This following is a statement from Most Reverend William F. Medley, Bishop for the Diocese of Owensboro, regarding the Administration’s decision to end DACA. Following the statement is the Spanish translation.
For many years, the issue of immigration has been a very difficult subject throughout our country. Our government has to date proven itself unable to resolve an intricate and delicate problem. It remains a challenge to find a reasonable and compassionate resolution when people of good intent approach the matter so differently.
All efforts to work toward a resolution have been set back with the suspension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). We must all acknowledge that the young people impacted by this decision have done nothing wrong. They were brought to the United States as children; they made no choice to come. Young people impacted by this program have lived out their lives and, as they have grown up, have contributed to society. They are, by all social and human measures, American youth. To suggest that these children and young people are criminals deserving of punishment or deportation is simply not reflective of American values.
Discussions around immigration have not always brought out the best in our nation. We have a long way to go to uphold justice. But surely, as a compassionate nation, we can begin by protecting children, youth, and young adults who are in our midst through no choice of their own.
It now befittingly falls to Congress to act and to right this wrong. For more than a decade, comprehensive immigration reform has been proposed time and again, but never achieved. It is unacceptable that these young people should be asked to live in uncertainty for six more months. In justice and charity, their status should be clarified as soon as possible. DACA youth and young adults are not just a statistic, but represent more than 800,000 individuals striving to live and work and prosper in the only home many of them have ever known.
Confronting what is now a crisis with a ticking clock affords our elected representatives an opportunity to come together to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Both sides of a bitter political divide must approach their responsibility with reason and calm. Clearly enforcement measures will be a part of any resolution. But enforcement measures alone will not solve anything. As we observe the dire needs of hundreds of thousands in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, can we seriously propose to spend billions of dollars on a wall, the effectiveness of which is questionable?
As citizens, we must ask our elected representatives to act – to act with compassion, fairness, and justice.
Comunicado respecto a la decision de la administracion actual de cancelar DACA
Por muchos afios y a traves del pafs, el tema de la inmigracion ha sido un tema dificil. Hasta la fecha nuestro gobierno ha probado no poder resolver un problema tan delicado y personal. Sigue siendo un reto el encontrar una resoluci6n razonable y compasiva cuando personas de buenas intenciones se enfrentan con el tema pero desde opticas tan diferentes.
Todos los esfuerzos de trabajar hacia una resolucion han sufrido un retroceso debido a la suspension de la accion diferida de (DACA). Debemos aceptar que los jovenes impactados por esta decision no han hecho nada malo. De nifios, fueron trafdos a los Estados Unidos, y como nifios ellos no hicieron esa opcion de venir. Los jovenes impactados por este programa han vivido sus vidas y al ir creciendo han contribuido a la sociedad. De cualquier forma en que se les vea, sea social o humanamente, ellos son jovenes estadunidenses. El sugerir que estos nifios y jovenes son criminales, merecedores de castigo o deportacion simplemente no refleja valores amencanos.
La discusion sabre inmigrantes, no siempre ha mostrado lo mejor de nuestra nacion. Tenemos mucho por recorrer en hacer valer la justicia . Sin embargo, como una nacion de compasi6n podemos comenzar con proteger a nifios, adolescentes y jovenes quienes sin haber ellos mismos decido viven entre nosotros.
Cabe ahora mencionar, que recae sabre el Congreso el actuar para corregir este mal. Por mas de una decada, la propuesta de una reforma comprensiva de inmigracion, intento tras intento nunca se ha logrado. Es inaceptable de que se !es pida a estos jovenes vivir en la incertidumbre por otros seis meses. En justicia y caridad lo antes posible el -status- migratorio de estos jovenes debe ser esclarecido. Los adolescentes y jovenes de DACA, no son solo estadfstica; representan a mas de 800,000 individuos esforzandose por vivir, trabajar y prosperar en el unico pais muchos de ellos jamas ha conocido.
Confrontar ahora una crisis con el reloj en marcha da a nuestros representantes una oportunidad de unirse y darse una reforma comprensiva de inmigracion. Ambos lados de tan agrias divisiones politicas, deben tomar su responsabilidad con calma y buen juicio. Es claro que medidas de aplicacion de la ley seran parte de cualquier resolucion. Al observar la urgente necesidad de cientos de miles de personas despues del huracan Harvey, lPodemos en serio proponer el gastar billones de dolares en un muro, del cual incluso su efectividad es cuestionable?
Como ciudadanos debemos pedir a nuestros representantes actuar. Actuar con compasion, imparcialidad y justicia.
+ Monseñor William F. Medley
Obispo de Owensboro