Immigration: The Migration of the Desperate

The church Hazel and I go to most Sundays, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, places an enormous amount of emphasis on issues of social justice, advocacy, and reform. In last week's newsletter was this insert regarding the current immigration crisis in America. I found it profound and important to share.

Looking at Root Causes: Why do Immigrants Come to the US?
*"We must never forget that many immigrants come to this country in desperate circumstances. Some have fled political persecution, war, economic devastation... Others have wagered on finding a better life in this country in the face of economic desperation at home. As Pope John Paul II has noted, 'In many regions of the world today people live in tragic situations of instability and uncertainty. It does not come as a surprise that in such contexts the poor and the destitute make plans to escape, to seek a new land that can offer them bread, dignity, and peace. This is the migration of the desperate..."
-US Catholic Bishops, Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, Nov. 15, 2000
*Economic injustice still plagues most of the world, providing a strong impetus for immigration. Given the current situation, any true "solution" to illegal immigration to the US must take into account the root causes of the poverty from which many immigrants are trying to escape.
-There are 60 countries in today's world that are poorer than they were 30 years ago.
-A fifth of the world's population (1.2 billion human beings) live on less than $1 per day.
-Almost 50% of the world's population (2.8 billion human beings) live on less than $2 per day.
-Each second, a child dies of malnutrition.

An Unjust Trading System *The poorest countries of the world account for only 0.4% of international trade, yet they lose an estimated $700 billion a year due to unfair trade policies. The US and other developed nations are currently pursuing "free trade" agreements with developing countries. These developing countries, which often utilize higher levels of tariffs and taxes on incoming goods in order to gather revenue for their governments, are forced to eliminate these tariffs and taxes as a part of the free trade agreements. Yet, many people concerned with poverty are pointing to statistics which show that unregulated, "free" trade primarily benefits wealthy corporations and wealthy countries; poverty is INCREASING around the world despite increased free trade. The gap between the rich and the poor as increased under fair trade policies -- the median income of the richest 10% is 122 times HIGHER than the poorest 10%. From the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching, this is not authentic human development for all groups of people.
*One of the most unjust aspects of the trade system is the use of agricultural subsidies by the US and EU. The US provides hundreds of billions of dollars on agricultural subsidies, most of which goes to a few large agri-businesses who control most of the agricultural production in the US. This allows agricultural production to occur en masse and to knock smaller competitors -- both in the US and in developing countries -- out of business. (my interjection: Please see the documentaries "Life and Debt" and "Black Gold" for more information).

The Failure of the "Washington Consensus" *In the 80s and 90s, the international financial institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank, promoted a set of policies called the "Washington Consensus." Many developing countries were pressured to liberalize trade and the financial sector, cut bank on social spending, and privatize services that were run by the state. For example, many countries in Latin America followed the recommended policies, but found that economic rates were better before the changes than after. The region remains poor. Many experts agree that this was a major setback for Latin America. Unfortunately, some of the same policies are still being recommended by financial institutions.

The Continuing Debt Crisis
*Despite recent initiative to reduce the debt of poor countries, such as the Heavily-Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and the Multi-lateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI), dozens of countries still have not received relief and are still enslaved to debt. High levels of debt hurt the poor because the money that governments must spend on paying interests on debts takes valuable resources away from much-needed social services in poor countries (my interjection: check out Bono's One Campaign -- http://www.one.org/).

Insufficient Development Aid *In 1970, at the UN General Assembly, developed country governments pledged to devote .7% of their GNI on Official Development Assistance by the mid 1970s. However, NONE of the developed country donors reached this goal. Instead of .7% , the amount of aid has been closer to .3%, some $100 billion short. The US has donated the least of all developed nations, allocating just .22% of its GNI to ODA. (Norway .93%, Denmark .81%, Sweden .92%, Austria .52%, UK .48%, France .47%, Canada .34%) (my interjection: compare this .22% with the 49% currently allocated to defense and military in the national budget.) In 2005, the EU pledged to spend .56% of GNI on poverty reduction by 2010, and .7% by 2015. People concerned about global poverty are calling the US to take similar action.

Prayer to Change Our Hearts, Our Policies-Undocumented persons among us are often accused of break the law. Let us remember that it is our poverty-producing policies which break the law of human dignity. Change our hearts and our policies, O God.
-Our leaders see these people as burdens. Yet, if we came from a life without opportunities, wouldn’t we do the same? Change our hearts and our policies, O God.
-We long for a more just world, where families need not be separated for lack of opportunity. Inspire us to challenge the system and structures that perpetuate poverty. Change our hearts and our policies, O God.
Amen.