 apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, “participation in political life belongs to the mission of the Church.” Keep in mind that the teachings of our Lord Jesus came at a time when Judea was a theocracy. That means that religion and politics were the same thing. Everything Jesus taught was political and we can apply the Lord’s teaching to our politics. In the United States the Constitution begins with the stated purpose of its creation, which is to, among other things, “establish justice.” There is no greater goal of Catholic social teaching than to establish justice. Which is a good thing, especially in democracies, where many of our Catholic values align with democratic values. In the United States the Constitution begins with the stated purpose of its creation, which is to, among other things, “establish justice.” There is no greater goal of Catholic social teaching than to establish justice. That means equal opportunities for all people regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, economic and social status, skills, or capabilities. Racism, sexism, xenophobia, and extreme intolerance of any kind have no place among us and must be met, identified, and eliminated if we are to establish a just society. We are all one, and we must express that in our political choices. For U.S. citizens, it is stated in the Declaration of Independence that all people “are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The right to life is primary in the minds of Catholics. We constantly affirm the sacred dignity of all human life, regardless of its origins and distinctions. That means we vigorously defend the right to life of the unborn, the condemned criminal on death row, the unhoused person living on our sidewalk, the desperate migrants at our border, and our domestic and foreign political enemies. We are all human beings with whom we share the sacred dignity of human life. So, we vote and support the candidates that will protect this unalienable right to life while navigating the complex issues that result from that right. We might not be able to find a candidate who supports the end to abortion as well as the end to capital punishment. Those two issues are typically on opposite sides of the political divide. We have to determine which candidate will provide the best overall right to life. In the same way we might not be able to find a candidate who will work to establish justice for all vulnerable people. So, we support the candidate who will best provide for the common good of all. Perhaps most important we need to consider a candidate’s stand on protecting the environment of Earth, our common home. All other issues become moot if our Earth becomes uninhabitable. Yet, as much as one particular issue may inspire our support more than others, single issue voting may overlook the need to consider and weigh other issues. We must also consider the moral fiber of a candidate for office. Whether or not a candidate claims to be Christian, or Catholic, or religious is not what really matters. Their idea of what constitutes being faithful may be far different from yours or mine. As Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:21). We must ask ourselves, Is this person of good character, honest, trustworthy, respectful, slow to anger, thoughtful, and compassionate? How has the candidate exhibited his or her character in the past? Can we depend on what the candidate has promised to do if elected? We need to carefully examine the candidate’s words and actions—prior decisions and policies that were supported or ignored; implemented or blocked. That will help us gain insight into a candidate’s beliefs, integrity, and moral courage. So, yes, the church calls on all of us to participate in politics, primarily by VOTING. We must bring our unique perspective as the People of God as we consider all the issues and vote our well-formed conscience. That’s why God gave us one!

Authors Father Paul Boudreau

Special occasion citizenship

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