Profiling, religion and immaturity: The struggles surrounding immigration reform
Photo: Courtesy of Reuters
The New Orleans Police Department has announced that starting Sunday, Feb. 28, they will no longer require officers to check the immigration status of people they think may have come into the country illegally, unless not doing so would pose an immediate security threat.
Immigrant activist groups including the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice responded with praise and excitement. The NOWCRJ says it has been monitoring the NOPD since 2005 when it seemed that they were working with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport immigrants after Hurricane Katrina.
They hope that the decision will improve the relationship between the NOPD and the immigrant community and also give some relief to the undocumented immigrants that live in the city. Hispanics and Latinos constitute 5.2 percent of the local community according to the , a number that has grown significantly since 1990.
On Feb. 24, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe met in Albuquerque, New Mexico for an immigration forum to address Pope Francis’ call for fair treatment of the world’s migrants, an issue that proves quite controversial for many Catholics regarding immigration in the U.S.
Approximately 400 people attended the forum including both Catholics and advocates for immigrants. Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester announced that he does not believe the federal government is giving detained immigrants a fair and due process and hopes that U.S. officials will work to improve that. Wester said that the fair and dignified treatment of immigrants is more than a suggestion or moral issue, but in fact a Gospel mandate.
In siding with the immigration advocates, Wester has caused quite a stir of mixed emotions toward the Archdiocese, though many agree with the fear of a presidency leading to unfair mass deportations and refusals to support proper reform for immigration.
For a majority of the first hour during Thursday night’s debate held in Houston, Texas, the subject on the table was immigration. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio both took on Donald Trump, accusing him of switching his position on immigration and also hiring illegal immigrant workers at some of his property and resort locations in both New York and Florida.
Trump skirted a direct response by saying he is the only one on the stage who has ever had to hire workers at all. In addition, he vehemently confirmed he will absolutely build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, no matter the foreign policy consequences. Rubio fought back saying if he builds it the way he built Trump Towers, it’ll be by using illegal immigrant labor. Productive conversation was overshadowed by the sparring amongst the three with Kasich and Carson staying relatively quiet in the background.