It was actually a good week for immigration reform, despite much media negativity.
The New York Times did a masterful piece on Monday exposing President Obama’s sham deportation policy, which does not single out criminals as he had claimed, but rather deports tens of thousands for offenses as minor as traffic violations.
It was nice to see the truth, and Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston also spoke truth when he journeyed to Arizona and spoke about the obligation of Catholics to work for reform.
“We need to roll back the deportation mania that’s taken place in the last couple of years. We need to rethink these detentions centers that are costly, unnecessary, and very often penalize people who are not criminals,” O’Malley said.
“We need to do something about quotas, making it easier for people to come. There are segments of our economy that depend on immigrant labor, and that should be recognized in the law rather than forcing people to enter illegally, which often means they’re exploited and in competition with American laborers.”
Speaking of why Catholics need to be far more vocal in support of immigration reform O’Malley stated, “We’re not only a nation of immigrants, we’re an immigrant church.”
Then possible Republican White House contender Jeb Bush surprised us all when he said that illegal immigration is an act of love for many who come here.
"I'm going to say this and it will be on tape and so be it," Bush said in an interview with Fox News host Shannon Bream.
"The way I look at this is someone who comes to our country because they couldn't come legally ... and they crossed the border because they had no other means to work, to be able to provide for their family, yes, they broke the law, but it's not a felony.
"It's an act of love, it's an act of commitment to your family. I honestly think that that is a different kind of crime. There should be a price paid, but it shouldn't rile people up that people are actually coming to this country to provide for their families."
If he ran for president Bush could enjoy significant Hispanic support. His wife is Mexican-born and he converted to Catholicism in recent years. The Hispanic vote provides the margin of victory for Democratic candidates in many elections.
In 2012 Obama won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote to Republican challenger Mitt Romney's 27 percent.
Bush would certainly better that.
Ironic if a Republican proved more sympathetic and successful on immigration reform than an African American president who has done little except earn the title of Deporter–in-Chief.
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